2022 D3 Outdoor Top 15 Rankings (Women): Update #2

TSR Collaboration
Apr 20, 2022
8 min read

Written by Brett Haffner and Kevin Fischer, 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. Delaney Sall, Sophomore, Calvin (Unranked)

Sall has kept getting better and better all throughout 2022. She most recently dropped her 800 meter time down to 2:10, securing a great win at the Marv Frye invitational.

Not only that, but this Calvin ace has even worked on her 400 meter speed, running 58.6 for the win in her most recent race.

If she can get into a more competitive race and eclipse the 2:10 barrier, then Sall should continue to raise her stock as a competitive force in the 800 meters. She held her own throughout the winter months and her consistency is certainly not in question.

Now it's just a matter of how much momentum she can build en route to a potentially higher finish at the national meet.

14. Meredith Bloss, Junior, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Unranked)

Bloss had been establishing herself as an up-and-coming name in the Division Three ranks during this academic year. However, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps star has really made a name for herself in the most recent weeks of competition.

Her 16:51 mark over 5000 meters back in March was very solid, but the best performance she’s had this season came last weekend, throwing down an impressive 34:35 time in the 10,000 meters. At the moment, that time puts her at NCAA #4 in the event for Division Three.

We’ll see which events Bloss decides to pursue throughout the rest of the season, but it seems very likely that the longer distance events are becoming a marquee area for her. That of course, makes plenty of sense given her racing tendencies (and success) over the last two seasons.

13. Clara Mayfield, Sophomore, Carleton (+2 / 15)

Mayfield has had a solid start to her outdoor track season, which was made even more solid with her seasonal debut in the 10,000 meters, running a mark of 34:41 for the distance.

In that race, Mayfield didn’t finish too far behind local rival Fiona Smith, as the mark puts her at NCAA #5 on the D3 national leaderboard. She also currently sits at NCAA #6 in the 5000 meters and a respectable NCAA #20 in the 1500 meters, too.

We’ll likely see her focus on the longer events through the remainder of the season, but Mayfield’s already gotten the job done of hitting likely qualifying marks. The next step, however, will be seeing what she can do to reach the next level and end the current winning streak that Smith current holds over her.

12. Molly Fitzgibbons, Sophomore, Williams (+2 / 14)

Fitzgibbons’ steeplechase mark of 10:35 still holds quite strong as the NCAA #3 mark in Division Three which shouldn’t have an issue holding on for a national qualifying mark. To add to that, that steeple mark was from her season opener, giving way to likely improvement in a steeplechase event that can often yield large PR jumps.

Making her 5000 meter debut this past weekend, Fitzgibbons ran 17:21. That's not a bad time by any means, but it doesn’t exactly equate to the same prowess she has already established in the steeplechase.

Considering that she’s more of a miler by virtue, having placed 5th at the indoor national meet in the event, this was a good "off-distance" event for her to build off of as the season goes on.

11. Cassidy Kearney, Senior, Middlebury (-1 / 10)

Since our last update, Kearney has only raced once, but she certainly made that opportunity count.

The Middlebury ace brought home a win in the 1500 meters in 4:31, winning the race by six seconds, improving on her already-impressive marks that she had already run.

Kearney has still yet to lose an individual race this season, but she has also been running very fast, giving her a resume that shows tons of positives and very little negatives. Her continued momentum, ongoing improvement, consistent winning and sneaky-good versatility makes Kearney a name to watch throughout this season despite her one-spot drop in our rankings.

10. Zanzie Demco, Senior, UW-Oshkosh (-2 / 8)

At the Ashton May Invitational two weekends ago, Demco completed a very solid double in the 1500 meters and the 800 meters, winning both events in fields that consisted of very respectable competition.

Aubrie Fisher nearly gave Demco a run for her money in that 1500 meter battle, but Demco’s half-mile speed helped her at the end of the day, holding her off on the homestretch.

Demco hasn’t raced since then. However, we haven’t seen her chase after a fast 800 meter time yet this season, meaning that an all-out 800 meter effort could very likely be on the horizon for this Oshkosh standout.

She only drops in our rankings because of the performances from other women ranked ahead of her.

9. Fiona Smith, Sophomore, Saint Benedict (0 / 9)

Smith has been on a tear so far this outdoor season, bringing home a win in each of the three races that she has contested so far.

She’s run 4:34 in the 1500 meters (NCAA #9 in Division Three), 16:40 over 5000 meters (NCAA #3 in Division Three) and 34:33 in the 10,000 meters (NCAA #3 in Division Three), all of which are highly competitive marks in each event.

The most impressive part? She ran the 1500 meters and 5000 meters with zero competition, dismantling the fields by large margins while still demonstrating her ability to run fast no matter what.

She even took down rival Clara Mayfield in that aforementioned 10,000 meter race, giving her the icing on the cake to secure her place to the outdoor national meet.

When Smith gets the chance to get into a fast, talented field, we could see her throw down some ridiculous times later this season. The fact that she already secured yet another win over a top-tier talent in Mayfield further validates that Smith's ability to race at a high level every single time she toes the line.

