2022 D2 Outdoor Top 25 Rankings (Women): Update #1

Written by Grace McLaughlin & Eric Baranoski, additional commentary by Garrett Zatlin

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

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. Layla Almasri, Senior, UC-Colorado Springs

Don’t put the brakes on Almasri’s career just yet. You have to remember that she finished 12th place at the NCAA XC Championships this past fall, so a strong 5k was very clearly in her wheelhouse despite not running the event during the winter.

Luckily, the Stanford Invite is where the perfect conditions often exist.

Almasri ran 16:31 for 7th place in her heat against D1 competition which shows us that she still belongs amongst the best in D2.

This continues the narrative of Almasri being the heart and soul of the Mountain Lions' program as she always sets the tone no matter the distance. Expect a rather strong finish from the senior come May.

24. Ashley Corcoran, Junior, Southern New Hampshire

Don’t be surprised now, you’ve seen Corcoran before.

Recently, she qualified for the NCAA Indoor championships in the mile where she finished 16th. She also won everything under the sun at the Northeast-10 Conference Championships this past winter.

Based solely on the fact that she ran a 9:37 for 3000 meters on the indoor oval and that she has steepled in the past, you had to have seen a 10:38 steeple mark coming from her.

Corcoran is someone who is going to benefit a lot from toeing the line in more competitive races. She's fairly versatile, very consistent and can take on a heavy workload in terms of racing volume.

Her steeplechase prowess puts her into our rankings, but it's her overall value in other events that really gives her a nice bump.

23. Lindsay Cunningham, Sophomore, Winona State

Despite her still-young status, Winona State star Lindsay Cunningham could be a key name to watch. She was outstanding during cross country and showed zero fear at the indoor national meet after placing 5th overall in the 5k.

On paper, the move up to the 10k should benefit Cunningham, although it's still unclear how she will handle that distance after choosing not to contest the event last spring.

The introduction of established steeplechasers and 10k runners also bumps down Cunningham a few spots more than expected. Even so, she has given us very little to dislike about her.

22. Fiona Hawkins, Freshman, Adams State

Fiona Hawkins has proven that she knows how to race. That much is clear after she ran to a 6th place finish in the 3000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

For her to be in a race with all of her teammates in the 1500 meters, while already owning a 4:45 mile PR, and opening in a time of 4:26 (converted) is no big deal. If that's what she can do now, then we'll be excited to see what she can do when she's got the whole season ahead of her.

She has the possibility of moving up to the 5k if Adams State needs her there, but with the way that she’s been running, look for her to stick to the 800/1500 double.

21. Hailey Streff, Senior, CSU-Pueblo

Everything that we've seen from Streff this spring has been far from surprising. She has run a converted 2:11 for 800 meters and a converted 4:29 for 1500 meters. Those are simple rust-busters that, admittedly, don't really move the needle a ton.

Even so, this is someone who placed 6th at the indoor national meet in the 800 meters this past winter, has run 4:47 in the mile and may be one of the most experienced middle distance stars in all of Division Two.

Her ranking could swing up or down at any point given her somewhat unexciting start, but she's still amongst the best in the NCAA and it's still way too early to get carried away by rust-buster performances.

20. Hannah Thompson, Senior, Findlay

First off, we’d like to point out that this is the same Hannah Thompson who was at Malone. She is now doing graduate school at Findlay.

Oh, and 25 laps later, she now has a new personal best in the 10,000 meters, courtesy of the Raleigh Relays. Her time of 34:28 certainly catches your eye.

Thompson has been an established name, specifically in the longer distances, for years now. She even has a few strong All-American finishes, including cross country, but she hasn’t exactly fared super well at the national meet in the 10,000 meters.

Funny enough, that is probably her best distance.

Even so, this recent school switch could be the spark that she needs to finish amongst the top-eight at the national meet for just the second time in her career on the track.

