2022 D2 Outdoor Top 25 Rankings (Women): Update #2

TSR Collaboration
Apr 19, 2022
16 min read

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. Ashley Corcoran, Junior, Southern New Hampshire (-1 / 24)

The junior from SNHU has finally found something that has stuck. She has tried practically every event during her time in Manchester from the 100 meters to the 5k, and now has found out that she can steeple.

Yes, we know, she steepled a couple of times last spring, but now her technique is more refined and she has stuck to running the mile and the 3k during indoors, so the times have dropped accordingly.

Last year, her steeplechase personal best was 11:07 and now it's 10:23.

That’s over 45 seconds worth of improvement over the course of a year!

Given that she qualified for the indoor national meet in the mile and now has this recent success in the steeple, she is someone who is quietly on the rise despite her one spot drop in our rankings.

The rest of the NCAA may find a way to ignore the fact that she has the NCAA #3 time in the event as of April 18th, but here at TSR, we got you.

24. Layla Almasri, Senior, UC-Colorado Springs (+1 / 25)

See TSR #21 ranking for further analysis.

23. Marian Ledesma, Sophomore, Azusa Pacific (Unranked)

It's always a good feeling to race on your home track. It's an even better feeling when your school hosts one of the best track meets all year.

However, there is truly no better feeling than doing well in a loaded meet that your school hosts because it shows that you defended your home turf.

Marian Ledesma was feeling all of that positive energy this past week as she clipped four seconds off of her 800 time to now own an excellent personal best of 2:07. Not only that, but she held her own in a loaded field that featured some very underrated talents.

The Azusa Pacific middle distance runner was the third D2 woman in this race behind only Alison Andrews-Paul of Simon Fraser and Taryn Chapko of Grand Valley State. Those ladies were both All Americans during indoors, so for Ledesma to be in the same company as them says a lot about where she’s at fitness-wise.

22. Hailey Streff, Senior, CSU-Pueblo (-1 / 21)

Streff has proven that she is a middle distance oriented star, flexing her range from the 400 meters to the 1500 meters with even a few 3k races thrown in there for fun.

That's why her 800/1500 weekend double at Bryan Clay should come at no surprise. However, to come away with times in both events that each rank near the top of D2 right now truly cements her status as one of the more balanced runners in the country.

Our quick takeaways from this past week / weekend are that Streff continues to get better in the 800 as evidenced by her 2:08 personal best and the fact that she can perform at a high level in two events. Her 1500 meter time of 4:23 is nothing to sneeze at, either.

Solid weekend from the Thunderwolf senior who essentially matched expectations and reminded everyone just how dynamic she is.

21. Riley McGrath, Sophomore, UC-Colorado Springs (Unranked)

Also includes analysis for TSR #24 runner, Layla Almasri.

When racing in the Bryan Clay / Long Beach State double, there are a lot of ways for you to shatter your personal records -- and there are equally enough ways to mess it up.

As a veteran and captain for this Mountain Lion group, Layla Almasri made sure that she and Riley McGrath had a weekend full of racing to remember.

In fact, it was McGrath showing off her true miler speed at Bryan Clay as she was the first to cross the line in an excellent mark of 4:21 while Almasri was close behind in 4:23 (both PRs).

Then, it was Almasri flipping the script in the 800 meters, narrowly beating McGrath by 0.07 seconds as they both ran a 2:14 (both PRs).

Just like their indoor track season, both of these women accomplished what needed to be done: Race well, don’t go out too fast and hang on so you can grab a new PR.

This was a very successful business trip that reminds us of how good the Mountain Lions were during the winter months.

20. Zoe Baker, Sophomore, Colorado Mines (-6 / 14)

Baker’s 5K at Mt SAC is a step in the right direction. No, a 16:27 isn’t going to blow anyone away, but it's faster than she ran last year during the outdoor season.

Her fitness is progressing and while the 10k is still the main focus for her, running a 5k (or a 1500) every once in a while gives the mind a little bit of a mental break.

