2022 D1 Indoor Top 25 Rankings (Women): Update #2

Additional contributions by Garrett Zatlin

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

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

TFRRS is used as a general guide when determining eligibility.

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.

25. Valery Tobias, Junior, Texas (Unranked)

Tobias has been quietly putting together a solid season and it’s starting to pay off as she enters our rankings this week following a 2:03 flat-track converted 800 meter time at Camel City.

Since debuting for Texas in 2019, Tobias has steadily progressed from a 2:15 runner to now a 2:03 runner, with a few more seconds being knocked off in just this season alone.

The Longhorn junior finished 4th overall at that Camel City meet this past weekend, finishing as the second collegiate athlete behind Virginia Tech’s Lindsey Butler. However, what's maybe more important to note is the fact that she also beat accomplished 800 meter standouts in Isabella Giesing and Megan Marvin.

Tobias might not have a victory under her belt this season, but she has finished amongst the top-two in her two other previous 800 meter races this season, proving that her consistency can translate to improvements and strong results.

Tobias has momentum heading into the second portion of the indoor season, and will most likely have some extra confidence this week when she sees herself ranked at NCAA #3 on the national leaderboard.

24. Allie Schadler, Senior, Washington (-2 / 22)

Washington’s Allie Schadler drops a few places in our rankings this week after respectable performances in the mile and the DMR.

I’m sure you’re wondering how we could drop someone who runs 4:35 in the open mile and anchors the DMR to an 11:00 finishing time, but there are just too many top performances by other women who are turning heads.

Schadler is currently ranked at NCAA #7 in the mile, NCAA #17 in the 5000 meters and NCAA #38 in the 3000 meters on the national leaderboard. Those are solid positions, but the fact of the matter is that Schadler can run much faster than she already has. Her personal bests from last year support that assertion.

The longer distances are usually Schadler’s forte, but to look for NCAA qualifying times, the Washington senior will need to pick up some momentum over the next few weeks and hope that the rest of the country doesn't push her out of a national qualifying position.

23. Claire Seymour, Sophomore, BYU (-6 / 17)

In her first open event of the season, BYU’s Claire Seymour earned herself to 2nd place finish in the 800 meters at Columbia’s Dr. Sander Invitational. Seymour finished with a respectable time of 2:04, two seconds behind former Colorado runner and current OAC professional Sage Hurta.

Still, it left us wanting more.

Seymour will need to channel her 2:01 PR to ensure that she safely qualifies for the NCAA Indoor Championships. The sophomore currently sits at NCAA #14 on the national leaderboard for the 800 meters. At this point in the season, that mark won't hold for a national qualifying spot.

The BYU middle distance standout competed at both the indoor and outdoor national meets last year, finishing 5th during indoors and 4th during outdoors to earn All-American honors in both of her appearances.

Seymour clearly has the talent and experience to be a national-caliber star and an All-American yet again. However, she just needs to find that perfect race to solidify her spot to the indoor national meet.

Prior to this 800 meter effort, Seymour had only run a leg of BYU's DMR at the UW Invite. The Cougars' relay might get into the NCAA Indoor Championships with their 11:06 performance, potentially giving Seymour a chance to help the Cougars defend their 2021 NCAA DMR title.

However, assuming Seymour qualifies for the indoor national meet individually, then she'll be in an interesting predicament where she has to balance her relay and individual priorities at the national meet.

22. Jenna Magness, Junior, Michigan State (-3 / 19)

Only dropping a few places in our rankings this week is Michigan State’s Jenna Magness who posted a respectable 3k performance at the Indiana University Relays two weekends ago. The Michigan State veteran recorded a new PR of 9:05 in the event, chopping off 15 seconds in the process.

But the catch? She finished less than one second behind Sintayehu Vissa of Ole Miss.

Magness' 3000 meter time is just outside of the top-16 on the national leaderboard, so if she wants to make it to the postseason in this event, then she will need to drop her time closer to sub-9:00.

