TSR Collaboration
Nov 8, 202311 min
Written by Conor Daly, Kevin Fischer & Garrett Zatlin
Additional edits and commentary via Garrett Zatlin & Gavin Struve
NOTE: These rankings are based on how an individual fared throughout the entirety of a season, not just how they ran at a singular meet or (eventually) at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships. Click here to learn more about our ranking criteria.
Was not ranked in our last update.
First number indicates how much the individual has moved in the rankings.
The second number indicates where the individual was ranked in our last update.
Few women have been as consistently great as Megan Johnson has been this fall.
The Central College sophomore has been on a tear, failing to have a poor performance in 2023 despite holding relatively little collegiate experience. A 16th place finish at the Griak Invitational "Maroon" race was a much better result than some people realized and the only D3 runner who Johnson fell behind was teammate Caroline McMartin.
A pair of 7th place finishes at the Dan Huston Invitational and the Connecticut College Invite were solid, but they didn't really booster Johnson's stock in any significant way. However, a silver medal at the American Rivers Conference XC Championships was fantastic. Johnson not only defeated McMartin, but she also took down an elite Wartburg squad with the exception of Lexi Brown.
You could make the argument that Johnson is underrated at TSR #20. She has high upside, has succeeded in a variety of different race scenarios and seems to only be getting better with time. Watch out for this Central College ace as the season nears its end.
Yes, Carolina McMartin may have lost to her teammate, Megan Johnson, at the American Rivers XC Championships, but a 3rd place finish is still very strong. McMartin did, after all, defeat the likes of Shaelyn Hostager, Ellie Meyer and Aubrie Fisher.
While Johnson may have upended her teammate the other weekend, McMartin has still been the better runner across the board this fall. The Dutch veteran has been a handful of spots ahead of Johnson for most of this season and that's ultimately why we still have her one spot ahead of her relatively younger teammate.
But at the end of the day, it's been hard to bet against McMartin over the past year. We don't expect her reliability as a true ace to end in her last two races of the season.
Yes, Rachel Hirschkind may be falling in our rankings, but it's not because of anything that she has done. She finished 4th at the SUNYAC XC Championships the other week, but her and her teammates cruised across the finish line. In fact, the Knights took the first nine spots in the overall standings.
With a relatively easy Niagara regional meet coming up, we likely won't get to see Hirschkind truly tested until the national meet. But until then, the predominant steeplechaser has looked pretty strong so far this fall and has every reason to stay in our rankings.
The regular season treated Gillian Roeder incredibly well this fall. The MIT low-stick was 3rd at the Williams Purple Valley XC Invite and she later earned a more impressive 4th place finish at D3 Pre-Nationals. For the most part, this star distance talent was plenty deserving of her previous top-15 ranking.
However, not racing at the NEWMAC XC Championships the other week isn't a great sign, especially for someone who was absent for much of the 2021 postseason.
The MIT still took care of business and won the NEWMAC team title by 12 points over Coast Guard. And while that win was a bit less dominant than we would have liked, adding Roeder into that lineup would have given the Engineers are far more commanding win.
It's certainly possible that Roeder was simply being rested for the rest of the postseason which is why we're not overreacting in these rankings. Even so, her availability will be a key aspect to watch for MIT moving forward.
Sure, Hannah Preisser hasn't been quite as dominant this fall as we maybe thought she would be, but the Carleton ace has still offered plenty of firepower over the last two-ish months.
The Carleton women recently dominated the MIAC XC Championships. There, Preisser led the way with a runner-up performance behind only Fiona Smith, defeating her own teammates and the entirety of St. Olaf's squad.
Preisser's recent performance doesn't dramatically alter her stock in our rankings, but it is a nice building block as she dives deeper into the postseason. And while you could certainly argue that other women have had better overall seasons, Preisser's immense upside and prior national meet success is something that we view very favorably.
15. Meghan Owens, Senior, Centre (+3 / 18)
Meghan Owens had no problem taking care of the field at the SAAC XC Championships where she took home a comfortable win. We didn’t gain a ton of insight from that performance, but it complemented her 5th place showing at the Augustana Interregional.
We opted to give Owens a three-spot bump in our rankings largely due to her ongoing reliability. While other women have faltered a bit, it's the Centre senior who continues to quietly string together great result after great result.
After a few rust-busting September-time races, Audrey Maclean jumped onto our radar following her highly encouraging 7th place finish in the "Brown" race at Paul Short. But what truly allowed her to crack our top-20 was a bronze medal result at the Connecticut College XC Invitational where she lost only to Fiona Smith and Grace Richardson.
And if anyone needed validation as to how good this Middlebury rookie is, she provided further evidence at the NESCAC XC Championships. There, Maclean produced a massive runner-up result, stunning everyone but Genna Girard and upsetting Ella Ball for silver.
Maclean is a classic example of how dangerous younger runners can be when they get on a hot streak. While their inexperience does carry some natural volatility on championship stages, the Panthers' newest distance star has shown us that she can thrive in a variety of difference race settings.