8. Kathleen McCarey, Sophomore, SUNY Geneseo (Unranked)

McCarey’s improvement from last year to this year has been fantastic and we even voted her as the "Most Improved" woman in Division Three for the indoor track season.

Her performance in the 5000 meters at the indoor national meet was one big step into the next level, but her recent jump up to the 10,000 meters has only taken her a step further.

She ran 34:26 for the NCAA #2 time in Division Three, finishing behind Kassie Parker.

If this performance says anything about her, it’s that McCarey fits the "long-range" profile very well, having both excelled in the 5000 meters and the 10,000 meters in 2022.

Only five women have broken 35:00 over 10,000 meters in Division Three and McCarey’s obliteration of that standard has put herself in elite company for a high-end All-American finish come the outdoor national meet.

As long as she replicates and builds off of her success from indoors, it's hard to not see tremendous postseason value in McCarey right now.

7. Emma Kelley, Sophomore, Washington U. (0 / 7)

Kelley has been incredibly consistent this outdoor season. She is undefeated in all four of her individual races, as well all four 4x400m relays that she has run in. Two of those races were 800s and she ran 2:10 in both instances.

In fact, going back to the start of the indoor season, she has contested the 800 eight times and her slowest effort in that stretch was a 2:11.

Wow.

In an event with so much unpredictability outside of Seeland, it is hard to find somebody who runs as consistently fast as Emma Kelley has in any conditions against any competition.

Reliability, especially in the postseason, matters...a lot.

6. Aubrie Fisher, Sophomore, Wartburg (0 / 6)

Fisher ran a nice 5k personal best of 16:48 to take down a highly competitive field at the UW-Platteville Invitational this past weekend. Ultimately, her focus for the postseason will be in the steeplechase, but this result served as a reminder that she is still nationally competitive in most distance races, barrier or no barrier.

This year, the steeplechase at the national meet will once again have a preliminary round after it was just a final round last year due to smaller field sizes. This means that it may be tough for Fisher to come back for the 5k at the national meet after already racing twice that weekend.

Of course, that scenario still isn't out of the question. Fisher is flat-out talented and although she should be viewed as a steeple title contender, her recent 5k result only help her resume in our rankings.

5. Ari Marks, Senior, Wellesley (-1 / 4)

Marks ran a really solid 5k mark of 16:26 at Providence since our last rankings update came out. After such a strong performance, it feels pretty harsh to drop her down one spot.

Of course, after Evie Miller’s 10:23 steeplechase debut, it was a decision we had to make.

Marks also ran a 4:37 for 1500 meters this past Friday at the Silfen Invitational to finish 2nd only to TSR #10 runner Cassidy Kearney at the Silfen Invitational, showing us that Marks has a little bit of speed to go along with her longer distance prowess.

Regardless, the 10k still seems like it’s calling her name even though she hasn’t contested it before. It’s very possible that a 10k effort from her will come in the next few weeks, and if it does, then she will inevitably put down a very fast mark...although just how fast remains to be seen.

4. Evie Miller, Senior, Trine (+1 / 5)

Everyone who follows D3 distance running knows how impressive Evie Miller’s range is.

It is, after all, something that we’ve talked about several times.

But she just furthered that narrative another step by adding the steeplechase to her repertoire. She now sits at NCAA #1 on the national leaderboard in the event after running 10:23. Oh, and she is also ranked at NCAA #2 in the 5000 meters, NCAA #3 in the 1500 meters and NCAA #9 in the 800 meters.

If I’m Miller, I’m asking to run a 10k/400 double next week just to have top-50 marks in six different events this season.

3. Ella Baran, Junior, Johns Hopkins (0 / 3)

Since our last update, Baran temporarily dipped down in distance to the 800 meters, running a very strong time of 2:10. This was a top-five mark in D3, but it ultimately will not be the distance that she focuses on for the rest of the season.

Now that she has gotten the wheels turning a little quicker in a shorter event, it will be exciting to see what the second-half of the season will hold for her in the 1500 and even the 5000.

We'd like to say more, but a 2:10 mark for 800 meters seems about right for Baran and it doesn't really change the postseason picture all that much considering that she likely won't run the event.

2. Esther Seeland, Sophomore, Messiah (0 / 2)

Seeland won the 800 meters at the Larry Ellis Invitational against a largely D1 field this past weekend in a season best time of 2:04.85.

She continues to show us why she is a clear favorite to win a national title in the 800 meters this spring. There just isn’t anybody in D3 who can run as fast as her over that distance.

1. Kassie Parker, Senior, Loras (0 / 1)

Parker has raced only once since our last update, experimenting with some speed in a solo 4:34 mark for 1500 meters. The time wasn’t crazy considering that she ran 4:50 in an indoor mile race, but it was still a strong effort to run that fast with nobody challenging her in what is certainly not her primary event.

A fast 5k is likely coming soon which will obviously pair well with her D3 10k record that she posted earlier this season.