However, there's an additional caveat to consider. This Michigan State star has yet to contest the 5000 meters this season, a distance that she owns a personal best of 15:32 in. The Spartans have a few quality meets coming up on their schedule, but trying to find a fast 5k could be a challenge regardless of how good someone like Magness is.

Does that mean Magness goes after another quick 3k in an attempt to build on her latest result? Or is it clear that the 3k isn't her primary distance (as shown by a loss to Vissa) and that the 5k should still be the main goal?

Your guess is as good as ours...

21. Katelyn Tuohy, Freshman, NC State (-5 / 16)

NC State’s Tuohy has yet to race in 2022. Her teammates have been tearing up the track as of late, throwing down great marks at Virginia Tech and Camel City. However, the young NC State phenom has been missing in action.

Tuohy drops in our rankings, but still remains in our Top 25 given that she did run 8:54 for 3000 meters back in December’s Boston University indoor season opener meet.

20. Katie Camarena, Senior, Portland State (Unranked)

Welcome to the rankings, Katie Camarena! Following her 4:34 mile performance at the UW Invite, the Portland State runner is making her TSR ranking debut.

Camarena is in her first year as a PSU Viking after transitioning from UC Santa Barbara and is already making a lasting impact.

So far this academic year, Camarena has qualified for the cross country national meet and has recorded new personal bests in the mile, 3000 meters and 5000 meters. She went from 5:09 to 4:34 in the mile, 9:19 to 9:16 in the 3000 meters and 16:29 to 15:51 in the 5000 meters.

That amount of progress is incredible, especially in the mile and the 5k.

Clearly, Camarena is capable of competing alongside the nation’s best with her mile time. That, however, is something that we could have anticipated given her 1500 meter success from last spring when she ran 4:13.

This Portland State runner has quickly brought her name to the table when NCAA Championship contenders are in discussion. Our only uncertainty, however, is whether or not Camarena’s lack of national meet experience will hinder her postseason success in March.

19. Cailie Logue, Senior, Iowa State (+5 / 24)

Iowa State’s Cailie Logue is still riding the high of her cross country season when she finished 4th at the NCAA XC Championships this past fall.

At the Razorback Invitational, Logue ran a new 3000 meter PR of 9:03, knocking off seven seconds from her previous time. Not only that, but she earned that victory, holding off Oklahoma State’s Gabby Hentemann who was close behind.

That 9:03 mark from Logue currently puts her at NCAA #14 on the national leaderboard.

Logue has now run the 1000 meters, the mile and the 3000 meters this indoor season. Is she slowly moving up in distance to the 5000 meters, one of her main events, which she could run at the Iowa State Classic?

On paper, that would make a ton of sense if that was the case.

18. Julia Heymach, Senior, Stanford (-6 / 12)

Heymach drops in our rankings this week after her most recent performance at the Razorback Invitational during the final weekend of January.

The standout Cardinal senior ran a modest 2:06 mark in the 800 meters, finishing 6th overall. That time is four seconds off of Heymach’s personal best from the 2021 outdoor season.

Heymach has proven that she has range from the 800 meters up to the 5000 meters, but she has yet to contest another event outside of that 800 meter effort this season. If she takes to the track in either the mile or the 3000 meters, a big performance could be on tap if Heymach brings her "A" game.

The only question is...when will that be?

17. Joyce Kimeli, Senior, Auburn (-9 /8)

Auburn’s Joyce Kimeli, the reigning indoor 5000 meter champion, drops in our rankings this week after a rocky race at the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational in the 3000 meters. Kimeli finished 5th overall in that 3k battle with a time of 9:14, a mark that was 12 seconds behind Bethany Hasz of Minnesota, the winner.

Her finishing time of 9:14 was also well off her personal best mark of 8:56.