And truthfully, we wouldn't argue with you if you said that she should be ranked higher.
13. Brigid Hanley, Junior, Emory (Unranked)
In our eyes, Brigid Hanley, a graduate transfer from the University of Arizona, had flown under the radar this season...that was, until she finished 3rd at the UAA XC Championships.
Of course, let's be clear, that wasn't necessarily a breakthrough day for Hanley. That's because she was already capable of a performance of that caliber. After all, she has marks of 9:37 (3k) and 16:41 (5k) to her name from last winter.
You can also look to more recent results that foreshadowed this run. In mid-September, at the Converse Kick-Off, the Emory talent finished only four seconds behind our TSR #14 runner, Meghan Owens.
With PAC-12 and D1 West regional races under her belt, we are optimistic that this distance veteran will be more than prepared to deal with the stresses of the postseason.
12. Maddie Hannan, Senior, UW-La Crosse (-2 / 10)
A runner-up finish WIAC XC Championships isn’t anything for Maddie Hannan to hang her head about, especially when that finish came behind rising distance standout Carolyn Shult who has been on a tear recently. That being said, we may have expected Hannan to finish a bit closer to Shult rather than the 25-second margin we ended up seeing.
Nonetheless, the large gaps that emerge in thin meets can sometimes produce deceiving results, especially when runners are competing foremost for a place rather than a time. All things considered, Hannan hasn’t had a brilliant season, but she’s talented enough that even a slightly underwhelming fall campaign comfortably puts her in contention for a top-half All-American finish.
11. Aubrie Fisher, Senior, Wartburg (-3 / 8)
Although Aubrie Fisher hasn’t been the national title contender that we may have predicted back in August, she has still been a very solid low-stick for her team. At the American River Conference XC Championships the other week, Fisher fell to 6th place. This was, to be frank, on the lower side of our expectations for her.
That being said, we must consider that this is one of the more competitive conferences on the women’s side of Division Three; Fisher was racing a group of women who could all very well be top-half All-Americans.
Let's also not forget that Fisher was considerably better than her conference meet effort with a 4th place showing at the Augustana Interregional which arguably holds more weight as a deeper field than the conference meet.
At the end of the day, Fisher is still very much in the picture as one of the nation's top individuals, especially as someone who has the national meet experience, and the history of peaking for the postseason, like she does.
10. Grace Hadley, Senior, WPI (+4 / 14)
Grace Hadley continued to prove that her bronze medal at D3 Pre-Nationals was not a fluke as she won the NEWMAC XC Championships the other week.
The WPI senior won gold by a convincing 20-second margin over challengers from Coast Guard and MIT, four of whom are a part of our "Honorable Mentions" list. Sure, she didn't have to deal with Gillian Roeder who was absent for MIT, but you could argue that Hadley still would have been favored if she did race.
It’s hard to find a critique of Hadley. So far, she has been nothing but terrific every time out and she is quietly cementing herself as one of the more dependable stars regardless of circumstance.
9. Natalie Bitetti, Junior, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (-2 / 7)
The Athenas' focal low-stick ace led the way for her squad at the SCIAC XC Championships, winning comfortably over her teammates. And while we would like to draw some impactful analysis from that race, there isn't much that we can offer.
Natalie Bitetti has been a picture of consistency this fall and appears to be full of confidence coming off of her runner-up performance at D3 Pre-Nationals. She will look to replicate that effort in a week and some change.
8. Lexi Brown, Junior, Wartburg (-2 / 6)
Lexi Brown has looked really good every time out this season which has been a welcomed development for a Wartburg team that has been very competitive, but not quite as much as we initially thought they would be in the preseason.
At the American Rivers Conference XC Championships, Brown took the individual win over three women listed in our top-20, one of which was teammate Aubrie Fisher. The other two were the Central College duo Caroline McMartin and Megan Johnson.
Ultimately, Brown's movement two spots back in her rankings is due to no fault of her own. In fact, we would go as far as to say that Brown has been improving over the last month. And if that's the case, then we may be underrated someone who finished 3rd at the Augustana Interregional meet earlier this season.
7. Sara Stephenson, Senior, Johns Hopkins (-2 / 5)
Nobody came anywhere close to challenging Sara Stephenson at the Centennial Conference XC Championships. That dominance was largely expected, but it should still be appreciated.
She could have been excused for taking it a little bit easier, especially given that the Blue Jays swept the top-five spots. But judging by her margin of victory, it appears Stephenson gave an all-out effort which is admirable. As we approach a regional setting where she will once again be a heavy favorite, it will be interesting to see if she takes the same approach.
6. Penelope Greene, Junior, SUNY Geneseo (-2 / 4)
Penelope Greene won the SUNYAC individual title over teammates Lily Fowler-Connor, Kaitlyn Grossman and Rachel Hirschkind in her last time out. That marked her second win this season in as many Division Three-only fields after winning her competitive home meet as well.
Last year, SUNY Geneseo rested a few of their top scorers at this meet and could have done the same this year (and still easily won). Instead, they opted to field a full-strength lineup this time around. It was good to see the Knights' stars put on a show, especially Greene, who continues to look phenomenal this season.
