2020 D2 Indoor Top 25 Rankings (Women): Update #4

Written by Grace McLaughlin and Eric Baranoski

Want to know how we rank certain athletes? Click here to learn more.

TSR contributors may value certain aspects and ranking criteria differently between men and women when constructing our Indoor Top 25...

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. Natalie Graber, Freshman, Grand Valley State (Unranked)

Just a freshman, this will be Graber’s first indoor national meet. She finished 3rd in her first ever GLIAC meet with a 9:40 in the 3k losing only to teammates Allie Ludge and Klaudia O’Malley. Laker Nation will be strongly represented in the distance events this upcoming weekend as Graber joins Ludge, Groeber and O’Malley in the 3k as well as Groeber and Gockley in the 5k.

Scoring double digits from each event should be easily obtainable. It just begs the question: how many points does the distance team have to score in order for the Lakers to be crowned team champions?

24. Kayla Wooten, Junior, UCCS (Unranked)

The big winner from RMAC's, Wooten ran herself into the National Championships with a win in the mile. Her 5:05 gets converted to 4:52 from altitude which was good enough to rank her at NCAA #14 in the country for the event. She also ran the 3000 meters where she placed 8th. She'll be looking to earn her third top eight finish in the mile this weekend. The Mountain Lions are also looking to become back-to-back DMR All-Americans with Wooten on the anchor. Given her recent momentum, they have a very good chance at doing so.

23. Jessica Gockley, Junior, Grand Valley State (0 / 23)

A 5th place performance in the 3000 meters at the GLIAC Championships lands the GVSU junior on our list. She will be racing the 5k at NCAA's which is her bread and butter event. She is ranked at NCAA #4 in the event and has a good shot at becoming an All-American for the first time on the indoor oval. Her career-long consistency is bound to pay off for her with a top eight finish this weekend.

22. Hailey Streff, Junior, CSU-Pueblo (-2 / 20)

Turning in a 6th place finish in the mile and a 3rd place finish in the DMR, Streff fought hard against her RMAC competitors which are often considered the best in the nation. This wasn't her best performance, but she will be toeing the line in Birmingham twice. Once in the DMR and once in the mile. The Thunderwolves DMR will look to capture their second consecutive top eight finish with Streff playing a major role on their relay.

21. Nicole McMillen, Senior, Tusculum (-3 / 18)

McMillan took home tons of South Atlantic Conference hardware after competing in the 3000 meters, 5000 meters and the DMR. It was all gold medals for the senior in her last time ever racing at JDL as a collegiate. We have her dropping a few spots, but that's only because others had outstanding performances.

20. Kelly-Ann Beckford, Freshman, Lincoln (MO) (-4 / 16)

Another triple champ, Beckford won the 800 meters, the mile and the DMR at the MIAA Championships. All as just a freshman. Attempting another triple is never easy, especially against the top D2 talents in the nation, but she looks to be up to the task. Yes, we had to drop her four spots in our rankings, but that's just the result of other athletes stepping up with huge performances of their own (in conferences that were more competitive)

At Nationals, Beckford will be racing the DMR, the mile and the 800 meters at the CrossPlex facility. The freshman will be looking for the first top eight finish of her very young career.

19. Dania Holmberg, Sophomore, Seattle Pacific (+5 / 24)

The GNAC Championships went fairly well for Dania as she finished on the podium in all three events she contested. She was 2nd, 2nd, and 3rd in the DMR, the 3000 meters and the mile, respectively.

Running at the Dempsey one more time, Holmberg took another stab at the 3k at the Seattle Pacific Last Chance Meet and came away with a nine second PR. Her 9:38 performance will allow her to be able to compete in her first indoor national meet. She will be taking on the 5k/3k double with hopes of becoming an All-American and establishing herself as the new star of a Seattle Pacific program that lost Kaylee Mitchell to a transfer earlier this year.

18. HaLeigh Hunter-Galvan, Senior, Adams State (-6 / 12)

It was a rather pedestrian RMAC Championship appearance for Hunter-Galvan as she led the DMR to a win, but finished in only 5th place in the 3000 meters. In the 3k, she lost to teammates Brianna Robles and Kaylee Bogina.

That said, the 5k seems to be her ideal distance and that is what she is slated to run this weekend, so she should pick up some points for the Grizzlies. In addition to the 5k, she is also running in the 3000 meters and the DMR. She should be able to score enough points so that the Adams State women are in contention for the overall team title.

17. Andra Lehotay, Senior, Walsh (-2 / 15)

Only tripling, Lehotay finished off her regular season with three wins. The G-MAC Championships were no match for the senior as she became a back-to-back champ in both the 800 meters and the mile. She also helped her Walsh teammates win the DMR in convincing fashion. This led her to be named the athlete of the meet by the coaches.