Now, we do have to take into consideration that this was Kimeli’s first race back since her 15:43 (5k) effort at that Boston University season opening meet back in December. However, the Auburn senior will need to greatly improve upon that 3k time if she wants to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in said event.

Not only that, but Kimeli currently sits at NCAA #13 in the 5000 meters, a position that isn't exactly safe to be in with three weeks left to go before the indoor national meet. In other words, the clock is ticking for Kimeli given where she stands on the national leaderboard and it's hard to be optimistic. That's why she falls so heavily in our rankings this week.

16. Aurora Rynda, Senior, Michigan (Unranked)

When you run 2:02 in the 800 meters, expect to find yourself ranked.

Michigan’s Aurora Rynda is no longer a sleeper pick. After a breakout postseason last spring and another electric performance this past weekend, Rynda is now in the discussion to be an All-American this winter...and maybe even more. She owns a personal best of 2:01 from the 2021 outdoor track season and has clearly shown us that her 2:01 race was no fluke.

At the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational, Rynda easily won the race by three seconds over B1G 10 rival and national qualifier Mallory King of Iowa.

Rynda has now made a name for herself in the NCAA as she is headlining the top spot on the national leaderboard. She has experience competing at National Championships, both indoors and outdoors, and could earn her first individual All-American honor if she follows her Meyo Invitational 800 meter race plan throughout the rest of the season.

15. Samantha Bush, Sophomore, NC State (-2 / 14)

Riding the wave of NC State momentum is Samantha Bush after her 4:37 flat-track converted mile at Camel City. Bush finished 4th in that mile race, less than two seconds behind winner and former teammate, Elly Henes. She was also less than one second behind fellow collegiate Ellie Leather of Cincinnati.

Bush’s converted time of 4:37 was a 10-second PR from the 2021 ACC Indoor Championships. That converted mile PR might not be enough to get Bush into the NCAA Indoor Championships, but it still extends her streak of great performances and it gives her some important leg speed which can be important on the national stage in a race like the 3000 meters.

14. Aaliyah Miller, Senior, Baylor (-10 / 4)

For the second time this season, the reigning indoor champion in the 800 meters didn’t contest an open event. Miller teamed up with her Baylor teammates to compete on the 4x400 meter relay and on a DMR at Kentucky.

When will Miller open up her season in the 800 meters? Is she still in the conversation to win her second NCAA title come March? How fast will she be when she opens up her season in the 800 meters?

I guess we'll have to wait and see...

13. Ceili McCabe, Sophomore, West Virginia (-7 / 6)

It’s hard to know where McCabe is right now given that she hasn’t raced since the Boston University season opener meet back in December. She remains in our rankings as her 8:52 mark for 3000 meters is still one of the NCAA’s best overall distance times.

12. Sintayehu Vissa, Junior, Ole Miss (+3 / 15)

After her jaw-dropping 4:32 mile time at Vanderbilt, the rising Ole Miss star once again impressed when she won the 3000 meters at the Indiana University Relays the day after running the 800 meter leg for her DMR.

In that 3000 meter race, Vissa took down Michigan State’s Jenna Magness, 9:04 to 9:05.

Vissa’s speed over the 800 meters and the mile likely gave her the advantage against Magness as she was able to perfectly mesh her middle distance turnover and cross country All-American endurance into a race plan that was good enough to upset a star talent like Magness.

This was Vissa’s first completed 3k on the track and it was clearly successful. With this time, she currently sits just outside of the top-16 on the national leaderboard, but with some experience now in the event, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Vissa dip below 9:00 over the next few weeks.

11. Taylor Roe, Junior, Oklahoma State (+9 / 20)

Oklahoma State’s Taylor Roe makes a solid jump up in our rankings this week after winning the mile at the Razorback Invitational in a new PR of 4:34, a five-second improvement from 2021 performance. Roe’s win came the day after she anchored the Cowgirl’s to a runner-up finish in the DMR in a time of 11:05.

