TSR's "If Everything Was Normal" D2 XC Top 10 Teams (Women): #2 Adams State Grizzlies

Written by John Cusick and Garrett Zatlin

As we arrive at our TSR #2 spot in our preseason rankings, we find ourselves talking about another RMAC team...and they just so happen to be the reigning NCAA champions who put together a historically dominant win in Sacramento last fall.

There is a lot to unpack with this team, but let's lay out a few facts first before we dive in...

Now, those first two things are ​huge​ in terms of what Adams State has lost heading into this season. The amount of scoring potency and veteran experience that departs from last year's squad will admittedly be difficult to overcome, even for a team as great as the Grizzlies.

As a result, the question we are now asking ourselves is, how do they replace them?

The good news is that Adams State still has Cotter who will certainly be ready to defend her crown whenever the national meet returns. She is almost guaranteed to give this team a single point in any meet she runs in. Her presence alone takes off a massive scoring burden from the rest of this lineup.

 We then arrive at veteran Piper Meuwissen who is taking a gap year in 2020. However, considering this is our "If Everything Was Normal" rankings, we're adding her to our analysis. She would have been an incredibly valuable scorer for this team after finishing 31st at the NCAA Championships last fall and later running a personal best of 16:54 for 5000 meters on the indoor oval.

And how about Briana Robles? She was only a freshman last fall, but she finished 10th at the RMAC Championships and somehow didn't make their national lineup. The rookie would go on to run times of 9:43 (3k converted) and 16:52 (5k) during the indoor track season, emerging as one of the best young distance talents in all of Division II.

Finally, let's chat about Nicole Lawrence. She was also a freshman last fall, but had a quieter cross country season in comparison to Robles. However, she was electric on the track, running a converted time of 4:53 for the mile at the RMAC Indoor Championships where she finished 3rd overall. She is yet another piece of the puzzle who could be due for a breakout cross country season whenever Adams State returns to competition.

The rest of this lineup has a ton of uncertainly, but the Grizzlies did bring in a couple of talented names during the offseason. These new additions are the reason why we have the Adams State women staying near the top of our preseason rankings...

Sarah Wills is a transfer from West Virginia who has run 4:56 (mile), 9:54 (3k) and 17:03 (5k). She was part of a quietly strong WVU program which emerged as one of the better teams in the BIG 12 last fall. Based on her track times and experience, she has enough talent to be an All-American runner.

Ruby Wyles, a transfer from Southern Methodist, also joins the Adams State women and has reportedly run 16:45 in a 5k time trial which would lower her official personal best of 17:43 by a heavy margin. She has also run 35:57 for 10,000 meters.

Those are two strong pieces who could each make a major splash in Adams State's varsity scoring. They don't need to be All-Americans in order to have an impact, but they seemingly have enough potential to reach that level anyway.

When looking at last year's team, there is understandable concern about how much veteran scoring potency this team was expected to lose coming into this year. However, this group has reloaded with new additions and young returners who have yet to show us their full potential.

Something that we are also banking on is the fact that Coach Damon Martin has put his team in positions to be successful. We don't expect that to change. A long-standing history of success could make the Adams State women title contenders once again whenever the national meet returns.