19. Alexa Leppelmeier, Senior, Walsh (-6 / 13)

Despite a drop in our rankings, we have to give Leppelmeier some credit, she is really rounding into form quite nicely. A very solid 16:24 effort for 800 meters, which resulted in an excellent win over Findlay’s Hannah Thompson at the Bucknell Bison Classic, has put an exclamation point on Leppelmeier's resume at the middle point of this season.

Clearly, that strength from all of that steeple training is paying off.

Now, with two solid marks this season -- one in steeple and one in the 5k -- Leppelmeier has a lot of freedom in her next race. She could choose to go after the 1500 meters or the 10k in an effort to further refine her endurance and/or her speed.

Consistency, strength, experience and progression all favor Leppelmeier right now. While she does drop in our rankings, it's more because of everyone else rather than her.

18. Annika Esvelt, Sophomore, Seattle Pacific (-6 / 12)

Esvelt has now raced every distance from the 800 meters and up, minus the steeplechase which could be considered a specialized event.

So which event, prior to this past week, was left you may ask?

Oh, just the mammoth 10k on the track.

Esvelt's 10k debut was definitely one to remember and at Mt SAC, there was no better place to start. A 34:20 mark isn’t going to win anything, but she competed well in a field made up of strong competitors from all divisions.

This is really a good confidence booster for the sophomore who needed to test the waters in the longer distances. Based on her indoor track season, it made sense that she moved up in distance where, on paper, she thrived.

We actually think that long-term, the 10k may be her best event. But for now, she may have hit her sweet spot in the 5k.

17. Taryn Chapko, Sophomore, Grand Valley State (0 / 17)

This past weekend was a bit fitness check for Chapko who seemed to take the 800/1500 weekend double in stride after running mostly 800s all throughout the winter months.

Chapko didn’t waste the opportunity to race against the best of the best this past week as she rose to the occasion and bagged two personal bests: one in the 800 meters and one in the 1500 meters.

Her recent 2:07 mark was a half-second better than her recent 2:07 PR from indoors, giving us plenty of encouragement about her ability to once again be a factor in the postseason. The same can be said for her 4:25 mark for 1500 meters as it at least shows that Chapko has the strength to be a factor in aggressively-paced races.

However, even with this performance, she sits only at NCAA #3 in D2 as CSU-Pueblo’s Yasmine Hernandez and Simon Fraser’s Alison Andrews-Paul also had unbelievable 800 meter races at Bryan Clay.

Chapko had a good weekend, but so did many others, forcing us to not move her in our rankings at all.

16. Fiona Hawkins, Freshman, Adams State (+6 / 22)

Would you look at the freshman year that Fiona Hawkins is having? She was a cross country All-American, ran a 4:45 mile during the winter, posted a strong 9:26 mark for 3000 meters and has now run 16:07 for 5000 meters.

Wow.

Hawkins is racing like someone who has spent three years in college, not one and a half semesters. Her ability to extend her firepower across an entire spectrum of distances is impressive.

Unlike many current and past Adams State runners, racing at altitude hasn't always yielded her absolute best results. However, every time she has come down to sea level, she is a true killer.

Now don’t get me wrong, her fitness is there, but she could be better tactically, something that comes with experience.

Still, this is a great starting point. She keeps stringing together great race after great race.

15. Ava O’Connor, Freshman, Adams State (+1 / 16)

Ava O’Connor had quite the weekend double at Bryan Clay. The Adams State rookie was the second D2 finisher in the 1500 meters only behind CSU-Pueblo’s Yasmine Hernendez. A 4:21 mark, as well as very solid 2:09 result, is flat-out excellent.

O'Connor now sits at NCAA #2 in the 1500 meters and NCAA #8 in the 800 meters.

This Grizzly star has taken advantage of her lone trip to sea level and is likely ready to keep grinding it out at 7,500 feet of altitude during her training.

O'Connor is getting more momentum and is becoming more versatile. That’s bad news for the rest of the women in D2 who were already having challenges trying to do take down O'Connor during the winter months.

14. Klaudia O’Malley, Sophomore, Grand Valley State (-4 / 10)

At first glance, it was a bit surprising to look at O’Malley taking on the 1500/5k weekend double. That seemed like a lot for a single week, right? Especially during the regular season.

