Finn Birnie
Aug 25, 202310 min
Written by Finn Birnie, additional commentary & edits by Garrett Zatlin
NOTE: Earlier this summer, The Stride Report reached out to nearly every team that was considered for a possible ranking this summer. While we did receive numerous responses and great clarity, we did not get a 100% response rate. On rare occasions, we are referencing TFFRS in order to talk about returners and athletes who are out of eligibility.
Over the last few seasons, the Stanford women have become a very hard team to rank -- and this year was no different.
Going into last fall, the Cardinal were coming off of a podium finish in the winter of 2021 which then led to them battling a highly turbulent 2021 fall campaign. And, while their 2022 regular season was certainly better than the previous year, their failure to crack the top-10 at last fall's NCAA XC Championships left us a little underwhelmed.
What makes them so difficult to rank in 2023, however, is their youth and the questions that come with that.
The Palo Alto women already had one of the best young rosters in the country prior to this past offseason. And since then, they have continued to add some of the finest young stars in the nation.
Now, as we enter the fall 2023, we are left to question how quickly these fresh faces will transition to NCAA racing and how their focal low-stick, Zofia Dudek, will rebound after a 2022-2023 academic calendar year which left us scratching our heads.
The Cardinal began their 2022 fall campaign with a trip to Stillwater, Oklahoma to take on the nation's top teams at the Cowboy Jamboree. With the absence of sophomore standout Zofia Dudek, this race would be a major test for a squad with limited experience.
Freshman Riley Stewart led the charge with a valiant (and pleasantly surprising) 20th place finish while sophomore ace Lucy Jenks was hot on her heels in 26th place. Audrey Suarez (33rd), Grace Connolly (39th) and Abi Archer (56th) closed out the team scoring.
With their entire scoring contingent all finishing in the top-60, the Stanford women earned themselves a very respectable 5th place finish. And without Dudek, their collective effort seemingly produced one of the better results of the entire meet, relatively speaking.
By the time that the Nuttycombe Invitational rolled around, Dudek was back in the lineup and her impact was instant. A 16th place individual finish against some of the nation's top talents was seriously impressive. And more importantly, she provided Stanford with a valuable low-stick result.
Jenks produced another solid effort with a 56th place finish while Suarez (65th), Audrey DaDamio (72nd) and Abi Archer (74th) were close behind. That blanket finish for the Cardinal was vital and it was good enough to earn them 7th place in the loaded field.
That final result was considerably better than their 16th place showing from the previous fall. It also showed us that the Cardinal women held greater overall scoring potency, something that they had struggled with last year due to their lack of depth.
With the regular season going far better than it had the previous year, the young contingent of Stanford distance runners seemed ready to ride their momentum into the postseason.
However, the PAC-12 XC Championships was the first major hurdle of their season. It was a five-horse race that would be tantalizingly difficult to call. Stanford, Utah, Colorado, Oregon and Washington were all on the cusp of cracking the top-10 portion of our rankings.
A major result for any of those teams would be enough to do so.
Dudek ran her heart out, producing an excellent 6th place finish and providing the Stanford women with the scoring potency that they were heavily banking on.
Meanwhile, Audrey DaDamio had the race of her life, finishing only 11 seconds back from Dudek in 15th place. Jenks continued her consistent season, finishing in 20th place, while Stewart (24th) and Suarez (32nd) rounded out the scoring for the Cardinal.
While that was a collectively solid race from Stanford, the gaps between their scorers was ultimately what came back to bite them. They simply didn't have enough scoring potency to compete against other teams.
Stanford left the conference meet with a 4th place finish, scoring 93 points, just seven points back from the 3rd place Oregon Ducks. That was by no means a bad result, especially considering how stacked their conference was, but the backend of their lineup would have to be addressed as the postseason progressed.
At the West Regional XC Championships, they did just that, finishing 3rd, 15th, 18th, 19th and 21st. With a tally of just 76 points, that top-five scoring group gave the Cardinal a 20 point victory over PAC-12 rival, Oregon.
And while it's true that The Stride Report doesn't (usually) put too much stock into regional meets, it was great to see the Stanford contingent pack up so well and increase their overall scoring potency.