She drops two spots not because of anything she did wrong, but because a few of the people ahead of her passed much tougher tests during conference weekend.
5. Carolyn Shult, Junior, UW-Eau Claire (+4 / 9)
Carolyn Shult has enjoyed success in previous years, but her campaign this fall has been on a completely new level. She has beaten everybody who she has faced outside of our TSR #4 runner, Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel, losing that matchup at the Augustana Interregional by just three seconds.
At the WIAC XC Championships, Shult ran away from Maddie Hannan, taking the victory by almost 30 seconds! A comfortable win in one of the nation’s toughest conferences has to be a promising sign going into the regional and national meets as Shult not only maintains, but builds upon her momentum.
Right now, few women are on a greater hot streak than this Blugold ace. If Shult is already dominating top-tier names, but is still improving, then how far out is she from someone like Genna Girard, our TSR #2 runner?
4. Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel, Junior, U. of Chicago (-1 / 3)
It took the postseason for Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel to suffer her first loss to a non-teammate Division Three runner this season, as she finished runner-up at the UAA XC Championships behind fast-rising standout, Grace Richardson.
Battleson-Gunkel certainly didn’t race poorly. Finishing runner-up in a field as deep as that of the UAA XC Championships is not a bad result. And truthfully, this U. of Chicago star likely toed the line against Grace Richardson at the worst possible time given how fast the NYU star has risen over the last month.
For that reason, we are only dropping Battleson-Gunkel one spot as we still view her as one of the best distance runners in the country in the midst of an excellent season.
3. Grace Richardson, Senior, NYU (+8 / 11)
Entering the UAA XC Championships, Grace Richardson’s only loss to a Division Three competitor was to our TSR #2 runner, Genna Girard, and she held wins over some solid names like Audrey Maclean and Caroline McMartin.
All of those results made up a really nice resume, but she sat just outside of the top-10 without a true marquee win over somebody ranked above her. Of course, beating Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel changed all of that. And now, we're wondering if this NYU veteran has even reached her ceiling yet...
We were careful in how we rated her before, but the Violets' lead scorer has been nearly perfect this fall. And now we can say with confidence that she has become one of the elite distance running forces in the country.
2. Genna Girard, Junior, Williams (0 / 2)
Genna Girard had her closest race of the season yet at the NESCAC XC Championships. That challenge came from our TSR #15 runner, Audrey Maclean, but Girard ultimately prevailed and won the conference title...by 14 seconds.
If Girard's closest challenger to her this fall was still 14 seconds back from her, then that should further show how incredible the Williams ace has been.
The end result was no surprise, but that hardly makes Girard's newfound dominance any less impressive. It also confirms what we already believed: Other than Fiona Smith, Genna Girard is the woman to beat in Division Three. In fact, she may be the only individual with a genuine chance at taking Smith down.
1. Fiona Smith, Junior, St. Benedict (0 / 1)
Despite facing several other ranked names, Fiona Smith has managed to not let anybody finish within 60 seconds of her this season, and she continued that form at the MIAC XC Championships.
We’ve known for a long time now that everybody else will seemingly be competing for 2nd place at this year's cross country national meet. Frankly, we've known that since the end of the 2022 cross country season.
But Smith's dominance being expected and unsurprising doesn’t make it any less praiseworthy. She’s running solo-effort 6k times on cross country courses that would be impressive on a track, and she’s doing it consistently week-in and week-out.
We just get to sit back and enjoy the greatness.
Brigid Hanley (Emory)
Megan Johnson (Central College)
KICKED OFF
Maddie Kelly (U. of Chicago)
Shaelyn Hostager (Wartburg)
JUST MISSED (in no particular order)
Morgan Uhlhorn (NYU)
Maddie Kelly (U. of Chicago)
Shaelyn Hostager (Wartburg)
Phoebe Ward (Carleton)
Ella Ball (Williams)
Elle Marsyla (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps)
Vivian Kane (NYU)
Deyanneira Colon Maldonado (Aurora)
Kayla Werner (Lynchburg)
Rachel Krouse (UW-Stevens Point)
HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)
Ellie Meyer (Wartburg)
Allison Sibold (St. Lawrence)
Kate Sanderson (MIT)
Sydney Kholsa (Wittenburg)
Ella Webster (Wittenburg)
Kate Cochran (NYU)
Olivia Pisacano (RPI)
Lexi Fernandez (MIT)
Kendall Accetta (Colorado College)
Sophie McManus (Carleton)
Kylah Holland (Hardin-Simmons)
Alexandra Blake (Washington U.)
Katelyn Chadwick (UW-La Crosse)
Sylvan Wold (Amherst)
Sophie Tedesco (U. of Chicago)
McKayla Felton (UW-Stout)
Paige Phillips (Coast Guard)
Kayla Aalpoel (George Fox)
Riley Buese (Lewis & Clark)
Lara Kallem (Simpson)
Maddy Vantassel (UW-La Crosse)
Claire Semerod (Coast Guard)
Notes
- N/A