Now, admittedly, she did finish runner-up in the mile at NCAA Indoor Championships and she also finished 2nd at the NCAA XC Championships this past fall.

Remembering both of those crucial facts ultimately justifies this decision.

And as it turns out, this weekend double turned out to produce very strong results.

Marks of 16:14 (5k) and a 4:24 (1500) were the final outputs from Bryan Clay this past weekend. That is a very solid weekend double with a three-second 5k PR in there just for kicks.

Some people may have expected a little more time-wise from O’Malley, but this was a quietly solid weekend that really helps her cement her status as a postseason ace who can be relied upon to produce every time she toes the line.

This double is probably not going to justify any “WOW” comments from the crowd, but O’Malley just made it increasingly more challenging to dislike her. The only reason she falters in our rankings is because of the other women who had incredible performances over the last two weeks.

13. Hannah Becker, Senior, Grand Valley State (Unranked)

After a rough indoor season, one that felt like a little bit of a hangover from her win during the fall cross country season, one can proudly say that Hannah Becker looks somewhat like herself again.

A 10:19 steeple confirms that claim.

Racing in the elite division of the Mt SAC relays, Becker held her own and can take pride in the fact that she was just three seconds off of her personal best.

Becker may have just needed some time after the indoor season to collect herself in order to gear up for a strong outdoor season. Sure enough, that seems to be the case.

The real hope is that she can ride the momentum of this performance, scorch a fast 5k or 1500 meter race, and then return to the steeplechase with even greater momentum under her belt.

12. Kelly-Ann Beckford, Junior, Lincoln (MO) (-3 / 9)

Beckford is a talented middle distance runner who continues to excel as she gains championship experience.

Beckford won three events at the Lincoln University Open in the 800 meters, 1500 meters and 4x400 meter relay. She ran 2:12 and 4:49 in her respective events. The 800 meter is certainly Beckford’s best event and she ran 2:09 at the Redbird Challenge this season as well.

The Lincoln ace was runner-up in the 800 meters at the indoor national meet this past winter and she also helped her team win the 4x400 meter relay at the same meet. She currently has the NCAA #12 time in the 800 meters and the NCAA #4 time in the 4x400 meter relay.

Beckford has steadily improved throughout her college career, but she started to shine during the indoor season. Just how much better can Beckford get amongst the most competitive 800 meter field in Division Two history? That is really the only uncertainty we have with her right now.

11. Jennifer Sandoval, Senior, Azusa Pacific (0 / 11)

While Sandoval is a 10k runner, she has been running in a variety of events this year to help prepare her for 25 laps around the track.

She has flexed impressive times of 33:10 (10k), 16:31 (5k), 4:29 (1500) and 2:16 (800) from just this outdoor season. She was the runner-up in the 10k and the 4th place finisher in the 5k at last year's outdoor national meet.

And honestly, Sandoval could somehow improve upon that impressive double at the national meet come May.

Her personal best of 33:10 in the 10k was enough to earn her the win at the prestigious Bryan Clay Invitational and it is now the NCAA #2 10k time in Division Two currently.

Sandoval excels at longer races and she has plenty of experience in the 10k. In terms of reliability, she is amongst the best in Division Two.

10. Katie Doucette, Sophomore, Western Colorado (-4 / 6)

Doucette had a strong ending to her indoor track season and was arguably the most improved athlete at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

She placed 2nd (3k) and 4th (5k) at the indoor national meet and continued her momentum in her first outdoor national meet.

So far this season, Doucette has been somewhat quiet. She ran 2:17 in the 800 meters and 4:37 in the 1500 meters at CSU-Pueblo earlier in the season, but it is pretty clear that those races are not Doucette’s main event(s).

Doucette ran her season opener for the longer distance races this past weekend. She ran 16:23 in the 5000 meters at the Bryan Clay Invitational for the NCAA #10 time in the event this year.

Doucette snuck to the top of our rankings during the indoor season, but now Doucette has all eyes on her. Regardless of how well the rest of her season goes, what we do know is that Doucette performs well when she's called upon.

