2022 D1 Indoor Top 25 Rankings (Women): Preseason (Part Two)

Written by Sam Ivanecky and Maura Beattie, additional contributions by Garrett Zatlin

Click here to see our Just Missed and Honorable Mention names.

Click here to read Part One of our women's D1 Indoor Top 25 Rankings

Listed eligibility takes redshirts and Covid-related extensions into consideration.

TFRRS is used as a general guide when determining eligibility.

13. Allie Schadler, Senior, Washington

Sometimes results only tell half the story. That’s the case when looking back on Schadler’s 2021 indoor track season.

Just like a handful of other collegiates, the Washington senior was balancing cross country and indoor track simultaneously -- and things were going great. Schadler finished the indoor regular season by setting new personal bests in the 3k (8:59) and the mile (4:31), establishing herself as an elite distance juggernaught in the process and qualifying for the indoor national meet.

She also qualified for the NCAA XC Championships which took place that March.

And of course, as we all remember, those two national meets were nothing alike for this Washington star.

At the NCAA Indoor Championships, Schadler was tripped up during the 3000 meters and wound up placing 15th overall despite being seeded much higher. Luckily, she would come back a few days later to finish 26th place at the cross country national meet, her highest finish ever...until this past fall when she placed 25th.

Now, Schadler enters the indoor season as one of the best runners across the board. Along with her mile and 3k marks, Schadler clocked a 5000 meter time of 15:33 in December of 2020 (outdoors), putting her amongst the best in the country.

Despite a poor finish to her outdoor season in 2021, this fall’s cross country performances proved to us that Schadler can bounce back. She has left us little room for doubt.

Speaking of bouncing back, her season opener at the Woo Pig Classic resulted in a modest time of 15:50 for 5000 meters. That's not a great result compared to what she has done in prior seasons, but it's also not worth fussing over.

Schadler has been excellent at getting past results like this and with months until it really matters, there’s no doubt that she will do it again.

12. Lindsey Butler, Junior, Virginia Tech

Hokie veteran Lindsey Butler finally got the chance last indoor season to prove why she belongs amongst the best middle distance runners in the NCAA.

Last winter, she burst onto the scene when she ran 2:04 for 800 meters at the Doc Hale Virginia Tech Elite Invitational. From there, her ceiling only got higher.

Butler went on to win the ACC Indoor Championships in an eye-popping time of 2:01, narrowly taking down national title contender Laurie Barton in the process. With that victory under her belt, Butler was immediately entered into the NCAA title contender conversation.

Ultimately, Butler concluded her 2020-2021 indoor season with a 4th place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships before earning her second All-American honors at the outdoor national meet with a 6th place finish, also in the 800 meters.

After a respectable cross country season for a middle distance runner, highlighted by an All-Region honor with a 22nd place finish, Butler will most likely benefit from her newly added strength this winter.

The Virginia Tech star could opt to stay down in the 800 meters and face the likes of Aaliyah Miller, Gabrielle Wilkinson, Claire Seymour and others...or she could utilize her newfound endurance and the fact that she has run 4:14 in the 1500 meters in order to move up to the mile.

Even so, the 800 meters will likely be the event that Butler pursues this year. She'll have her work cut out for her, but she's run fast enough and has taken down enough top names to be considered a major title contender if she's able to take the next step.

11. Gabrielle Wilkinson, Sophomore, Florida

Wilkinson took advantage of the classic sophomore leap last year when she improved her personal best in the 800 meters from 2:04 to 2:01. The prior is good, the latter is elite.

That improvement resulted in the Florida sophomore making her first national meet final, finishing 6th place overall at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships. She also made the outdoor final (where she ran her PR), finishing 3rd.

Heading into 2022, Wilkinson is the second-fastest returner behind Aaliyah Miller. However, what Wilkinson brings to the table that Miller doesn’t is range.

During the spring, we saw Wilkinson dabble in other events, notably the 1500 meters where she clocked a personal best of 4:14. That time isn’t going to win you any awards, but it’s enough to turn some heads.

At the end of the day, Wilkinson is still an 800 meter runner, but that 1500 meter effort may lead to her running a few miles this season.

The key to Wilkinson’s success this indoor season will likely hinge on consistency. She is a top caliber runner as is, but only ran under 2:04 twice in her seven races last winter. That led to a 6th place finish at Nationals.

During outdoors, she went under 2:04 in five of her eight races, leading to a bronze medal at the national meet.

If Wilkinson is able to maintain that consistency of running upper-echelon times, then we'll feel increasingly more confident about her ability to challenge Aaliyah Miller for the national title.

