2022 D2 Indoor Top 25 Rankings (Women): Preseason (Part Two)

Sam Ivanecky
Dec 19, 2021
14 min read

Updated: Jan 10, 2022

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

Click here to see Part One of our rankings.

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

TFRRS is used as a general guide when determining eligibility.

13. Elizabeth Acheson, Freshman, U-Mary

As a freshman, Acheson displayed a level of consistency that’s rarely found in new collegiate runners. Between indoor track and outdoor track, she contested the 800 meters a total of 12 times. Of those 12 instances, she ran faster than 2:12 a whopping eight times.

Sure, 2:12 isn’t anything jaw-dropping, but only eight women ran faster than that on the indoor oval last winter. In an event that tends to be chaotic, Acheson was atypically reliable.

What Acheson needs to show in 2022 is her ability to run with the top women. Her personal best is 2:08, a mark she has hit twice (both times during outdoor track). Those two performances are the only times when Acheson has gone under 2:11.

So while she may be consistent, her top-end could use some work.

Based on conversions, Acheson actually clocked a time of 2:09.75 last indoor season, but it can be hard to identify how often conversions are indicative of the performance itself.

The other factor that Acheson does have is the ability to compete. As only a freshman, she placed 4th at the indoor national meet and 5th at the outdoor national meet in 2021. In what can be a tactical minefield, Acheson displayed great poise for her first collegiate season.

If she is able to consistently clock under 2:10, she could play spoiler to some of the veterans with title aspirations.

12. Jessica Gockley, Rs. Senior, Grand Valley State

Throughout her career at Grand Valley State, Gockley has been steadily climbing the ranks of the NCAA. In 2019, she qualified for the indoor national meet in two events, but placed well outside the top-10 in both attempts.

Her outdoor season then saw a big breakthrough when the distances went up, finishing 4th in the 10k at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Skipping through the COVID season of 2020, Gockley came back in 2021 as a new runner. She set personal bests in every event between indoor and outdoor track, earning a spot on the starting line of three national races.

At the NCAA Indoor Championships, Gockley placed 6th in the 3000 meters and 5th in the 5000 meters, improving on her previous finishes by 11-places and eight-places, respectively. Her outdoor finishes were equally as impressive, earning 7th place in the 5000 meters and another 4th place finish in the 10,000 meters.

At this stage, Gockley has hit a bit of a plateau in her career. She continues to finish well at national meets, but her personal bests don’t necessarily stack up against the uppermost tier of women. That's not a terrible thing, especially when she's consistently earning All-American honors, but we do think she has more to offer.

If nothing changes, there’s a fair chance that this GVSU star will finish in the 5th place to 10th place range at the national meet yet again this winter. That's a solid result, but like we said earlier, we think she's capable of more.

If she's able to cut a few seconds off of her 3k and 5k marks, then Gockley could very well contend for a top-three finish at the national meet.

11. PJ English, Junior, Augustana (SD)

Unlike a number of women in these rankings, English does not have a clear cut event heading into the indoor season. She was stellar in the middle distances last season, helping Augustana to a 4th place finish in the DMR and earning an individual 5th place finish in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Her outdoor season then took a turn, seeing English focus on the 5k rather than the 1500. The end result was a 14th place finish at Nationals -- solid, but certainly not as strong as her indoor national meet results.

Although the immediate result of the jump in distance was underwhelming, the shift appeared to pay dividends this fall. English blew away expectations on the cross country course and had the best season of her collegiate career, culminating in a 28th place finish at Nationals. Her only previous result from the national meet was a 72nd place run in 2019.

Clearly, the shift during outdoors was paying off.

Which leaves us here. Last time we saw English on the indoor track, she was focusing heavily on the middle distances. Now, that may have changed. The hard part is figuring out what exactly that looks like. Her personal best in the 3k is only 9:57 and her indoor 5k is over a minute off of her outdoor best. It’s apparent that the talent is there for English, but the question is how it translates.

If English continues to trend the way she was during cross country, then she should contend for an All-American finish this winter. She could also come back and run the mile given that she was 5th in that event back in 2021.

Realistically, we’ll be waiting to see what direction she leans, but her development in recent years sets her up for an interesting 2022.

10. Zoe Baker, Junior, Colorado Mines

When evaluating athletes, especially in distance running, it can be incredibly easy to anchor your opinion to their most recent result. Take Zoe Baker, for example. Baker has been a very strong runner in recent years, but is coming off a 25th place at the NCAA XC Championships.

The easy reaction is to worry about her heading into indoor season.

But is it the right reaction?