Doucette will likely make it to the national meet in at least one event and we can expect her to be a confident front-runner when the time comes.

9. Jessica Gockley, Senior, Grand Valley State (-1 / 8)

Jessica Gockley is having an incredible season so far. The Laker veteran has set new personal bests in three different events this season.

Earlier this season at the Raleigh Relays, Gockley ran an excellent time of 33:51 in the 10k. Then, at the Bryan Clay Invitational, Gockley ran impressive times of 16:14 (5K) and 4:27 (1500).

She currently has the NCAA #4 time in the 10k, the NCAA #7 time in the 5000 meters and the NCAA #18 time in the 1500 meters.

She has more experience than most collegiate runners and has been a consistent and reliable runner for GVSU. She was 4th (3k) and 7th (5k) at the most recent indoor national meet. She was also 4th (10k) and 7th (5k) at last year's outdoor national meet.

In terms of long distance reliability, Gockley almost always delivers.

8. Allie Ludge, Senior, Grand Valley State (+10 / 18)

Ludge jumps 10 spots in our rankings this week due to her impressive performances at the Bryan Clay Invitational. She ran 16:02 for 2nd place in the 5k and ran 4:22 in the 1500 meters. She currently has the NCAA #2 and NCAA #6 marks in her respective events among Division Two runners.

Ludge was 3rd in the 1500 meters at last spring's outdoor national meet and has proven to be talented on the cross country course throughout the years. She has a unique mix of speed and endurance to excel at both the 1500 meters and the 5k on the track.

Historically, she is a dangerous runner to toe the line next to.

The Laker ace had a rough indoor track season and a heartbreaking national meet, so it is nice to see her back to her normal self and excelling in her events. If she's at top form and able to build momentum, then maybe, just maybe, she can win that coveted NCAA gold.

7. Elenora Curtabbi, Junior, West Texas A&M (-2 / 5)

Curtabbi has wasted no time improving her steeplechase PR this season.

She ran an impressive 10:09 mark in the event for 4th place at the Bryan Clay Invitational. She then came back for the 1500 meters and ran a 4:24 mark for 2nd place overall.

Oh, and did we mentioned that she ran 2:09 in the 800 meters earlier in the season? And then improved that mark to 2:08 after winning the event at the Joe Meaker Classic?

To put it simply, Curtabbi is a top talent with and without the barriers on the track.

To recap Curtabbi’s current talent level, she currently has the top steeplechase time by over 10 seconds, the NCAA #8 time in the 800 meters and the NCAA #12 time in the 1500 meters.

This is a huge improvement which leads us to believe that Curtabbi, as of right, is the undeniable favorite in the steeplechase barring any breakout performer. Her speed is an unreal racing facet to boast, giving us more of a reason to like her.

6. Fatima Alanis, Sophomore, Queens (NC) (-2 / 4)

Alanis has been one of the best and most consistent performers in Division Two since arriving at Queens.

The Royals ace ran 33:52 (10k) to win at the Flames Invitational for the NCAA #5 time this season. She also ran 16:04 in the 5k a few weeks ago for the NCAA #3 time in Division Two this year.

At last year's outdoor national meet, she placed 3rd in the 10k and 9th in the 5k. She was then runner-up at the NCAA XC Championships. She was one of the gutsier runners at the indoor national meet and placed 2nd in the 5k, 5th in the 3k and 10th in the DMR.

With two runner-up performances in championship races, several other All-American awards and continued improvement, we could be witnessing Alanis' trek towards her first national title.

The only problem is that the longer distances are incredibly top heavy by rising youngster superstars or long-time established veterans.

5. Yasmine Hernandez, Senior, CSU-Pueblo (+2 / 7)

Hernandez has been on fire since February. She is coming off of a strong indoor season that ended with a gold medal in the DMR and a bronze medal in the 800 meters. She was also the runner-up in the 800 meters at last year's outdoor national meet.