19. Ukeyvia Beckwith, Junior, Embry-Riddle

A phenomenal end to Beckwith's indoor track season produced a personal best of 2:07 for 800 meters and a 4th place finish at the indoor national meet. She clearly peaked in time for the postseason and utilized her national meet experience to the best of her ability.

Beckwith was outstanding at the end of the winter season and has already carried over some of her success to the outdoor oval where she ran 55 seconds for the open 400 meters (en route to a win).

Admittedly, Beckwith's indoor national meet performances were so incredible that she took us by surprise. If we can see her string together a season where she is consistently running at that high of level, then we'll have no issues moving her up in our rankings.

18. Allie Ludge, Senior, Grand Valley State

Ludge took advantage of her last season of eligibility and took the trip down to North Carolina to run the 800 meters and the 1500 meters at the Raleigh Relays.

Admittedly, her times of 2:13 (800) and 4:23 (1500) aren't necessarily going to blow anyone away, but she did finish as the fastest D2 1500 meter runner in that entire Raleigh Relays field.

Plus, if you look back to 2019, which was the last time she ran at Raleigh Relays, similar times then led to a 1500 meter All-American finish.

By that same school of thought, could we witness this Laker veteran end her career on her home track (at the national meet) and replicate the same postseason success?

17. Taryn Chapko, Sophomore, Grand Valley State

Chapko had a fantastic rookie season for the Lakers last year and finished as a five-time All-American in a variety of middle distance events, including a national title in the DMR.

The Grand Valley State ace added two more All-American honors to her resume this past winter in the 800 meters and the DMR. She kept that momentum going by running 2:09 at the Raleigh Relays to open her outdoor season.

Chapko has speed, talent and a shocking amount of experience as just a sophomore. While her PR of 2:07 does not put her in the national title conversation just yet, Chapko still has a high ceiling and could shock some people when it comes time for the outdoor national meet.

16. Ava O’Connor, Freshman, Adams State

I wouldn’t want to mess with Ava O’Connor in any middle distance race right about now.

No, a 2:10 mark for 800 meters isn’t going to win her any awards, but it's further proof that she is still getting better in her freshman year. It also means that she’s got more in the tank for the mile where she has already run 4:46 this past winter.

Not only that, but she could be the one to beat in the 1500 at the RMAC Outdoor Championships. Remember, she won the RMAC mile title this past winter, so this isn’t as crazy as it sounds.

Is she Stephanie Cotter? No, not yet. She’s just not at that level right now, but to have her in the same breath as Cotter, who was an automatic win in the 1500/mile during her time with Adams State, is saying something.

15. Stevie Lawrence, Senior, Queens (NC)

Lawrence had a not-so-great end to her indoor track and cross country seasons based on the potential and the talent that she has.

Luckily, Lawrence clearly excels in the steeplechase and placed 6th in that event at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Following that season, Lawrence went on to compete in England and ran a massive PR of 10:15.

In 2022, Lawrence opened up outdoor season at the Raleigh Relays and ran a solid time of 10:31 for the steeplechase. If she can run 10:15 or lower by late May, then she could be the national champion in the event.

14. Zoe Baker, Sophomore, Colorado Mines

Baker set new personal bests of 16:16 in the 5k and 9:33 in the 3k at the indoor national meet last month. In doing so, she added multiple All-American honors to her already impressive resume.

Baker continued her PR streak in the 10k this past weekend as she ran 33:52 at the Stanford Invitational for an impressive season opener.

Baker was 7th at the outdoor national meet last spring in the 10k, but she should easily better that performance by the end of the season based on her experience and the fitness that she has gained since then.

Plus, the 10k seems to be more of her ideal distance.

13. Alexa Leppelmeier, Senior, Walsh

Leppelmeier is one of the top returners in the steeplechase after her 5th place finish at the outdoor national meet last year. She also had an impressive showing at the NCAA Indoor Championships a few weeks ago in both the 3k and the 5k.

