2019 D2 XC Top 25 Women: Update #1

Updated: Jan 13

KEY

(Unranked):

Was not ranked the week before.

(#/#):

First number indicates how much the individual has moved in the rankings.

The second number indicates where they were ranked the week before.

25. Bre Bakan, Senior, Walsh (Unranked)

Bre Bakan enters the rankings after her 11th place finish at the National Catholic Invitational with a time of 18:21. It was an underrated field when you look at the talent that Notre Dame entered, but that shouldn't overshadow a respectable performance from Bakan.

24. Nancy Jeptoo, Junior, Alaska Anchorage (-1 / 23)

Jeptoo moves down one spot, mainly due to better performances from other runners. She was runner-up at the Blue and Gold Run Fest in 18:33. She is expected to be a consistent name in our Top 25

23. Layla Almasri, Sophomore, UCCS (Unranked)

Almasri placed 4th at the UCCS Rust Buster in 18:13 and was the top finisher for the Mountain Lions. The rest of the team didn't perform as well as some of us were expecting, but it's nice to see that they have a young talent who can step up when others drop off the pace.

22. Madeline Geesen, Senior, Colorado Mines (Unranked)

Geesen enters the rankings after placing 7th at the UCCS Rust Buster Open in 18:32. She seems to be in good shape right now and her veteran experience has us believing that she will only get better as the season goes on.

21. Kaylee Bogina, Senior, Adams State (Unranked)

Bogina joins several of her teammates in the rankings after an impressive 2nd place finish at the Joe I. Vigil Open. Much like Geesen, she is a consistent veteran who can thrive in pretty much any race she toes the line for.

20. Tiffany Christensen, Senior, Adams State (+4 / 24)

Christensen improves four spots after placing 3rd at the Joe I. Vigil Open in 18:26. Ever since transfer from UNI, Christensen has been an underrated contributor for Adams State. Her growing familiar with Alamosa should only benefit her moving forward.

19. Piper Meuwissen, Sophomore, Adams State (0 / 19)

Meuwissen holds her spot after placing 4th at the Joe I. Vigil Invitational in 18:28. She has occasionally been overlooked on a roster that is stacked with talent both young and old, but she is someone who is very much in the All-American conversation.

18. Stephanie Cotter, Sophomore, Adams State (-12 / 6)

Cotter drops a substantial amount mainly due to better performances from other runners and the fact that she has yet to race. We’ll have to see how she does moving forward to get a better idea of where she stands in the rankings.

17. Madison Goen, Junior, Grand Valley State (-4 / 13)

Goen moves back a bit after finishing 20th athe MSU Spartan Invite in 22:26 on the 6k course. She had a fantastic track season and should be able to continue this momentum as the country season goes into full swing.

16. Taylor Hestekin, Sophomore, U-Mary (-1 / 15)

Hestekin placed 2nd at the MSU-Moorhead Dragon Invite running a time of 14:18 for 4000 meters (17:52 5k pace). In a year where U-Mary is expected to thrive with their overall firepower, seeing that Hestekin is healthy and in top shape is a great sign for the Marauders.

15. Emmaneulah Chelimo, Senior, Alaska Anchorage (+3 / 12)

It was a sprint to the finish at the Blue and Gold Run Fest between Jeptoo and Chelimo, but Chelimo came out on top. Despite a win and a decent time of 18:33, Chelimo drops down two spots. Once again, this is mainly because of other runners either entering the rankings or performing better in their first race of the season. Chelimo is a question mark due the fact that she most likely has not raced all-out yet this season. Her future performances will give us a better idea of where she is fitness-wise.

14. Kayla Wooten, Senior, UCCS (-9 / 5)

Wooten drops nine places after running a time of 18:53 at the UCCS Rust Buster and faltering to 13th overall. Don’t be fooled by this ranking, though. She’s coming off an injury and should look to improve her times as the season goes on once she's healthier. Don’t count out Wooten just yet, she will be much better in the future.

13. HaLeigh Hunter-Galvan, Senior, Adams State (-4 / 9)

Hunter-Galvan drops four places after placing 5th at the Joe I. Vigil Open in 18:37. She is definitely capable of running faster times and being higher up in the rankings, but we have to give the nod to other runners who have shown us better results so far this season.

