2022 D3 Outdoor Top 15 Rankings (Women): Update #1

Kevin Fischer
Apr 7, 2022
7 min read

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.

15. Clara Mayfield, Sophomore, Carleton

Since our last update, Mayfield has run personal bests of 16:44 (5k) and 4:37 (1500) and is ranked at NCAA #5 in Division Three for the 5k and NCAA #8 for the 1500 meters early-on in this outdoor track season.

Based on her indoor mile performances, she should be able to drop that 1500 meter time down by at least a few seconds as the season progresses. Her 5000 meter performance was the more impressive of the two, and it shows that she still has just as much endurance as ever despite primarily focusing on the mile during indoor track.

14. Molly Fitzgibbons, Sophomore, Williams

In our final indoor rankings, we mentioned that Molly Fitzgibbons had a breakthrough day at the national meet. Luckily, there was no hangover to be seen as she rolled right on to the outdoor season and dropped a 10:35 steeplechase time this weekend. That mark good for the NCAA #2 spot on the D3 national leaderboard.

This is even more impressive when you consider that she had never broken 11:00 going into that race. Fitzgibbons just continues to get better and better, and may even contend for a national title in the steeple this May if everything goes well.

13. Alex Ross, Junior, Johns Hopkins

Alex Ross picked up right where she left off with a 5k PR of 16:41 to open her outdoor season at Raleigh Relays. Ross is an elite talent in the 5k, but she might be even better in the 10k, so the introduction of that event on an outdoor track should bode well for her this year. That's why her ranking rises here.

Since the last time Ross has raced a 10k, she has dropped her 5k best by 30 seconds, so it will be interesting to see how well her improvements translate to the longer distance. In most years, we would even say she has national title potential over 10k...but you also don’t have to face Kassie Parker and Ari Marks in most years.

12. Sadie Heeringa, Junior, Calvin

We’ve seen the theme of unprecedented depth in Division Three throughout the indoor season, so it’s not surprising to see it continue. An example of that is Sadie Heeringa running 16:41 for 5000 meters and only being ranked at NCAA #4 on the national leaderboard in the first weekend of April.

Last year, it took until May 1st for four women to run that fast.

This was Heeringa’s first track 5k since last spring and it was a PR by over 40 seconds. We knew that she had that potential in her based on her All-American finish in cross country, but it was still a good sign to see those suspicions come to fruition.

She has very impressive speed as well, having run 4:50 for the mile this indoor season, so it will be intriguing to see what she does when she goes down to the 1500 meters.

11. Ana Tucker, Sophomore, Hope

Ana Tucker is back! After an indoor season that may have been disappointing by her high standards, she went down to Raleigh Relays and put together a very solid 10k season opener, running 35:19 in the process.

We know what Tucker is capable of, and the performance that she put together to start the outdoor season is certainly a promising sign. She looks to be very close fitness-wise to the heights that she was at last spring when she ran 16:37 (5k).

If she keeps progressing this way, then she can be a threat to almost anybody in the country.

10. Cassidy Kearney, Senior, Middlebury

Kearney has been busy so far this outdoor season. She opened her outdoor season with a 2:10 mark for 800 meters, then followed that up with a solid 4:32 time for 1500 meters a week later. She also came back to run a leg in the 4x400 meter relay each of those weeks.

Kearney is currently the NCAA #3 runner in the 1500 meters for D3 and the NCAA #4 runner in the 800 meters on the D3 national leaderboard. Oh, and Middlebury’s 4x400m relay is also the top-five.

Kearney has a truly elite combination of strength and speed. There aren’t many people finishing in the top-10 at the cross country national meet who can also run 58 seconds for 400 meters and 2:10 for 800 meters.

This versatility has the potential to serve her well at a national met final in both the 800 meters and the 1500 meters.

9. Fiona Smith, Sophomore, Saint Benedict’s

Fiona Smith has been one of the more consistent runners in the country for a long time. She has stayed in the top-10 for every one of our rankings updates from the beginning of the indoor season.

That’s why her 16:40 season opener over 5k was not at all surprising to see.