In the mile, Roe battled with Lauren Gregory (Arkansas) for the win and ultimately beat her by less than a second, swinging off the curve and using her momentum to scorch past Gregory.

It should be noted that this was Roe's first race back since recording an 8:58 mark for 3000 meters at the Woo Pig Classic back in December, another race she won.

Right now, Roe is on fire. A early-season statement win in the 3000 meters against an underrated field was exciting, but moving down closer to one of Gregory's best events (depending on the year) and upsetting the Arkansas runner on her home track is VERY impressive.

Momentum is on the side of Roe and right now, she looks like one challenging runner to beat.

10. Parker Valby, Freshman, Florida (Unranked)

It only took only one 3k performance for Florida’s Parker Valby to reach our top-10. At Kentucky, the Gator rookie not only won the 3000 meters in convincing fashion, but she also recorded an incredible 8:53 finishing time, 17 seconds ahead of runner-up.

Before this academic year even began, expectations weren’t exactly high for Valby this indoor season as she entered the winter months without any indoor track performances and only one modest 17:14 (5k) mark from the 2021 outdoor track season.

However, things began to change during the 2021 cross country season for the Florida Gator.

Valby gained momentum on the grass during the championship season when she finished 4th at the SEC XC Championships and then followed that up with a 2nd place finish at the South Regional XC Championships. The freshman ultimately went on to finish 27th at the NCAA XC Championships, earning All-American honors thanks to her gutsy and aggressive front-running.

Valby’s ceiling is clearly very high which is partially a result of her youth. It would be very interesting to see how she would do in the mile or the 5k, the latter of which she could potentially solo given how easily she soloed her latest 3k time.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Valby contest the 3k/DMR double at the indoor national meet, but we'll be very curious to see how she handles the tactics of the NCAA Indoor Championships. Will her front-running tactics still be utilized? Or will she be a bit more conservative with her approach?

9. Lindsey Butler, Junior, Virginia Tech (+1 / 10)

After running personal bests in the 1000 meters and the 600 meters in the month of January, Virginia Tech’s half-mile specialist finally debuted in her main event. At the Camel City Invitational, Butler finished 3rd overall behind two professionals en route to a flat-track converted time of 2:03.

Butler has experience competing against some of the best 800 meter women in the country, as evidenced by her 4th place and 6th place finishes at the NCAA Championships. The Hokie junior is ranked at NCAA #2 this season in the 800 meters and is proving that she a force to be reckoned with yet again.

We don't know where in the All-American spots she'll finish, but given her incredible consistency, extensive experience, ability to win and past success, Butler is probably one of the safest picks in the NCAA to be an All-American come March.

8. Bethany Hasz, Rs. Senior, Minnesota (+1 / 9)

We were getting a little nervous that Minnesota’s Hasz was nursing an injury as she hadn’t raced since her 15:52 (5k) at December’s Woo Pig Classic. However, we were able to let out a sigh of relief when we saw her taking home a win amongst a strong 3k field at Notre Dame’s Meyo Invitational.

Hasz recorded a winning time of 9:02, just a mere three seconds off of her 8:59 PR. Hasz was rewarded with a top-12 time in the 3k this season on the national leaderboard.

However, the Minnesota standout’s better distance is the 5k and she will need to improve upon her current seasonal best if she hopes to improve her 3rd place finish from last spring in the same event.

Hasz, much like Butler, is one of the more reliable and experienced All-American veterans in her respective events. She can be a major factor on the national stage, but her best chance of doing that would be in the 5000 meters and right now, not even scratches would be enough to qualify this Golden Gopher for the indoor national meet at that distance.

7. Shafiqua Maloney, Rs. Senior, Arkansas (+4 / 11)

At the Razorback Invitational, Maloney teamed up with Krissy Gear, Britton Wilson, and Lauren Gregory to record the third-best DMR in NCAA history when they ran a remarkable time of 10:51. The Razorbacks and Maloney ran away with the win, bettering runner-up Oklahoma State by 14 seconds.