Walsh comes in as the #6 seed in the DMR and will try to improve upon their 5th place finish from a year ago. Lehotay is also running the 800 meters, a move that will hopefully allow her to finish her collegiate career as an indoor All-American in the 800 meters, the mile and the DMR. She has been one of the better D2 middle distance runners in the NCAA over the past few years.

16. Natalia Novak, Junior, Academy of Art (Unranked)

Seemingly coming out of nowhere, Novak enters TSR’s rankings for the first time. Highlighted by her performance in Boston where she ran the mile in 4:48, she definitely took advantage of her last chance opportunity. This shot her up to NCAA #8 in the mile over the course of a weekend.

Competing in her first national meet of any season, the junior from Hungary is looking to earn a top eight finish and come home with an All-American honor after this weekend. Will she be able to replicate her breakout performance on the nation's biggest stage? We'll have to wait and find out...

15. Kaylee Bogina, Senior, Adams State (+2 / 17)

Bogina rises two spots to TSR #15 as she won the 5k and came in 4th in the 3k at the RMAC Championships. She cruised to her victory in the 5k as she won by over 30 seconds with Morgan Molesworth of Colorado Mines finishing 2nd.

Bogina will be tasked with scoring points in both the 3k and 5k at Nationals to help Adams State go back-to-back as team champions. As an individual, Bogina will attempt to earn her first indoor top eight finish.

14. Stefanie Parsons, Junior, Edinboro (+7 / 21)

Another runner, another quadruple attempt, but this time only golds were taken home. Stephanie Parsons pulled a feat not many other runners can say that they completed. She won the 800 meters, the mile, the 3000 meters, and the DMR over the course of two days at her conference meet. This led to the seven spot jump in our TSR rankings.

Look for Parsons to utilize that durability at the national meet as she attempts to bounce between the mile and the 3000 meters. Her recent performances indicate that she'll have no problem handling that double.

13. Elysia Burgos, Sophomore, Southwest Baptist (+1 / 14)

The Bearcat ace also attempted the quadruple at GLVC Championships the other weekend and finished in the top three in all of her events. This is new territory for Southwest Baptist as they recently switched conferences from the MIAA to the GLVC. At her conference meet, Burgos led her DMR squad to a win, finished 2nd to Indy star Berenice Cleyet-Merle in both the 800 meters and the mile, and also finished 3rd in the 3000 meters.

Burgos will be doubling at Nationals as she is in both the mile and is on the anchor leg of the DMR. This has been a big year for her when looking at all of her performances, but she's still one tier away from the elite milers who will be favored to battle for a national title this weekend.

A big performance on Saturday could change that...

12. Yasmine Hernandez, Junior, CSU-Pueblo (0 / 12)

Hernandez holds onto our TSR #12 spot after decent performances at the RMAC Indoor Championships. She took runner-up honors in the 800 meters, bronze in the DMR and 7th in the 4x400 relay. She has the NCAA #4 time in the 800 meters as well as the NCAA #4 mark in the DMR.

Hernandez was briefly in the national title conversation earlier this year, but Bailey Sharon, Berenice Cleyet-Merle and Addy Townsend have run away with the national title favorite narrative since then. While she may not be everyone's immediate pick to win it all, Hernandez will still be a top candidate top mix it up for a top three finish.

11. Clarissa Morales, Senior, Stanislaus State (0 / 11)

Morales continues to impress us and put Stanislaus State on the board as a distance running school. Her most recent performance was an outdoor 10k in 35:48.

Yep, you read that right.

Indoor season isn’t even over and she’s already tearing up the outdoor oval.

Morales has been on fire all season long, recording times of 4:56 (mile), 9:35 (3k) and 16:38 (5k). On paper, she has all of the necessary accolades to become an All-American. However, running a 10k so close to the national meet is a bit odd and it leaves us wondering how well she will rebound from such a tiring race.

10. Jennifer Comastri, Junior, Southern Indiana (0 / 10)

Comastri stays at our TSR #10 spot after winning the 3k and earning a runner-up finish in the 5k at the GLVC Championships. She ran 9:49 and 16:51 for one of the more underrated distance doubles of championship weekend. This has been a massive breakout year for Comastri who hasn't given us a reason to doubt her. That likely won't change at the national meet.

9. Bailey Sharon, Rs. Junior, Western Colorado (0 / 9)

Sharon holds onto her TSR #9 ranking after winning the 800 meters (as well as the 4x400) at the RMAC Indoor Championships. She also aided in her team's runner-up DMR result. Sharon has the NCAA #3 time in the 800 meters with a 2:08 and is likely going to give Townsend and Cleyet-Merle a serious run for their money at the national meet. The Western Colorado ace is a veteran with tons of national meet experience who typically peaks at the right time.