She ran 4:18 this past weekend for the top time in Division Two this year. In addition to her NCAA #1 time in the 1500 meters, she also has the NCAA #2 time in the 800 meters with a time of 2:03. She ran both events (and PRs) at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

This CSU-Pueblo ace arguably had the best double of the weekend and is creating huge momentum as the season goes on. It's crazy that Andrews-Paul can run 2:01 an yet still have a realistic challenger.

That, however, is just a testament to how good Hernandez is.

4. Brianna Robles, Sophomore, Adams State (-2 / 2)

Robles just keeps getting better and keeps impressing us at TSR.

For just a sophomore, the Grizzly ace has a wildly loaded resume. She was 5th in the 10k and 11th in the 5k at last year's outdoor national meet, later the 6th place finisher at the NCAA XC Championships and then a bronze and gold medalist in the 3k and 5k, respectively, at the indoor national meet this past winter.

Robles opened her outdoor season by highlighting her speed in the 1500 meters, but the endurance events are clearly more of her forte based on her previous championship experiences. The distance star ran 32:50 in the 10k at Mt. SAC Relays for 2nd place overall and the top time in Division Two this year.

In fact, it was also the top 10k time from any collegiate woman this past week, regardless of division.

With the speed that she showed in the 1500 meters and the stamina that she has in the 10k, Robles is set up to PR in the 5k this season as well. She ran impressive times of 16:01 and 16:03 during indoors and just ran two 16:25 marks back-to-back.

The question is not if she will break 16 minutes this season, but rather by how much will she break it by?

3. Alison Andrews-Paul, Senior, Simon Fraser (0 / 3)

Andrews-Paul ran out of her mind at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

She set a new D2 record in the 800 meters with her impressive time of 2:01.43. She managed to place 4th overall amongst talented professionals and the best of Division One. She also ran a PR in the 400 meters with a time of 54.07 for 4th place as well which shows just how fast she is at the middle distance events.

Andrews-Paul dominated the 800 meters during indoors and so far, it seems that the outdoor season will be similar. Still, the entire D2 field has stepped up their game in this event as well. There is a ton of talent and experience amongst the top 800 meters and the top times this season are faster than they’ve ever been.

The 800 meters will be one of, if not the, most exciting events to keep up with this season.

2. Celine Ritter, Junior, Lee (Tenn.) (-1 / 1)

Ritter has been having a fantastic year. Last spring, she placed 2nd in the 1500 meters and 8th in the 5k at the outdoor national meet. Nowadays, she will likely improve upon that performance.

The Lee ace ran 16:13 (5k) to win on her home track a few weeks back and showed off her range by running 2:12 in the 800 meters for a 4th place finish at the Flames Invitational. She also ran 33:42 (10k) earlier in the season at Raleigh Relays.

Ritter currently has the NCAA #5 time in Division Two in the 5k and the NCAA #3 time in the 10k.

This Lee veteran has the talent to excel at any distance from the 1500 meters to 10k, but based on her season so far, it seems like she will be leaning more towards the 5k/10k double in the postseason.

1. Roisin Flanagan, Rs. Senior, Adams State (Unranked)

To our surprise, Roisin Flanagan is back for a final year of outdoor track at Adams State.

While not previously listed on Adams State’s roster for our first round of rankings, it has been confirmed that Flanagan has eligibility for this spring. This shakes up the Division Two distance scene quite a bit.

She makes a grand entrance to our rankings and overtakes our TSR #1 spot due to her record breaking performance.

The Irish distance star ran a new D2 record of 15:28.41 (5k) for 10th place in the elite race at Mt. SAC Relays. She already had an impressive resume, but this performance shows us that she has improved to another level. Flanagan now joins at elite club of collegiate athletes who have run under 15:30 in the 5k.

The Grizzly ace earned bronze in the 5k at last year's outdoor national meet, placed 3rd at the 2019 NCAA XC Championships and has personal bests of 2:08 (800), 4:16 (1500) and 9:18 (3k). Flanagan boasts both speed and endurance, so she could run anywhere from the 1500 meters to the 10k, but it seems likely that she will focus on the 5k for her last season.

After all, she is now the fastest Division Two runner ever in the event.