Maloney, the half-mile standout for Arkansas, got the baton and split 2:01. This split is Maloney’s fastest 800 time of the season as she has run a respectable 2:04 in the open 800 meters this winter.

With her 2:01 split and consistently fast marks in the 400 this season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Maloney drop her current 800 season best closer to the two minute mark. The problem, however, is that we don't now when Maloney is going to run another 800.

If we had to guess, it's going to be sooner rather than later.

6. Emily Mackay, Senior, Binghamton (+7 / 13)

What else does Binghamton’s Mackay need to do to prove that she is one of the NCAA’s best this season?

As of right now, Mackay has four top-14 times in the NCAA according to the national leaderboard. And yes, you read that correctly, four: the 800 (NCAA #11), the mile (NCAA #1), the 3000 meters (NCAA #6), and the 5000 meters (NCAA #14).

Week after week, Mackay only solidifies her range and it’s making it hard to determine which event(s) she will choose to focus on later in the season.

Since our last rankings update, the Binghamton senior has run 8:54 in the 3000 meters, finishing 3rd amongst a field of professionals at Boston University's John Thomas Terrier Classic. That performance was a jaw-dropping 1:06 improvement off of her previous best.

Meanwhile, Mackay’s 2:04 (800) and 4:32 (mile) speed, as well as her 15:42 (5k) endurance, gives her an incredible array of tactical racing weapons that she can use at her disposal come the indoor national meet in March.

Despite only a few weeks remaining before the NCAA Indoor Championships, Mackay has already had a season worth applauding.

5. Mercy Chelangat, Junior, Alabama (0 / 5)

Alabama's Chelangat has only raced once this indoor track season, a solo 15:34 effort at Samford back in mid-January. As we enter the final few weeks leading up to the NCAA Indoor Championships, will Chelangat contest a 3k?

4. Krissy Gear, Senior, Arkansas (-2 / 2)

Moving down two spots in our rankings this week is Gear. Her performances at the Razorback Invitational were not bad by any means, they just weren’t what we were expecting from Gear.

The Arkansas senior began her weekend by leading off a DMR for the Razorbacks. She split 3:22 on the 1200 meter leg, getting Arkansas off to a remarkable start before the team finished with a time of 10:51, the third-best DMR time in NCAA history.

The next day, Gear came back for the 800 meters. She currently has a PR of 2:04, but at the Razorback Invitational, she only managed a time of 2:06 and finished 7th overall.

Gear will be in the conversation to win the mile in March if she is in similar shape as her 2021 season when she ran her 4:31 PR and finished runner-up at the indoor national meet. She has yet to contest the mile this season, but there is still plenty of time before the NCAA Championships to pick up that qualifying time.

3. Lauren Gregory, Junior, Arkansas (0 / 3)

On her home track at Razorback Invitational, Gregory recorded two strong performances in both the mile and the DMR.

On night one, Gregory teamed up with a strong quartet of Razorbacks and ran away from the field en route to a 10:51 finishing time, school and meet record, and the NCAA’s third-best time in DMR history. Gregory’s leg was run solo as she finished 14 seconds ahead of Taylor Roe and her Oklahoma State teammates.

The next day, Gregory and Roe duked it out in the mile, but Roe ended up getting the better of Gregory at the line. Roe finished in a time of 4:34.35 while Gregory was right behind in 4:35.10.

While that loss certainly isn't ideal, especially for someone who we have ranked so highly, it was clear that Gregory was being paced to a 4:32 mark (her PR) and that she just fell off the pace. If this was more of a head-to-head matchup, then Gregory may have been able to edge Roe.

So for that reason, we're not going to penalize Gregory, but we're not going to advance her ranking, either.