However, the question then turned to, could they produce a similar performance and crack the top-10 in Stillwater, Oklahoma?
Unfortunately for them, the answer to that question was, “No”.
Dudek was superb, finishing in 20th place and to earn All-American honors. Jenks was able to follow with a solid 83rd place finish, admittedly some ways off from her 49th place finish from the previous fall. DaDamio wasn't far behind in 93rd place, although Stewart and Grace Connolly slipped back to 121st and 136th place, respectively.
That top-five scoring spread landed the Palo Alto women in 13th place on the national stage. And while it was a respectable showing, it wasn't quite the top-10 result that this young group was likely hoping for. That being said, it closed out what was a consistent season for a team with such a young core.
In general, there is a lot to like about this Stanford group. And I mean A LOT.
This roster is still very young and they have some of the best upside in the entire NCAA. Many of these former underclassmen have matured and have showcased solid improvements as of late. However, it's also clear that that they haven't fully reached their talent ceiling yet.
And those are all good things.
While their end result at last year's national meet may have been a little underwhelming, the Stanford women seemingly addressed an issue that had impacted them in the past -- being consistent in the regular season.
Last year, the team's primary flaw was their lack of low-stick scorers outside of their lone star. Dudek was a pinnacle part of the Cardinal's success, but the gap between her and the team's secondary scorer was too big which, in the end, held them back.
The good news, however, is that Stanford's 2022 lineup returns in its entirety.
The even better news is that they may end up having the two best true freshmen in the entire NCAA this fall (depending on what happens with Doris Cherop at Alabama).
The addition of Amy Bunnage and Irene Riggs is going to be massively crucial for Stanford as they provide some much needed support for Dudek who, admittedly, hasn't looked sharp over the last four to five months.
But if that trio is firing on all cylinders, then this team's scoring potential completely changes.
New low-stick stars combined with a group that already has tons of raw talent is going to make the Stanford women an absolute thrill to watch.
For simplicity's sake, let's begin with the two primary returners from last fall: Zofia Dudek and Lucy Jenks.
Zofia Dudek has been a juggernaut low-stick for Stanford ever since she arrived from the high school scene. This past fall, she had a very encouraging run at Nuttycombe (16th) which was then followed that with an equally as solid 6th place finish at the PAC-12 XC Championships.
Then, Dudek took to the national stage, finishing in a terrific 20th place. That All-American performance showed us just how dangerous the distance ace could be when she was fit and healthy. It was the first time that she had looked like she was racing at 100% since the winter of 2021 (the pandemic-altered cross country season).
However, the winter and spring of 2023 is when issues began to arise.
There is no doubting that Dudek is insaley talent. She is a furious competitor on the grass and her 15:32 (5k) PR certainly turns heads. However, her staying in top form seems to be her only drawback.
During this past outdoor track season, we saw this Stanford distance runner produce a pair of DNF results, struggle throughout April and May, and then post an underwhelming result at the U23 Polish Championships earlier this summer.
It seems fair to say that Dudek isn't at her best right now. We don't know why and we're not going to speculate, but it is admittedly hard to be encouraged about her current status as we begin to enter the fall months.
Even so, when she is at her best, you’re looking at a top-20 talent in the nation and the key to the Cardinal's success. If she returns to her 2022 form, then this team is almost certainly going to be ranked at a spot better than TSR #9.
Lucy Jenks, meanwhile, has made leaps and bounds in fitness after she had a "just okay” 2021 regular season in cross country. A 53rd place finish at the Nuttycombe Invitational last fall was considerably better than her effort from the year previous and her 20th place at the PAC-12 XC Championships was also a nice step in the right direction.
Those results were very encouraging. Not only was she improving, but she was becoming more and more consistent.
Of course, for as good as those results were, her performance on the national stage was not quite up to par with what we had seen from her. A 49th finish at the 2021 NCAA XC Championships was, at the time, truly stunning and something that was going to be difficult to match. Yes, her 83rd place from the last fall was still good, but it also left us wanting more.