8. Hanna Groeber, Senior, Grand Valley State (0 / 8)

Groeber comes in at TSR #8 again this week after winning the GLIAC 5k title in a time of 16:52. She has the NCAA #8 time in he 3k with a 9:36 and the NCAA #4 time in the 5k with a 16:30. She is set up for an impressive double this weekend. Groeber has been overshadowed by some of the other distance stars, but don't count her out. Her overlooked consistency will likely pay off for her at the national meet.

7. Celine Ritter, Junior, Lee (Tenn.) (0 / 7)

Ritter simply dominated the Gulf South Indoor Championships. She won the mile in a modest time of 5:09 as well as the 3k in a time of 10:06. She added a DMR conference title to her collection for a quietly solid triple.

Ritter is stuck in that odd territory of not quite being a national title favorite, but having a resume and string of performances that could possibly suggest otherwise.

6. Addy Townsend, Senior, Simon Fraser (-2 / 4)

Townsend drops two spots despite impressive performances, only because of performances from others. The Simon Fraser senior ran five races between the prelims and finals at the GNAC Indoor Championships. She won the 800 meters, the mile and the DMR while also aiding her team to a 2nd place finish in 4x400 relay. Townsend's times didn't jump off the page, but it was clear that finishes were far more important than times.

Townsend is clearly at the peak of her powers which is a pretty scary thing to think about when you look at her overall resume. She'll be the favorite to win the 800 meter national title, especially with Cleyet-Merle doubling. It'll be fascinating to see how the Simon Fraser veteran executes her race plan.

5. Lauren Bailey, Junior, Indianapolis (+1 / 6)

Bailey moves up a spot after an impressive performance in the 5k at the GLVC Championships. She ran a converted time of 16:14 to break the conference record by over 45 seconds. While this is an impressive performance in and of itself, what is the most mind-boggling thing about it is the fact that she ran this completely solo.

It's one thing for an athlete to have a breakout year, but to have a breakout year where you're entering the elite tier of the NCAA is something special.

4. Berenice Cleyet-Merle, Senior, Indianapolis (-1 / 3)

Cleyet Merle won two events and aided her 4x400 relay to a runner-up finish and the GLIAC Indoor Championships. Much like Townsend, times were secondary to a top finish.

Cleyet-Merle made an interesting decision to attempt the mile/800 double at the national meet this weekend. It wouldn't necessarily be surprising if she didn't win gold in either event, but she'll still be a major threat in both races regardless of who is in the lead which is why she is ranked at TSR #4.

3. Ida Narbuvoll, Senior, U-Mary (+2 / 5)

Narbuvoll continues to impress us after winning the mile, the 3000 meters and the DMR at the NSIC Championships. She ran 4:55 in the mile, set a new personal best in the 3k with a converted 9:26 and anchored her DMR team to victory. She’ll be attempting the wild 5k/DMR/3k triple this weekend.

Narbuvoll is a front-running ace with an impressive amount of speed under her legs. This is an ambitious triple, but if anyone is capable of doing it successfully, then it has to be Narbuvoll.

2. Allie Ludge, Senior, Grand Valley State (0 / 2)

Ludge holds her TSR #2 spot after winning the mile and 3000 meters at the GLIAC Indoor Championships. She controlled the race and ran a 4:52 in the mile, five seconds ahead of the next runner. However, the 3000 meters was a different story as Klaudia O’Malley and Natalie Graber (both of Grand Valley) made things interesting before Ludge eventually pulled away for the win.

Ludge is the most versatile runner in Division Two. She has some of the best range in the NCAA regardless of division. Her experience and consistency will come in handy at the national meet which is almost always tactical in some capacity.

1. Stephanie Cotter, Sophomore, Adams State (0 / 1)

Cotter maintains her TSR #1 ranking this week after anchoring the Adams State DMR to a first place finish at the RMAC Indoor Championships which comfortably qualified the relay for Nationals.

Truthfully, Cotter hasn't done a ton this season, but she also hasn't done anything that warrants her losing her top spot in our rankings. Until we see something that says otherwise, Cotter is top female distance runner in Division Two right now.

KICKED OFF

Cynthia Mejia (Stanislaus State) Dawnel Collymore (Benedict) Kinga Szarzynska (Harding)

ADDED

Natalie Graber (Grand Valley State) Natalia Novak (Academy of Art) Kayla Wooten (UCCS)

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Katie Olding (American International) Cynthia Mejia (Stanislaus State) Dawnel Collymore (Benedict) Kinga Szarzynska (Harding) Klaudia O’Malley (Grand Valley State)

HONORABLE MENTION (in no particular order) Taylor Hestekin (U-Mary) Haleigh Reindl (Minnesota-Duluth) Zoe Baker (Colorado Mines) Maia Austin (UCCS) Chloe Flora (Lee)