Let’s ignore that one result. Baker was the only woman to be ranked in the top-11 of the NCAA rankings across three distance events last winter. Those weren’t hollow rankings, either. Baker went on to finish 3rd place in the 5000 meters and 8th place in the 3000 meters at the indoor national meet. And she didn’t stop there.

Between indoor and outdoor track, Baker set personal bests in every event from the 1500 meters to the 10k. She also qualified for Nationals in the 10k, finishing in 7th place.

The shift to the 10k outdoor was actually a bit peculiar given how well she had done in the 5k during the indoor track season. It may have just been Baker trying out a new event and testing her legs, but the clear choice this winter should be to run it back from 2021.

The fields this season are already looking deeper than they were in 2021, but Baker should be a contender for a top-five finish in the 5000 meters this year. Even if her most recent result wasn’t spectacular, she is still a top-tier runner in 2021 and looks to be steadily rising.

9. Hailey Streff, Senior, CSU-Pueblo

Another year, another indoor track season where Hailey Streff will likely be a major player. This RMAC veteran has been a dynamic distance talent for a while now, owning personal bests of 2:09 (800) and 4:51 (mile).

However, if you include conversions, Streff has actually run 2:08 for 800 meters. We also can't ignore her personal best of 4:20 for 1500 meters from last spring.

Of course, Streff is more than just a dynamic speed-oriented talent. The CSU-Pueblo has blistering finishing speed and has found a way to capitalize on the biggest moments of her career. Last year, she was runner-up in the mile to Stephanie Cotter at the indoor national meet before going to the outdoor national meet where she placed 5th in the 1500 meters.

Streff is a quietly great tactician and her resume gives her all of the tools to be successful.

8. Taryn Chapko, Freshman, Grand Valley State

It’s not uncommon for freshmen to tail-off during the outdoor season in their first year of NCAA competition. Compared to high school, the cumulative season tends to be longer and the level of competition is higher.

While Chapko still finished 2021 by making the national meet, her performances during the spring were tough to match compared to what she did during the winter. Of course, that's likely because Chapko set the bar incredibly high on the indoor oval.

Now, with a year of experience under her belt, expectations are a bit higher.

Chapko was the “Swiss Army Knife” of the GVSU roster last year. She competed in three events (DMR, 4x400, 800) at the indoor national meet and two events (800, 4x400) at the outdoor outdoor national meet. She helped the the Laker's DMR to a national title and placed 3rd in the 800 meters at last year's NCAA Indoor Championships.

That finish matched her ranking on the NCAA performance list for 800 meters, validating her position as a top tier middle-distance runner.

Her outdoor season was solid, but a bit underwhelming coming off of a strong indoor campaign. Chapko was ranked at only NCAA #14 amongst 800 marks, matching her indoor personal best of 2:09. Despite that, she managed to advance to the 800 meter final at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and finish 8th.

In order for Chapko to reach the next level, she will need to lower her personal best for 800 meters. She already adds plenty of value for Grand Valley State through her versatility across multiple events, but running 2:09 will only get you so far.

The 800 looks to be getting deeper in 2022 and for Chapko to realistically contend for a title, she will need to move into the 2:05 to 2:06 range. Given that she’s still relatively young, there should be plenty of opportunities for development on the horizon.

7. Florance Uwajeneza, Junior, West Texas A&M

Uwajeneza arguably has the best range amongst the elite women in Division 2. She competed in the 3k, 5k and DMR at last year’s NCAA Indoor Championships before turning to the 5k/10k double at the outdoor national meet. Granted, the DMR is a relay, but within six months, the West Texas A&M junior was racing both a mile and a 10k on the national stage.

That, in and of itself, is impressive.

What’s more impressive is that Uwajeneza is a legitimate title contender in her events. At the last year's NCAA Indoor Championships, she was the 4th place finisher in the 3000 meters and the runner-up in the 5000 meters, giving her the highest average finish of the women who completed that double.

Her outdoor season ended in less than ideal fashion, finishing 10th in the 10,000 meters and dropping out of the 5000 meters at the outdoor national meet. That would have been concerning if she hadn’t bounced back this cross country season.

Without missing a beat, Uwajeneza won three of her six races this past fall, ending the season with a 9th place run at the NCAA XC Championships.

Momentum is a very real thing in running and right now, Uwajeneza has it. Her personal bests aren’t quite good enough to earn a top-five ranking, but if she’s able to reset them this winter, then she could be a dark horse for a national title.

6. Allie Ludge, Rs. Senior, Grand Valley State

“Close, but no cigar” is a nice way to sum up Allie Ludge’s pursuit of an individual NCAA title. Going into her seventh year at Grand Valley State, Ludge has competed in an individual NCAA Championship event 12 times.