With her experience and improved times in other distance events, it seems pretty clear that Leppelmeier will also improve in the steeplechase this year (eventually). She ran pretty close to her PR with her 10:25 season opener at the Raleigh Relays. That was fairly impressive given how unpredictable the steeplechase can be, especially this early-on in the season.

The Walsh veteran could also run impressive times in the 1500 meters and the 5000 meters this winter based on her mix of endurance and speed. However, it is clear that the steeplechase is her forte.

12. Annika Esvelt, Sophomore, Seattle Pacific

Esvelt earned her first All-American award this past winter with her 8th place finish in the 5k. She then carried her momentum to the outdoor track where she ran 16:14 in the 5k at the West Coast Relays for a new PR.

She has also run two 1500 meter races which improved upon her previous PR in the event.

Esvelt has improved a lot, but we also think that she has a lot more room to grow. Based on her endurance, she could probably run a nationally competitive 10k time as well, eventually emerging as an All-American contender.

Despite her seemingly “rookie” status, Esvelt has proved herself to be one of the best up-and-coming distance talents in Division Two.

11. Jennifer Sandoval, Senior, Azusa Pacific

Everyone thought that Sandoval was gone after helping Azusa Pacific win the 2021 outdoor track and field team title...but she’s back!

Sandoval already has a new 1500 meter PR and a rust-buster 5k time under her belt. While these results aren’t top D2 times, she has still shown us in the past that she can be a reliable points scorer, even at the national meet.

With the Bryan Clay Invite looming on the horizon, look for Sandoval to once again put herself in the mix in a loaded distance race, be it the 5k or the 10k. She was the NCAA leader in the 10k last spring and the third-fastest 5k talent in D2 that same season.

Don't be surprised to see her name rise ranked even higher in a few weeks time.

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

The Laker sophomore laid down a 4:26 mark for 1500 meters at the Raleigh Relays. Although that wasn’t a personal best, it was still a solid starting point, especially for this early in the season.

We're not arguing about where Klaudia O’Malley stands in the world of D2. Let's not forget, she finished 2nd place at the NCAA XC Championships and 2nd in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships. On paper, she's still an elite superstar and frankly, we may be undervaluing her in these rankings.

One so-so result doesn’t define someone. Plus, that 1500 meter race was simply a rust-busting effort. Her future races will certainly be much, much better.

9. Kelly-Ann Beckford, Junior, Lincoln (MO)

You know what they say: Strike when the iron is hot.

Beckford continued her breakthrough 2022 campaign with two individual wins and a 4x400 relay win so far this spring. Clearly, she still has tons of momentum from the indoor national meet.

Beckford was a winner by over a second in the 1500 meters at the Emporia State Relays and was the winner in the 400 meters at Central Methodist. This rising Lincoln superstar has displayed newfound confidence since taking runner-up honors in the 800 meters and winning the 4x400 relay at the indoor national meet last month.

Don’t gloss over the Lincoln (MO) standout. She will burn you when you are least expecting it. We learned that this past winter...

8. Jessica Gockley, Senior, Grand Valley State

Gockley moves up in our rankings due to her talent and exciting potential in the 10k. At the Raleigh Relay, she was not far behind Celine Ritter and ran an impressive mark of 33:51.

The GVSU ace is a true veteran when it comes to the distance events. She was 4th in the 10k at the 2021 outdoor national meet and also 4th in the 10k at the 2019 national meet. She also holds several All-American awards in the indoor 3k, the indoor 5k and in cross country.

Gockley has started off her final season as a Laker with a PR in her best event. Based on her recent momentum, she will likely have her best season yet. Her reliability on the national stage, her ongoing improvements and her favoritism towards longer events makes her a really challenging name to dislike in our rankings.

7. Yasmine Hernandez, Senior, CSU-Pueblo

Yasmine Hernandez is doing what she does best: Running really fast. She ran a converted 2:07 in the 800 meters at her home meet opener and later posted a converted 4:24 for 1500 meters at the Maverick Invite.

