2021 D3 Outdoor Top 15 Rankings (Women): Update #3

NOTE: The listed eligibility for these athletes takes into account the eligibility extension granted by the NCAA to make up for the discontinued 2020 outdoor track season.

KEY

(Unranked):

Was not ranked in our last update.

(#/#):

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

The second number indicates where they were ranked in our last update.

15. Zanzie Demco, Junior, UW-Oshkosh (Unranked)

We saw Zanzie Demco have a breakout indoor season and that translated to outdoors as well. She was one of three women (Emily Pomainville and Sydney Packard being the other two) to make the 800 and 1500 final last weekend. She finished 6th in the 800 and 5th in the 1500. That’s impressive on its own right, but even more impressive when you consider she came into the weekend seeded 8th in the 800 and 11th in the 1500.

Her 4:30 in the 1500 final was a PR by over two seconds. She also just missed her PR in the 800 final, but that was her fourth race of the weekend. For this being her first national track meet, Demco had a great performance and for that, she deserves to be in our rankings.

14. Therese Olshanski, Senior, Johns Hopkins (-4 / 10)

Therese Olshanski was one of the last ones into the 1500 final, but proved she belonged there by finishing 4th in 4:30.51. While that is a hair off her personal best of 4:29.75, she finished one spot higher than she did in 2019 when she came in 5th. Olshanski had a great race, holding off Zanzie Demco and Evie Bultemeyer at the line to grab that 4th place spot. Her experience shined throughout this race as she earned her yet another All-American honor (she has five in total).

And lest we forget, she also picked up the steeplechase this year and had the 12th fastest time (10:57) coming into the national meet. She ultimately chose to forgo that event to focus on the 1500 -- a decision that we would say that was a good decision for Therese Olshanski.

13. Emma Malooly, Junior, UW-LaCrosse (Unranked)

While most people were focusing on the duel between Aubrie Fisher and Melissa Rowland during the 3000 meter steeplechase, Emma Malooly was quietly setting a giant new PR behind them.

The 10:42 that she ran to grab 3rd place is her fastest-ever steeple time by 10 seconds. She broke away with the top-five early in the race and was able to hang on until the last lap. Then, she held off RPI’s Isabel Caplazi to secure her first All-American honor. It was impressive, in a race that featured more than one fall, that she was able to keep her composure at her first national meet. Her 3rd place finish was unexpected as she came in seeded 8th with her 10:52 that she ran at the WIAC Championships.

All top-eight finishers have eligibility and could return to run this race again next year. If Malooly is able to keep improving, we could see her next year battling over the last 100 for a national title.

12. Ana Tucker, Freshman, Hope (-5 / 7)

Ana Tucker ran hard in the 5k, going through 3k with the leaders in 9:58 and leading the race with 1200 remaining. Although she fell to 4th, it is important to note that she is still in her freshman year of eligibility for outdoor and has a lot of time left. Adding a second All-American honor to her impressive resume is a good sign. In the future, she will certainly contend for several national titles. As she gains championship experience, it is increasingly likely that she will win one or more before she's done.

11. Alexis Gray, Senior, Wittenberg (Unranked)

The hype surrounding the women's 800 was all about Esther Seeland and Emily Pomainville, and rightfully so. But don't forget about what Wittenberg's Alexis Gray was able to do. Entering the meet as the 7th seed, she made the final by running a PR in the prelims, and then PR'd AGAIN in the final on her way to a 3rd place finish. That's something that you don't see very often in a meet like Nationals, or really at any meet. This is the first time this season that Gray has made our rankings, but it's a spot that she has fully earned.

10. Danielle Page, Sophomore, Tufts (+2 / 12)

Danielle Page's first appearance at a track national meet was a highly successful one. She earned two All-American honors at Nationals with a 3rd place finish in the 10k and a 6th place in the 5k.

Page, like several of her competitors, was on tired legs from the 10k, but still fought through to a very respectable finish and came close to her career best time. She gave the Jumbos a big lift from her double with nine points that moved them up to 5th overall as a team.

Isabel Cardi capped off her season with a lifetime best of 16:36 that placed her 3 in the national 5k championship that was fast from the gun. She led a good chunk of the race and did not drop back from Parley Hannan until the final two laps. Now a three time All-American, Cardi has added yet again to the accolades she has earned at the Division 3 level.

9. Isabel Cardi, Senior, Dickinson (0 / 9)

Isabel Cardi capped off her season with a lifetime best of 16:36 that placed her 3rd in the National Championship 5k that was fast from the gun. She led a good chunk of the race and did not drop back from Parley Hannan until the final two laps. Now a three-time All-American, Cardi has added yet again to the accolades she has earned at the Division 3 level.