Of those 12 times, five of those results were top-five finishes and another two were top-10 finishes. At some point, we have to wonder if an individual national title will ever be granted to Ludge. Of course, there’s no reason why it couldn’t this year, even if the deck is stacked against her.

With the possible exception of Celine Ritter, there isn't a D2 distance runner right now who is more experienced, versatile and as fast as Ludge has proven to be.

Look, Ludge has been an incredible runner. She’s the only woman in Division 2 right now with a mile personal best under 4:40. Across the board, she has middle distance marks that stand with the best in the country.

That said, there has been some inconsistency. That mile mark came in February of 2020. Since then, Ludge hasn’t broken 4:50, something she had done three times prior. In fact, every personal best besides the 1500 was set prior to that race.

This isn’t to say that Ludge won’t be good in 2022, because she most certainly will be. She’s already run 9:27 for 3000 meters which would have put her at NCAA #2 in the event last winter. The talent that has helped her get into all of those NCAA Championships is likely going to get her into another one this season.

What’s less certain is her shot at a title.

Unlike some of her counterparts, Ludge hasn’t always been getting significantly better in recent seasons. She’s a reliable bet to finish as an All-American, but we're still unsure on her securing NCAA gold.

Regardless, Ludge is ranked here because her floor is higher than the majority of people’s ceilings (and that's a good thing). We have no doubts that she's capable of walking away with a national title this year, it's just a matter of whether or not that will actually happen this winter.

5. Yasmine Hernandez, Senior, CSU-Pueblo

Declaring a title favorite for the indoor 800 meters is generally an ill-advised move given the chaotic tactics that ensue every time this event is contested. With that said, Hernandez is arguably one of two favorites heading into the 2022 season.

Hernandez finished as the runner-up in the 800 meters at both the indoor and outdoor national meets last year. The woman who beat her during outdoors (Bailey Sharon) is gone and the one who beat her during indoors (Cleyet-Merle) appears to be jumping between events right now.

And while you might argue that Cleyet-Merle should be the all-out favorite, she seems to be focusing on the mile rather than the 800 meters, leaving the door wide-open for Hernandez.

Similar to most of the women at the top of these rankings, there always is the conundrum of multiple events. Despite being the runner-up for 800 meters at the national meet, the CSU-Pueblo senior was actually ranked higher on the indoor performance list in the mile than the 800 meters (NCAA #3 vs NCAA #9) last winter.

Pueblo has historically had a solid DMR team, which Hernandez has also been a part of in the past. Neither the mile nor the 800 meters return their winners from 2021, leaving both doors open and some challenging decision to be made.

That being said, Hernandez will likely go with the shorter event. She’s previously focused on the 800 meters (and DMR) and given her consecutive runner-up finishes, there’s a good chance that she’s aiming for one spot higher.

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

Coming off the heels of a runner-up finish at the NCAA XC Championships, O’Malley was quick to prove that her result was no fluke.

GVSU hosted the first notable Division 2 meet of the season earlier this month which saw O’Malley set the NCAA-lead for 3000 meters in a time of 9:23. That victory came over a number of highly ranked women including teammate Hannah Becker, who was the only one to best O’Malley at the cross country national meet.

It’s still way too soon to make any definitive claims, but O’Malley is quickly establishing her name as a national title favorite.

Looking at the past indoor track seasons, it sure looked like O’Malley would focus on the mile in 2022. She was 3rd at the NCAA Indoor Championships last year and followed that up with a 4th place finish in the 1500 meters at the NCAA Outdoors Championships.

However, her performance at the cross country national meet may have changed things.

We often see cross country stars contesting the long(er) events on the track, and O’Malley has already opened the year with a 3k. Last year, she opened with a mile and a 400 meter effort.

However, sticking to the mile shouldn’t be ruled out, either. The event is more open than either the 3k or the 5k right now and former cross country champions such as Stephanie Cotter (who has since transferred to NAU as a grad student) have come back to win it after a fall title.

Simply put, the mile/3k double remains a possibility as well.

Compared to many, O’Malley is a true competitor. She shows up to the biggest moments looking to win. Most of her personal bests are fairly modest as far as elite talent goes, ranking in the top-five of the NCAA rankings in only one event between the indoor and outdoor track seasons last year.

If her times move into the utmost echelon of collegiate stardom -- and they appear to be headed that way -- O’Malley has the potential to be the best all-around distance running in Division 2 this year.