Hernandez has continued her momentum and improvement from the most recent indoor track season and that's hardly a surprise. She was the 3rd place finisher at indoor national meet in the 800 meters and brought the Thunderwolves to a national title in the DMR. She ran 4:43 in the mile during earlier in the season as well.

She is the top returner in the 800 meters from the outdoor national meet during last spring where she placed runner-up in the 800 meters and ran her current PR of 2:04.

Hernandez has the strength and speed to excel in the 800 meters and the mile/1500 meters. She has not run both events at a national meet before, but it is possible that she will attempt that double this year based on her improvement and championship experience.

6. Katie Doucette, Sophomore, Western Colorado

Doucette lands as our TSR #6 rankings this week.

Yes, she’s only run at one meet so far, but it's still very early in the outdoor season.

Despite doubling in events such as the 800 meters and the 1500 meters, both of which are far from her speciality, versus D1 competition, Doucette held her own and stood tall. She left with two new personal bests and, more importantly, she competed well and mixed it up with specialists in those events.

This is a promising sign for the Big Red Machine’s ace as she is looking to continue with her momentum from the NCAA Indoor Championships where she surprised a ton of people, including me, by taking home runners-up finish in the 3k and a 4th place finish in the 5k.

Doucette has proven that she is one of the top distance talents in D2 and we can’t wait for her to toe the line in a loaded race like Mt. SAC where she can get a fair shake at a fast time at sea level.

On paper, she is also due to make a major splash in the 10k.

5. Elenora Curtabbi, Junior, West Texas A&M

Curtabbi enters the rankings as one of the top steeplechasers in the country during a year where the steeplechase title is wide-open for the taking. She ran 10:16 in the steeple at the Texas Relays for a massive PR. Her previous best was 10:42, which was good enough to get her to the national meet last year, but she was the unfortunate 14th place finisher in that race.

Clearly, this year will be different.

In addition to Curtabbi’s steeplechase talent, she also has impressive foot-speed. She ran 2:11 in the 800 meters at the West Texas Spring Break Classic, showing off versatility that not all steeplechasers boast.

Curtabbi’s massive improvement in the steeplechase and her unique demonstration of speed, as well as the wide-open nature of the D2 steeplechase title this spring, gives her our TSR #5 spot in our rankings.

4. Fatima Alanis, Sophomore, Queens (NC)

Alanis has clearly made her mark on the D2 scene since starting at Queens (NC) last spring.

She has an extensive resume of accomplishments and excels at the endurance events.

Alanis placed 3rd at the cross country national meet last fall and placed 3rd in the 10k last spring (as well as 9th in the 5k). She ran an impressive triple at the indoor national meet this past winter, earning a runner-up finish in the 5k, placing 5th in the 3k and helping her teammates place 10th in the DMR.

Wow.

As she transitioned to the outdoor oval, Alanis kept that momentum going and ran 16:04 in the 5k at Raleigh Relays for a new PR and an impressive 16th place finish in a competitive field. She currently holds the fastest time in Division Two by almost 10 seconds.

With the elevated talent around the NCAA this year, we think Alanis will dip under the 16:00 mark and improve upon her 10k PR of 34:10. On paper, she thrives in the longer distances, making her an increasingly more valuable name in these rankings.

While Alanis does not have as much experience has some of the other top runners, she certainly has the guts and the raw endurance that some athletes don't. Alanis likes to go out hard and is a true competitor when it comes to racing. This confidence may be what leads her to a national title at the end of the season.

3. Alison Andrews-Paul, Senior, Simon Fraser

To no surprise, Alison Andrews-Paul opened up her season with a solid performance in the 1500 meters, running 4:21 to earn the win at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic.

She was the national champion in the indoor 800 meters this past winter and has a PR of 2:04 in the event, making us at The Stride Report believe that she can certainly drop a few more seconds in the 1500 meters.

Andrews-Paul could run both events throughout the season and if she does, then we don't see why her times won't continue to improve.