12. Celine Ritter, Junior, Lee (Unranked)

The Lee junior seems to have come out of nowhere and is now at a whole new level after transferring to Lee from Mount Olive. She ran a solid 13:42 (17:07 5k pace) for 4000 meters to place 2nd at the UTC Twilight Invite. Ritter gives her new Flames teammates additional firepower to an already strong lineup.

11. Chloe Flora, Senior, Lee (Unranked)

Flora joins Ritter in the rankings after winning the UTC Twilight Invite in a time of 13:36 (17:00 minute 5k pace). She has progressed well over the past year and looks to be on track for a fantastic season. Flora is a great sleeper pick for future meets.

10. Roisin Flanagan, Senior, Adams State (-2 / 8)

Roisin has yet to compete this season.

9. Chloe Cook, Senior, Colorado Mines (Unranked)

8. Zoe Baker, Sophomore, Colorado Mines (Unranked)

Cook (17:53) and Baker (17:47) immediately jump into the rankings after going 1-2 at the UCCS Rust Buster Invite. They handed down numerous defeats to some of the top talents in the country and immediately made themselves big-time contenders in a Division Two.

7. Ida Narbuvoll, Senior, U-Mary (0 / 7)

Narbuvoll holds her ranking after winning the MSU-Moorhead Dragon Twilight in 13:22 (16:42 5k pace). That result is about what we expected to see from the U-Mary ace.

6. Leah Hanle, Senior, Mount Olive (-4 / 2)

Hanle drops four places even after winning the Wingate Bulldog Stampede in 22:02 for 6k. She had a solid performance, but a few runners outshined her, so she'll need to drop to #6...for now.

5. Kaylee Mitchell, Sophomore, Seattle Pacific (+15 / 20)

Kaylee Mitchell improves a whopping 15 places after an impressive performance at the PLU Invite. She ran a 21:04 6k to win the race. She was a DNF in the steeple at NCAA's this past spring, but still ran impressive times of 4:32 (1500m), 10:37 (3k Steeple), and 17:16 (5k) last track season. She is a big name to watch this fall as only a sophomore.

4. Taryn Christy, Sophomore, Illinois Springfield (Unranked)

Who the heck is Taryn Christy? The Illinois Springfield sophomore made her name known after running a 21:53 6k at the MSU Spartan Invite. She held her own and outshined talented D1 and D2 runners. In fact, she was the only D2 runner to beat her was Allie Ludge…

3. Hanna Groeber, Junior, Grand Valley State (+1 / 4)

Groeber improves her ranking one spot after running 22:01 for 14th at the MSU Spartan Invite. It's a solid result, but nothing that we didn't expect. We'll be interested to see how she progresses later this fall.

2. Eilish Flanagan, Senior, Adams State (-1 / 1)

Flanagan drops down to #2, but we have yet to really see her compete this season. She ran 18:06 to win the Joe I. Vigil Open, but that shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Flanagan will face much tougher competition in the near future.

1. Allie Ludge, Senior, Grand Valley State (+2 / 3)

Ludge takes over the top spot after running 21:37 to place 7th against some solid D1 runners at the MSU Spartan Invite. She had an impressive track season and placed 5th at Nationals last year. She is definitely capable of winning the title and it will be fun to see how her season pans out.

ADDED

Bre Bakan (Walsh)

Kaylee Bogina (Adams State)

Zoe Baker (Colorado Mines)

Chloe Cook (Colorado Mines)

Taryn Christie (Illinois Springfield)

Layla Almasri (UCCS)

Chloe Flora (Lee)

Celine Ritter (Lee)

Madeline Geesen (Colorado Mines)

Madison Goen (Grand Valley State)

KICKED OFF

Kathryn Etelamaki (Ferris State)

Emily Byrd (Michigan Tech)

Hope Pietrocarlo (Edinboro)

Katherine Ferrara (Merrimack)

Sarah Edens (Embry-Riddle)

Nicole Allerdings (Black Hills State)

Olivia Willett (Simon-Fraser)

Arena Lewis (Hillsdale)

Bree Erickson (U-Mary)

JUST MISSED (in no order)

Andrea Lehotay (Walsh)

Alexa Leppelmeir (Walsh)

Brooke Eberle (Colorado Mines)

Talia Swangler (Chico State)

Haley Boynton (Chico State)

Marissa Kuik (UCCS)

Jessica Gockley (GVSU)

Abby Crouch (GVSU)

Hannah Spooneybarger (Lee)

Billie Hatch (Dixie State)

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no order)