Smith has gotten to the point where you expect her to have performances like that week in and week out, and she is continuing to meet those grand expectations every time she gets on the track.

8. Zanzie Demco, Senior, UW-Oshkosh

Demco is coming off an exceptional indoor season that ultimately saw her earn a 3rd place finish in the mile at the NCAA Championships, her highest ever finish at a national meet. Since our last update, she opened the outdoor season in the 800 at the Wash U. Invite, finishing runner-up behind TSR #6 talent Emma Kelley in a time of 2:14.

That result is hardly surprising,

7. Emma Kelley, Sophomore, Washington U.

Kelley has carried all of her momentum onto the outdoor track after a massive indoor season that saw her run 2:09 (800) and 57 (400) with a runner-up national met finish in the 800 meters. She opened her season by going 2:10-low at a home meet, and it looks like she is well-positioned to continue to be one of the top middle distance talents in the country.

6. Aubrie Fisher, Sophomore, Wartburg

Aubrie Fisher is coming off of an indoor season where she ran some solid times, which she concluded by anchoring Wartburg to a national title in the DMR. Even though she had some indoor success, she was likely looking forward to the outdoor season and the return of the steeplechase.

The defending champion in the event, Fisher bolstered her status as the steeplechase title favorite by opening up with a 10:32 mark, just two seconds slower than the time that she ran to win the national meet last spring.

Fisher has proven to be a talented distance runner in a variety of events, but with a new event being introduced that fits her better than anything else, Fisher's value skyrockets in our rankings.

5. Evie Miller, Senior, Trine

We mentioned with Cassidy Kearney that there were very few athletes in D3 with more range than her. Evie Miller is one of those women.

Miller has been an elite 800 meter and mile runner for quite some time, and she added the 3k to her repertoire this winter after an outstanding cross country season. Her 16:26 (5k) opener at the Raleigh Relays further showed that she is elite across all distances.

It will be interesting to see what she focuses on for the next month and a half of competition, given that she has history within the 1500 meters, but is now sitting at the top of the national leaderboard in the 5k.

4. Ari Marks, Senior, Wellesley

Marks is coming into the outdoor season highly motivated to win her first national title after what can only be described as the greatest national meet performance to ever not win a title this past winter.

She opened up her outdoor season with what was likely a very comfortable effort with the purpose of pacing teammate Maya Bradbury to a PR of 17:58 at the Wellesley Invitational.

We are very excited to see her start reeling off all-out efforts, as well as make her debut in the 10k, an event which she seems destined for all-star success in.

3. Ella Baran, Junior, Johns Hopkins

Since our last update, Baran has continued her historic run of form. At the Raleigh Relays, she finished 16th in the 1500 meters in a star-studded (and largely D1) field with a time of 4:19

Not only is that time eight seconds clear of the next best runner at the top of the D3 leaderboard, it's also a NCAA #6 All-Time performance in D3. And she ran it in March!

The Johns Hopkins superstar is well on her way to a national title in the 1500 and it doesn't look like there's anyone who can stop her right now, at least not as far as potential postseason entrants in that event.

2. Esther Seeland, Sophomore, Messiah

Seeland has had a really solid start to the outdoor season, running 2:05 for 800 meters and 4:27 for 1500 meters. She is certainly in position to win yet another national title in the 800 meters and I wouldn't put it past her to go for a double at the national meet like she did at the indoor meet.

Seeland could use her top-end speed advantage to take a shot at upsetting Ella Baran in the 1500 meters, especially if the race is tactical, and then come back to the 800 meters with enough left to hold on for the win.

1. Kassie Parker, Senior, Loras

Wow! Kassie Parker has set yet another D3 record since we last posted rankings, this time in the 10k. Mary Proulx's mark of 33:21 stood for 19 years, but Parker shattered it with a 33:03 at the Stanford Invitational, where she finished 4th.

For reference, that time would have been ranked parker at NCAA #16 in Division One by the end of last spring. Parker is a talent that you don't see very often at the D3 level, and she is continuing to get better and better. That's a scary thing to think about considering how good she already is.