Dudek and Jenks were a strong 1-2 punch for this team throughout last fall. However, the gap between them was a little too large to make Stanford a top-10 team. But that could change this year with the additions of Amy Bunnage and Irene Riggs.
Bunnage may be an unfamiliar name to those in the United States, but the Aussie ace is a phenomenal talent. She owns the Australian U20 records in both the 3000 meters (8:51) and the 5000 meters (15:21). Those times are nothing short of remarkable and they suggest that she can do more than just hold her own against the very best women in the NCAA.
This overseas star also happens to be a four-time Australian cross country champion and owns a 1500 meter PR of 4:14. And what makes that time even more impressive was the fact that she ran that personal best when she was just 16 years old!
That's why we have her listed at TSR #18 heading into the fall.
Meanwhile, Irene Riggs is a true high school star who owns a blistering 5000 meter personal best of 16:02. She was simply dominant at the NXN Championships last fall as well as at the USATF XC Championships, taking home victories in both races by some margin.
The incoming rookie then backed up those effort with a brilliant 12th place finish at the World XC Championships, validating herself as one of the best young talents in the entire NCAA coming into this fall.
Riggs, much like Bunnage, is already good enough to compete with the top women in the NCAA as soon as this year. She currently sits at TSR #40 and for good reason. She's wildly accomplished, highly consistent, holds great experience and is (seemingly) still improving.
Of course, for as good as these two women are, they both lack the experience that many of their new competitors have -- and there is no way of telling how they will adapt to the NCAA.
However, if they come in firing on all cylinders this fall, then you’re looking at a formidable duo. And if Dudek is in top form (which is truthfully not guaranteed to happen), then you're looking at a scoring trio that could go toe-to-toe with any team in the nation, talent-wise.
As far as the final scorers on this team are concerned, Stanford has a handful of women...and we would be lying if we told you that we knew who they would be (and in what order).
Riley Stewart is a really strong and underrated name who was much better as a freshman last fall than some people may have realized.
Finishing 20th at the Cowboy Jamboree in her first major collegiate race was a very pleasant surprise. And although she never replicated that performance throughout the rest of the season, a 76th place finish at Nuttycombe and 121st place result at the NCAA XC Championships are efforts that deserve plenty of respect.
After running times of 4:37 (1600) and 16:03 (5k) this past year, we really like the spot that Stewart is in. She'll need to make improvements this fall, or replicate her Cowboy Jamboree result on a more consistent basis, but this rising sophomore could be very dangerous.
Audrey DaDamio was a key scorer last fall with her standout performance being a strong 15th place at the PAC-12 XC Championships. The underclassman held her own all season long and a top-100 finish at the NCAA Championships was a solid close to a good season.
Since then, DaDamio has clocked an impressive 33:21 (10k) mark on the oval. She is someone who has plenty of room to grow and with an elite team around her, there is no stopping her from realizing her full potential.
Audrey Suarez is another name who has been quietly stacking solid results. The two performances that stood out last year was a 63rd place finish at Nuttycombe and a 19th place finish at the West Regional XC Championships.
Either one of those women could be the all-important fifth scorer for the Cardinal later this fall. Both provided stability and underrated value for their team throughout the 2022 cross country season and both ladies had solid spring seasons.
Other individuals to keep an eye on include Imogen Gardiner, Abi Archer, Sophia Kennedy and Nicola Hogg. Those still-young distance runners all hold tremendous talent and could surprise a few people with step-up performances this fall.
The raw talent of this Stanford roster is undeniable and they are only going to get stronger with their new additions. Bunnage and Riggs have the potential to fix the primary flaw that the Cardinal had last year which was the gap between their first and second scorers.
This young team has upside like no other and even if Dudek isn't in top form this fall, then Stanford should still be better than last year. That's why we have them ranked at TSR #9.
Of course, whether we want to admit it or not, the uncertainty surrounding Dudek is what makes us cautious about this ranking. This is also a very young team which could leave the Cardinal vulnerable to some inconsistencies. That's why we opted to be a bit more conservative with this ranking.
And yet, if everything clicks, then you could be looking at a podium squad come November.
At their best, this team really is that good.