10. Claire Seymour, Sophomore, BYU

Seymour kinda came out of nowhere last winter when she was consistently knocking off time from her 800 meter personal best. Prior to the 2020-2021 indoor track season, the BYU Cougar owned a personal best of 2:07. However, by the end of the season, she had a 2:02 mark next to her name and a 5th place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships in an extremely deep 800 field.

Fast-forward to the outdoor track season and Seymour again impressed at the national meet. The Cougar middle distance ace wasn’t dropping spectacular times right away as she was stuck at the 2:05 mark.

However, at the West Regional Championships, Seymour found herself amongst the leaders, earning a spot on the line in Eugene. She capped off her “Covid freshman” season with another personal best of 2:01 and a 4th place All-American honor.

Seymour will need to either match or improve upon her 2020-2021 seasons to outpace reigning champion Aaliyah Miller and All-Americans Gabrielle Wilkinson and Lindsey Butler. It also wouldn't hurt to see her consistency throughout the entirety of a season improve, but that is less important when you consider how she is able to peak in the postseason so well.

This BYU star benefits greatly from the momentum riding high in Provo, as well as her speedy teammates that she trains with. With a wicked-fast personal best and the ability to peak when it matters the most, we think Seymour is one of the most underrated talented in the NCAA.

9. Bethany Hasz, Rs. Senior, Minnesota

Despite stacking successful national meet performances on top of each other, Bethany Hasz remains continually overlooked. Sure, Minnesota doesn’t boast the same name recognition of Oregon, BYU or Arkansas, but the Gopher senior has been amongst the best for years now.

Her first big performance was placing 10th in the 5000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2019. Since then, she’s finished 2nd, 8th, 3rd and 7th in national competitions.

And yet, it somehow feels like she’s constantly left out of the national title conversation.

So, let’s have that conversation.

The NCAA is full of talented women, but Hasz certainly fits into the uppermost tier. Last year, she sat at NCAA #7 in the 3000 meters, clocking a solo time of 8:59.

Again, solo.

Hasz was also ranked at NCAA #11 in the 5000 meters and owns a personal best of 15:25 in the event.

Of course, the easy criticism is what appears to be a lack of raw speed. Hasz has run 4:18 for 1500 meters which is solid, but it's not exactly elite compared to her peers.

And yet…that doesn’t seem to matter.

Go back to the opening paragraph. Raw speed or not, Hasz is there when it matters most.

The Golden Gopher star opened her 2022 indoor season with a modest time of 15:52 for 5000 meters at the Woo Pig Classic, a result that shouldn’t matter much given that it’s only December.

Historically, Hasz has run plenty of “fine” times during indoors, only to put it together at the National Championships. Similar to Apple in 1980, the time to buy Hasz’s stock is right now.

8. Mercy Chelangat, Junior, Alabama

Mercy Chelangat has yet to compete at an NCAA Indoor Championship. Her first indoor season at Alabama, when she broke onto the scene with a time of 15:37 for 5000 meters, was abruptly cancelled by the pandemic.

Chelangat wasn’t able to showcase her talent until the 2020-2021 cross country season and boy, did she make a statement after winning the SEC Championships, eventually taking the individual title at the NCAA XC Championships later in March.

Of course, the focus of these rankings isn’t cross country, so let’s look at Chelangat’s track resume.

The Alabama junior has a 5k personal best of 15:17 from this past outdoor track season. With a time like that, Chelanagat deserves a top-10 ranking, mainly because she could contend for an NCAA title even without it reaching her personal best. It also doesn't hurt that she's run 9:02 for 3000 meters.

On paper, this Alabama star is primed for major success. However, the indoor oval often involves tactics and speed. Is that something that would benefit Chelangat who appears to be best suited for fast paces?

I guess we'll find out...

7. Joyce Kimeli, Senior, Auburn

Auburn ace Joyce Kimeli opted to solely focus on the Indoor National Championships last year -- and that decision played in her favor as she picked up two All-American honors, including a national title.

The Auburn star won gold in the 5000 meters and came back the next night to pick-up bronze in the 3000 meters. Those performances validated a strong indoor campaign where Kiemli never finished outside of the top-three. And the best part? She seemingly peaked in the postseason when it mattered the most.

Now, if you can remember correctly, the indoor 5k at the national meet was a very strange race. No one seemed to want to take the lead or set the pace, and once Kimeli took over, the race slowed down to a jog before it suddenly became a mad dash to the finish.