With Berenice Cleyet-Merle out of eligibility, Andrews-Paul is the new title favorite in the middle distance races due to her strength, speed and experience. For that reason, she gets a nice boost in our rankings.

2. Brianna Robles, Sophomore, Adams State

Robles was one of the top performers at the indoor national meet and is a returning All-American in the 10k for outdoor track.

Typically, Robles is associated with endurance-heavy races and excels at the longer events. However, she managed to demonstrate her foot-speed this weekend at the Maverick Invite.

The Grizzly ace ran a converted 4:22 in the 1500 meters at the Maverick Invite and took down Yasmine Hernandez, Fiona Hawkins and Morgan Hykes, in the process, some of the best middle distance stars in the country.

While we do not think that Robles will be moving down to the 1500 meters, this speed will certainly help her out-kick any competitors in a 5k or 10k race at the national meet should those races become tactical.

Although Robles placed 5th in the 10k and 11th in the 5k at last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships, she has clearly made massive improvements since then. She will be fighting for the top spot in both events this year.

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

Last spring, Ritter ran every distance event over the course of the season, making her one of the most versatile and talented runners in Division Two. She ran the 1500/5k double at the outdoor national meet, where she earned a silver medal in the 1500 meters and an All-American performance in the 5000 meters.

While Ritter has the speed for the 1500 meters, we doubt that the metric mile will be one of her main events this season after her stellar 33:42 (10k) effort at the Raleigh Relays. She shaved nearly two-minutes off of her previous PR and placed 11th overall in a competitive field full of top D1 talents.

She has a 15:58 (5k) PR from last season, but this 10k performance shows us that Ritter may have the endurance to excel at the 5k/10k double in the postseason.

Ritter was successful in the 5k/3k double this past winter at the indoor national meet, leaving us with gold and bronze medals in her respective events. That's why would make sense for her to also do both long distance events at the national meet in May.

Based on Ritter’s experience, consistency, speed and her most recent display of endurance, there is no reason why Ritter couldn’t be the national champion in one, or even both, of these events. Her surprise success in the 10k has really boosted her value and has allowed her to overtake our TSR #1 spot for that reason.

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Morgan Hyke (Adams State)

Courtney McAlindon (Westminster (Utah))

Madison Brown (Dallas Baptist)

Kate Hedlund (UC-Colorado Springs)

Riley McGrath (UC-Colorado Springs)

Natalia Novak (Academy of Art)

Hannah Becker (Grand Valley State)

Franziska Althaus (Adams State)

Katie McCune (Drury)

Taylor Hestekin (U-Mary)

PJ English (U-Mary)

Jenna Keiser (Saginaw Valley State)

Sarah Wills (Adams State)

Toni Moore (Lee (Tenn.))

Nicole Lawrence (Adams State)

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)

Kinga Szarzynska (Harding)

Kylie Anicic (Edinboro)

Molly Maksin (Colorado Mines)

Kayce Rypma (Grand Valley State)

Olivia Willett (Simon Fraser)

Cami Streff (Augustana (SD))

Emily Schoellkopf (Adams State)

Kayce Rypma (Grand Valley State)

Elizabeth Acheson (U-Mary)

Haleigh Reindl (Minnsota-Duluth)

Precious Robinson (Adams State)

Jessica Simon (Adams State)

Helen Braybook (CSU-Pueblo)

Elysia Burgos (Southwest Baptist)

Jennifer Comastri (Southern Indiana)

Taryn Christy (Illinois-Springfield)

Notes

• Cleyet-Merle is expected to be out of eligibility for this outdoor track season.

• These first-edition outdoor rankings are easily our most challenging lists to compile. Between the uneven distribution of eligibility associated with outdoor track since the pandemic, the introduction of 10k and steeplechase specialists, top returners from last year's outdoor national meet, key names from the indoor season and performances that have taken place so far this spring, there isn't necessarily a correct order for some of these names.