2021 D2 Indoor Top 25 Rankings (Women): Preseason (Part One)

Click here to see our Just Missed and Honorable Mention names

25. Chrisanni May, Sophomore, Lincoln (Mo.)

Chrissani May is a runner who has surprisingly great experience despite being just a freshman during last year’s shortened season. But how? Well, May is no stranger to the highest levels of comeptition, having represented Jamaica at the U20 World Championships prior to enrolling at Lincoln.

The current sophomore was able to show a glimpse of her talent last winter as she qualified for the eventually cancelled Indoor National Championships with a time of 2:11.71 in the 800 meters. However, it's likely that we have yet to see the full potential of May's abilities.

Although her 2:11 mark is the best time that she notched in the NCAA, her career PR stands at 2:07.49. This indicates that she hasn’t even hit her stride yet at Lincoln, something that could always change this winter.

24. Haleigh Reindel, Junior, Minnesota Duluth

Reindl is another nationally talented 800 meter threat given her promising personal best of 2:10 for the distance.

As a freshman, she qualified for both the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships in the 800 meters. Although she failed to make it out of the preliminary rounds, Reindl gained valuable experience which will surely pay dividends. She’s a two-time NSIC champion in the half-mile and probably would have had a third title if the outdoor season had happened.

A little bit of experience goes a long way when you're younger like Reindl once was. Expect the Minnesota Duluth runner to take advantage of her opportunities and show the rest of the NCAA that she’s here to stay as an experienced upperclassmen.

23. Taylor Hestekin, Junior, U-Mary

Hestekin’s marks of 2:09 (800) and 4:55 (mile) make her one of the more well-rounded middle distance runners in the country. She has earned All-American honors as a member of her 2018 DMR team and snagged another All-American finish on the grass after finishing 29th at the NCAA Championships.

The U-Mary ace set personal bests in the mile and 1000 meters in her last indoor meet before the cancellation of the 2020 postseason. She didn’t contest the 800 meters even once last year, but after running 2:52 for 1000 meters, running faster than 2:09 was plenty possible.

It’s hard to believe that Hestekin wouldn't be successful at any distance she tried. She has excellent range and she could be a quick climber in our rankings this season if she finds enough momentum.

22. Nancy Jeptoo, Junior, Alaska Anchorage

Jeptoo is an athlete who has the marks that would make her a major threat on the national stage. She just doesn’t seem to have the necessary experience or tactical prowess when it comes to the indoor oval to be ranked any higher.

The Alaska Anchorage runner has posted times of 2:12 (800) and 4:51 (mile) as well as a promising 3k mark of 9:48 which is no joke, either. Not only that, but Jeptoo was the 10th place finisher at the 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships. When it comes to her range, her times and her talent, she checks all of the boxes.

Jeptoo is capable of running with a lot of the top women in D2, but we just haven’t seen her at her best when it really matters. She toed the line for two national meets on the track, but neither ended well. That, however, could have potentially changed last year if the NCAA didn't cancel the indoor national meet.

Even so, Jeptoo will look to change that narrative heading into the 2021 indoor track season.

21. Taryn Christy, Junior, Illinois-Springfield

Taryn Christy has consistently been among the top distance runners in the GLVC and has silently been among the nation’s best. Christy amassed a decent resume during her freshman year before really putting things together nicely as a sophomore during the 2019 cross country season and the 2020 indoor season.

The Illinois-Springfield runner notched a cross country All-American finish in 2019, then qualified for NCAA Indoor Championships, dropping flat-track converted times of 9:46.70 (3k) and 16:54.34 (5k).

However, with the championships being cancelled last year, Christy has yet to take to the national stage on the track -- one of the very few things preventing her from being higher up in our rankings at the moment.

Even so, it looks like she hasn't faltered during the craziness of 2020. She recently finished 3rd at the GLVC XC Championships this past fall, crossing the line behind only Lauren Bailey and Elysia Burgos, both of whom are household names.

If she can carry that recent success over to the indoor oval, then we like her odds to cement her position among the nation's best during the winter months.

20. Chloe Flora, Rs. Senior, Lee (Tenn.)

Flora has emerged as one of the better 3k/5k runners in the country. After transferring from Dayton, she has flourished with the Flames, setting personal bests in all races except the full mile. Her 9:45 (3k) was among the top-16 in the country last year and was going to get her into her second NCAA D2 meet.

Flora’s personal best in the mile is 4:56 from Dayton, but she has run 4:59 as a Flame thus far. Her range gives the team the flexibility to field a very strong DMR team and that in itself is very valuable. Had the 2020 indoor championship happened, there’s a very real possibility that Flora could have left with two All-American awards.

Outside of last year, Florida has only qualified for one national meet where she finished 20th in the 5000 meters, so the lack of experience holds us back from ranking her any higher. Still, if she can put together another strong season in the mile and 3k while offering some assistance in the DMR, then she will surely dive deeper into our top-20.