Kimeli ended up running 15:48 and finished just ahead of a hard-charging Bethany Hasz, as well as Elly Henes. Kemli would then comeback the next day to run the 3000 meters where she finished just over a second behind winner Courtney Wayment, placing 3rd overall.

After a respectable 2021 cross country season -- which ended with a 16th place showing at the NCAA Championships -- Kimeli will look to seek another indoor NCAA title or two this winter if her race tactics from last year can be used again in 2022.

6. Ceili McCabe, Sophomore, West Virginia

West Virginia’s McCabe was a legitimate contender for the NCAA XC Championship title a few weeks ago and she didn’t disappoint when she finished 3rd in only the third national meet of her career.

Coming into this season, McCabe had only competed in three indoor races during her career as a Mountaineer...and only one of them was an individual race. She had a 3000 meter personal best of 9:25, but the WVU star most definitely has the capability to ride the 9:00 line.

Why should you believe that?

Because McCabe placed 6th in the steeplechase at the outdoor national meet in a time of 9:37 and she just dropped a 3000 meter personal best of 8:52 at Boston University, far exceeding any expectations that we had placed upon her.

Based on the way that the WVU ace has been performing as of late, a finish amongst the top-three in the 3k and/or 5k isn’t out of the question come March. She has proven that she can race alongside the best in the NCAA time and time again and truthfully hasn't given us much reason to doubt her.

Now, admittedly, we'll be curious to see how she handles the more tactical, speed-based races that often come with the indoor oval. However, as far as fitness goes, McCabe has everything she needs to be successful.

5. Julia Heymach, Senior, Stanford

Every season, there’s one runner who breaks out during indoors and in 2022.

Julia Heymach looks to be that runner.

Look, it might not be a true breakout since she’s already run incredibly well on the national stage, but she has run at exactly zero indoor national meets since coming to Stanford. Heymach has now finished 13th in cross country, twice (in the same year, too) and placed 6th in the 5000 meters at the outdoor national meet.

The talent is clearly there for this Stanford ace and this indoor season, she will likely have her arsenal of top times on full display.

Of the four women ranked above her, only Courtney Wayment potentially has more range. Heymach has run 2:02 for 800 meters, 4:09 for 1500 meters and 15:33 for 5k. She didn't race on the indoor oval last winter, but she notched a personal best of 4:33 in the mile during 2020 season before the pandemic cut the season short.

On paper, Heymach could qualify in any event from the 800 meters to the 5k, and she could win in any race scenario as well. She's held her own in fast races and has been at her best when she needs a fast finish. She can effectively double better than most distance runners in the NCAA and almost never has a poor race.

With the indoor season often being a chess match, Heymach will be in a great place for success this winter.

4. Aaliyah Miller, Senior, Baylor

It’s easy to understand why many people may have looked past Aaliyah Miller’s greatness last year. At the time, Athing Mu was shattering collegiate records and (eventually) winning Olympic gold.

Not the worst person’s shadow to be in...

Amidst all of that, Miller actually tied the previous indoor collegiate record for 800 meters when she ran 2:00.87 in March at the indoor national meet. The record was broken earlier in the year by Mu, leaving Miller sitting at NCAA #2 all-time in the history books.

Miller’s historic time also won her an individual national title in one of the most exciting races in recent memory. Now, she has a chance to repeat and become the first back-to-back champion since Raevyn Rogers in 2017.

The obvious concern with anyone in the 800 meters is that the event is chaotic.

Miller had a tough finish to her outdoor season, failing to even make the final at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. That result certainly doesn't boast a ton of confidence, but Miller still has the highest ceiling of anyone featuring in this event for 2022.

It’s often not a great approach, but for Miller, turning every race into a time trial may be the key to success this season.

3. Lauren Gregory, Junior, Arkansas

Arkansas Razorback Gregory was oh-so-close to an NCAA title during the indoor season in both the DMR and the 3000 meters before the BYU Cougars rained on her parade. Gregory had to settle with runner-up honors in both races, but given her continued success during the outdoor track and cross country seasons, Gregory should once again be vying for a national title.

Gregory has great range from the mile to the 5k with her listed marks being 4:32 (mile), 8:55 (3k) and 15:34 (5k).

The 2021 indoor season was fruitful for Gregory after she dealt with setbacks caused by injury in prior seasons. She was very consistent and was never fading out of the top-three any time she toed the line. If Gregory can do that again in 2022, then she'll have a shot at securing gold once again.

Of course, it's not just because she has great range and a ton of fast times. The Arkansas veteran also has tons of experience racing at NCAA Championships, earning All-American honors in the mile (2019), 3k (2019, 2021), DMR (2021) and cross country (2021).