With top NCAA times in the mile and the 5k this season, will a big-time 3k performance be next for Gregory? The 3000 meters is clearly her marquee event and she's one of the few women who could challenge Wayment this season...maybe.

2. Kelsey Chmiel, Junior, NC State (+5 / 7)

As the indoor season nears mid-February, NC State’s Kelsey Chmiel continues to blaze a trail and is leaving others to eat her dust. In as many races as she has run this indoor season, Chmiel has set a personal best in all four: the 1000 meters, the mile, the 3000 meters and the 5000 meters.

Of these four races, her 3000 meter race was the effort where Chmiel saw a huge improvement in after finishing runner-up at Camel City. The Wolfpack star finished just behind winner, and former teammate, Elly Henes in a flat-track converted 8:55.

This time was an eye-popping 15 seconds better than her previous PR. Not only that, but what makes it even better was that Chmiel led two current teammates, Alex Hays and Savannah Shaw, to remarkable finishes as well.

As of right now, Chmiel is ranked in the top-eight in the three NCAA contested events on the national leaderboard. It’s unlikely that Chmiel will enter the mile at the indoor national meet, but as for the 3k and 5k, that double is VERY doable (and even expected) for this NC State junior.

It's not surprising that Chmiel is running well this season. However, to see her run as fast as she has in both of those events, take down star names and flex her range in both the 1000 meters and the mile gives Chmiel a resume that most women don't want to mess with.

1. Courtney Wayment, Senior, BYU (0 / 1)

Remaining at the top this week is BYU’s Courtney Wayment after recording a time of 8:50 for 3000 meters at the Millrose Games. With this performance, and her 15:15 mark for 5000 meters from back in December, Wayment sits atop the national leaderboard in both of those loaded long distance events.

Wayment’s latest 3k performance saw her finish 6th amongst a field of professional athletes at the Millrose Games. Despite the pacing craziness and world-class talent ahead of her, Wayment held her own and was awarded with the sixth-best 3k time in NCAA history.

This BYU veteran is obviously in the conversation to win the 3k/5k double at the indoor national meet come next month. However, we could also see Wayment opt to join the BYU DMR if her team maintains a top-12 time nationally in the event.

KICKED OFF

Grace Forbes (Rice)

Lauren Ryan (Florida State)

Madison Heisterman (Washington)

Gabrielle Wilkinson (Florida)

ADDED

Parker Valby (Florida) Aurora Rynda (Michigan)

Katie Camarena (Portland State)

Valery Tobias (Texas)

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Grace Forbes (Rice)

Lauren Ryan (Florida State)

Madison Heisterman (Washington)

Gabrielle Wilkinson (Florida)

Maudie Skyring (Florida State)

Kaley Richards (UMass Lowell)

Lexy Halladay (BYU)

Alexandra Hayes (NC State)

Katy-Ann McDonald (LSU)

Kaley Delay (Yale)

Sarah Hendrick (Kennesaw State)

Maddy Denner (Notre Dame)

Aneta Konieczek (Oregon)

Kennedy Thomson (Arkansas)

Savannah Shaw (NC State)

Quinn Owen (Arkansas)

Allison Johnson (Penn State)

Ellie Leather (Cincinnati)

Shannon Flockhart (Providence)

Alexandra Carlson (Rutgers)

Nicole Fegans (Georgia Tech)

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)

Carley Thomas (Washington)

Adva Cohen (New Mexico)

Aubrey Frentheway (BYU)

Megan Hasz (Minnesota)

Olivia Howell (Illinois)

Taryn O’Neill (Northern Arizona)

Presley Weems (Auburn)

Emma Heckel (New Mexico)

Brooke Jarwoski (Texas)

Mia Barnett (Virginia)

Grace Jensen (Vanderbilt)

Imogen Barrett (Florida)

Abbe Goldstein (New Mexico)

Mia Nahom (Connecticut)

Anna Gibson (Washington)

Victoria Tachinski (Penn State)