19. Katie Olding, Sophomore, American International

In just her first season running collegiately, Olding burst onto the scene last year, looking like a seasoned veteran rather than a true freshman. The British distance runner took advantage of her opportunities racing on the historically fast Boston University indoor track, laying down personal bests of 2:11 (800) and 4:50 (mile).

Despite qualifying for Nationals in both events, Olding chose to maximize her chances of being an All-American by opting to only run the mile at the NCAA Championships...until they were canceled.

One may ask: Did she win at all last winter? Or did she just get pulled along to those fast times?

Well, Olding was the Northeast-10 conference champion in both the 800 meters and the mile. She won the 600 meters at the Mary Grinaker Invite and took home the victory at the Tufts Cupid Challenge in the mile.

Now, admittedly, Olding did take advantage of racing in larger fields where she could focus more on time rather than where she placed. Still, she amassed plenty of wins and proved that could take home victories in a variety of different races.

We are expecting more of the same from Olding this winter as she looks to secure her first All-American honor and repeat as your Northeast-10 champ in both the 800 and the mile.

18. Klaudia O’Malley, Sophomore, Grand Valley State

A youngster with a ton of talent, O’Malley had a very successful freshman year with the Lakers. So much so that it seemed like she was much more experienced that she actually was (and is).

Very rarely do we see a freshman finish runner-up at their conference meet to someone who was the clear-cut national title favorite last year (Allie Ludge) and think that is normal. That just doesn’t happen unless you train with the best day in and day out which O'Malley clearly does.

O’Malley took control from the get-go last year, helping the Lakers to a 2nd place finish at the 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships while emerging as the team's fourth runner, finishing 24th overall and earning All-American honors in her first collegiate season.

Despite the success, she did not take her foot off the gas during the 2020 indoor season as O'Malley was supposed to toe the line twice at NCAA Indoor Championships, once in the 3000 meters and once in the DMR.

After running 4:54 (mile) and 9:38 (3k) last winter as only a freshman, we're super eager to see what this current sophomore can accomplish now that she's another year older.

17. Brianna Robles, Sophomore, Adams State

Brianna Robles had just gotten started adding results to her resume on the track last indoor season before it abruptly concluded. Last winter, Robles dropped times of 9:43.07 (3k converted) and 16:52.11 (5k), the latter mark helping her qualify for the (eventually cancelled) NCAA Indoor Championships.

Even with the cancellation of last year’s championships, Robles came back and kept her momentum going into the fall. She led the way for Adams State during the altered 2020 cross country season over renowned teammate Stephanie Cotter, defeating the superstar in their season opener. She later took charge as the Grizzlies’ top scorer when Cotter didn’t run at the RMAC Championships a few weeks later.

The Adams State sophomore is poised to throw down some big performances whenever she lines up on a track next. If she runs a fast enough mile time, then Robles could immediately vault up our rankings with some rarely seen versatility.

16. Zoe Baker, Rs. Sophomore, Colorado Mines

There is no runner in Division 2 with more momentum than Zoe Baker.

The Colorado Mines ace had quite the cross country season this past fall, even if it was only for one official meet (the other was a time trial where she set a new 5k record on the Mines track). The lone meet on Baker's 2020 resume was the RMAC Championships, often considered to be the most competitive conference in all of D2. She became the first female RMAC winner for Colorado School of Mines in school history.

This is just the start as she has yet to earn All-American honors on the indoor oval, but owns strong converted times of 9:38 (3k) and 16:58 (5k) from last winter. We still need to see her actually perform at a high level on the championship stage during indoors, but it's hard to discount the overall talent that we saw from her this past fall. She has clearly taken a step up.

With the team that Coach Chris Siemers is building, don’t expect Baker to be the only Oredigger on the podium this indoor season.

15. Natalie Graber, Sophomore, Grand Valley State

Natalie Graber put together a sensational freshman campaign last year. After nabbing an All-American finish at the NCAA XC Championships, Graber went on to qualify for the indoor national meet in three different events (yes, three).

Graber put up marks of 4:53 (mile), 9:40 (3k), and 16:51 (5k), showing off range that many of the best D2 talents were unable to replicate. Given that she was just a freshman, it would’ve been her first time on the track at the national stage, so we can’t say for certain how well she performs in those settings.

Even so, we can say for certain that she has top-level times and is a Swiss Army knife of sorts when it comes to the distance events. Range like hers is not easy to come by.

14. Jessica Gockley, Senior, Grand Valley State

Gockley has made her case as one of the more dynamic runners in Division 2 when you consider that she has 4:56 for the mile and 35:00 for the 10,000 meters. In between those distances, she has run 9:41 (3k) and 16:35 (5k), the latter time being one of the fastest marks that we see in all of D2 on an annual basis.

The GVSU veteran has competed at the NCAA Championships numerous times and has often done extremely well, but not so much during the indoor season (17th in the 3k, 13th in the 5k). However, in fairness to Gockley, she would have had a great chance at her earning her second All-American honor last winter had the indoor national meet not been cancelled.

Gockley was already one of the best 5k runners in the country and will likely enter the realm of one of the best 3k runners this season.