The Razorback standout’s best chances at picking up a title this season will likely be in the 3k. However, her path to victory will not be simple. Gregory will be challenged by teammate Krissy Gear, BYU’s Courtney Wayment and a slew of up-and-coming 3k stars on her way to NCAA gold.

But anyone has the capability to take down those women, it's Gregory.

2. Krissy Gear, Senior, Arkansas

Last year, the discourse around Gear was whether or not she could beat Sage Hurta in the mile. Now, Hurta is gone and Gear remains.

The Arkansas veteran enters the season with a 4:31 mile personal best as well as a 1500 meter personal best of 4:09 from the outdoor season. When looking strictly at those distances, there isn't anyone in the nation who is a more complete runner.

Of course, being great in one event doesn’t earn you our TSR #2 ranking by itself. Gear is also a very solid 3k runner, a very respectable 800 meter runner and could be a feature piece in an Arkansas DMR squad that will be a national title favorite.

In 2021, Gear ran 9:08 over 3000 meters, putting her at NCAA #17 for that distance. She also finished 21st at the 2021 NCAA XC Championships last winter, validating the Arkansas standout as a high-aerobic long distance threat.

Oh, and did we mention that she's run 2:04 in the 800 meters?

What makes Gear a safe bet is how consistent she has been. In seven of her eight races across the 1500 meters and the mile, she has finished within three seconds of her personal best. Not many runners can match that, especially when you get to her level.

Showing solid progression over her previous three years, Gear has a great chance to join an exclusive club of women to break 4:30 while in school.

1. Courtney Wayment, Senior, BYU

Wayment, the reigning indoor 3k champion, is back for one final go-around this year. The BYU Cougar is in a league of her own after her dominant indoor track season during the 2020-2021 academic year. Wayment has some serious range from the 800 meters to the 5000 meters, boasting marks of 2:05 (800), 4:30 (mile), 8:54 (3k) and a recent time of 15:15 (5k) which came at Boston University.

Obviously, we don’t expect to see Wayment focus on the 800 meters this indoor season as her mile, 3k and 5k marks put her alongside the best women in the NCAA.

Without cross country eligibility this fall, the Cougar star was able to focus on building her aerobic capacity as well as her speed. She has gotten better every time we begin a new season and after a recent PR, it looks like that trend isn't stopping anytime soon.

After a superb outdoor track season, highlighted by a 9:23 steeplechase PR and a 4th place finish at the Olympic Trials, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Wayment not only repeat as the nation's 3k champion, but also run a faster time in that event as well.

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Maudie Skyring (Florida State)

Kaley Richards (UMass Lowell)

Hannah Steelman (NC State)

Lexy Halladay (BYU)

Alexandra Hayes (NC State)

Katy-Ann McDonald (LSU)

Kaley Delay (Yale)

Allie Guagenti (Ohio State)

Sarah Hendrick (Kennesaw State)

Lauren Ryan (Florida State)

Leigha Torino (Virginia Tech)

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)

Stephanie Cotter (Northern Arizona)

Carley Thomas (Washington)

Adva Cohen (New Mexico)

Aubrey Frentheway (BYU)

Megan Hasz (Minnesota)

Simone Plourde (Utah)

McKenna Keegan (Villanova)

Olivia Howell (Illinois)

Parker Valby (Florida)

Taryn O’Neill (Northern Arizona)

Presley Weems (Auburn)

Emma Heckel ( New Mexico)

Key Notes

Oregon is expected to bring in Aussie superstar Keely Small to their program come January. The middle distance phenom boasts credentials that could put her in the NCAA title conversation in multiple events.

The future Duck has run times of 54.97 (400m), 2:00.81 (800m), 2:38 (1000m), 4:07 (1500m) and 4:33 (mile). Clearly, Small is an elite-level talent who could instantly make a major impact on the NCAA.

However, Small sustained a L5 stress fracture back in March. Since then, she hasn't toed the line for a single race.

While we certainly believe that Small is deserving a ranking, we simply need to wait and see her toe the line again before we can put her in our Top 25.

We also want to note that Arkansas' Shafiqua Maloney is not in these rankings. On paper, the Razorback middle distance star is strong enough to be in our Top 25.

However, despite being granted additional eligibility from the pandemic last winter and being listed on Arkansas' roster, Maloney only raced unattached in the team's home-opener earlier this month.

Because of that, we opted to leave Maloney out of our rankings until it becomes clear whether or not she will be racing in a Razorback singlet this winter.