8. Jordan Hurlbut, Senior, Rochester (+6 / 14)

Jordan Hurlbut was relatively unknown until this year when she took massive steps forward, running 16 seconds faster in the 1500 this year compared to her season's best last year.

She ended the season with a 3rd place finish in the 1500, beating out several big names and recording yet another PR in the process. She had been qualified to run the 800 as well, but her decision to focus on the 1500 paid off pretty well, earning her All-American honors for the first time.

7. Melissa Rowland, Junior, Tufts (+8 / 15)

Rowland came painstakingly close to winning a national title in the steeplechase, but was overtaken in the last 100 meters by Aubrie Fisher. However, it is important to credit the Tufts star for the season that she had, as none of us in March could have foreseen where she would be now. She placed herself on the national scene this season and put herself out there last Friday in what was likely the biggest race of her life. Ultimately, it earned her a new PR and national runner-up status.

6. Kassie Rosenbum, Senior, Loras (-2 / 4)

Kassie Rosenbum came into the national meet seeded 7th in the 5k and 2nd in the 10k and that is exactly how she finished. The 2019 10k champion was looking to defend her title, but it’s hard to stop the force that is Parley Hannan. Her 16:54 (5k) and 35:05 (10k) from this weekend are close to PRs and both are very respectable times. Rosenbum definitely took a step forward this outdoor season setting PRs in the 800, 1500, 5k and 10k. She looks to come back next year and grab that national title that eluded her this year.

5. Ella Baran, Junior, Johns Hopkins (+1 / 6)

Ella Baran came into this weekend with zero All American honors to her name and left with two 2nd place finishes. In the 1500, defeating the new D3 record holder was not going to be an easy task, but Baran came close. Her 4:23 was only two seconds off of Pomainville’s time and she was clear of 3rd place by about four seconds. Not to mention it was a PR as well.

She also had a PR in the 5k where she finished runner-up to Parley Hannan. After a year of not racing, Baran set big PRs in the 800, 1500, and 5k this season. Like Rosenbum, we will see her next year for her senior season where I am sure she has her eyes set on a national title.

4. Aubrie Fisher, Freshman, Wartburg (+1 / 5)

In one of the most exciting races of the weekend, Aubrie Fisher came back in a big way in the final 100 meters to win the women’s steeplechase title. The battle between her and Melissa Rowland was exciting and led them both to big PRs.

Fisher’s winning time of 10:30 was a PR of 11 seconds. Cutting big chunks of time off is pretty much what she had been doing all year in her first year running this event. Her 10th place finish in the 5k matched her seeding and coming back after winning a national title in your main event is not easy. With three more years of track eligibility left it will be exciting to see what Aubrie Fisher can do.

3. Parley Hannan, Sophomore, Ithaca (-1 / 2)

We found it highly difficult to separate the top-three in our rankings. Having the 5k and 10k champion (Parley Hannan) only ranked at TSR #3 doesn't feel right, but that's what happens when you have athletes like Emily Pomainville and Esther Seeland to consider.

Hannan is a massive name in D3 in her own right, and she had a big performance at Nationals where she comfortably won the 10k by 32 seconds and pulled away in the last 800 of the 5k to win by eight seconds. Scoring more than half of Ithaca's points on her own, she carried her team to a 4th place team finish.

2. Emily Pomainville, Junior, SUNY Geneseo (+1 / 3)

Emily Pomainville entered this season as a pretty decent Division 3 runner, but not somebody who could be considered competitive against any national level field. However, she walks away from this season as a national record holder and national champion in the 1500, as well as a national runner-up in the 800.

Her rise to the top has been almost unprecedented, and in most other years, she would get our TSR #1 ranking. Of course, this year we had a difficult decision to make, where we ultimately went with Seeland at our TSR #1 spot and Pomainville a very close TSR #2.

1. Esther Seeland, Sophomore, Messiah (0 / 1)

Choosing who should be TSR #1 between Hannan, Pomainville and Esther Seeland was not an easy decision, but ultimately we went with Esther Seeland for our TSR #1 ranking.

She was undoubtedly the best runner over 800 meters this year and came into the national meet and smashed it. Her 2:02.52 from the finals was three seconds faster than 2nd place, which was five seconds faster than the rest of the field. It was also the DIII national neet record and is 0.02 away from the Olympic Trials qualifying mark.

And let’s not forget that she also had the fastest 400 and the third-fastest 1500 in D3 this year, but chose to focus on the 800 at the national meet. It looks like that was a very good decision by her.