3. Hannah Becker, Junior, Grand Valley State

Winning a national title is a great way to earn a high ranking heading into track season. Hannah Becker (nee Roeske) pulled off an upset win at the NCAA XC Championships in November, winning her first individual national title in any discipline.

On paper, the result could be considered an upset, but the victory shouldn’t be too shocking. Becker has finished as a national runner-up twice in the past 12 months, both times falling victim to the D2 record holders in the respective event.

Which raises the question: Have the tables turned?

Becker was an absolute dynamo the past two track seasons, notching four top-five NCAA rankings between the indoor and outdoor track seasons. At the indoor national meet, she finished runner-up in the 3k to Ritter last March and helped GVSU to a team title in the DMR.

At the outdoor national meet, she was runner-up to Eilish Flanagan in the steeplechase and placed 5th in the 5000 meters.

Looking ahead to indoor, Becker could compete in anything from the mile to the 5k, with legitimate title chances in any event. Despite opening the indoor season with a modest 9:35 performance in the 3000 meters, Becker figures to be a sub-9:20 runner come 2022.

In her second year competing for Grand Valley State, expectations are high. Becker has the talent to win multiple national titles this season and the Lakers will certainly be looking for points in the team competition.

Given how deep the Lakers' roster looks, Becker may have the opportunity to contest the 3k/5k double at the indoor national meet, rather than the DMR, this March. With teammates Allie Ludge and Klaudia O’Malley also in the mix, GVSU could be attempting a rare podium sweep across the distance races this spring.

2. Berenice Cleyet-Merle, Senior, Indianapolis

Context is everything when it comes to Cleyet-Merle.

Her NCAA career, while sparse, includes a handful of 800 meter wins, including last year’s title at the indoor national meet. She was the NCAA leader in the event during the winter months, running almost 2.5 seconds faster than the next-best woman. And although she’s only run attached on the indoor track since transferring from Cal Baptist to U. Indy, she’s been largely dominant in those races.

Based solely on all of that, there’s a convincing argument to rank Cleyet-Merle this high. However this past summer raised expectations for 2022 to another level.

Instead of competing attached on the outdoor oval, Cleyet-Merle raced unattached at a number of American and European competitions. The fastest 1500 mark in Division 2 was 4:14 last season. The catch? Cleyet-Merle ran faster than that five times, including a personal best of 4:08.70.

How good is that? Only one woman in Division 1 ran faster than that last year.

Need more context? The fastest 1500 meter mark in Division 2 history is 4:11.06.

There’s exceeding expectations, and then there’s transcending to another echelon, entirely. Cleyet-Merle did the latter. And if that wasn’t enough, she also notched a time of 2:03.20 for 800 meters, 2.5 seconds faster than any woman in Division 2 ran last spring.

Even if there’s skepticism because those marks were run during outdoors and were run months ago, Cleyet-Merle already has the NCAA #2 mark in the 3000 meters this season and ran an NCAA-leading 4:40 for the mile. That time is four seconds faster than anyone ran last year, and it’s not even January.

Cleyet-Merle is going to be a title contender (and a favorite) in whatever event she chooses this season. However, our biggest question is how much of that explosive firepower from the summer will we see translate to the indoor oval?

So far, the answer appears to be "most or all of it".

1. Celine Ritter, Senior, Lee (Tenn.)

Had Ritter won the NCAA XC Championships this fall, there would be no discussion around this ranking. She won every race except the FSU XC Open, where she finished behind a handful of top-tier D1 women. A lackluster day at Nationals resulted in a 4th place finish -- good, but enough to create discussion on who the top woman in D2 is this winter.

Even after that race, the answer is still Ritter.

She holds the D2 indoor record for 3000 meters by a wide margin (five seconds) and is the reigning champion in the event. She was the runner-up finisher at the outdoor national meet in the 1500 meters and the woman who beat her is gone. On top of that, she had the fastest indoor mile last season, despite opting not to run the event at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Ritter has range to contest anything from the mile to the 5k this indoor season. On paper, her best event pairing is the mile/3k, but the scheduling aspect at the national meet makes that a tricky double. Based on her season opener, Ritter could be aiming for the 3k/5k double at the national meet instead.

She clocked a time of 16:23 for 5000 meters at Boston University earlier this month, the top mark of any D2 woman this weekend. Although it was well off her personal best of 15:58, it was her first time running the event on the indoor oval, indicating serious potential for the double at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Unlike seasons past, Ritter is certainly not as clear of a favorite in 2022. The fields she will face are going to be quite deep and while her start to the season was solid, it isn’t the same level of dominance seen last season. The next few months should provide plenty of opportunities for Ritter to validate her ranking and solidify her status as national title favorite.