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April Anarchy Round of 64: Green Region (Women)
#1 Sally Kipyego (Texas Tech ‘09)
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#16 Stephanie Cotter (Adams State ‘22)
In place of writing about how dominant Sally Kipyego was during her collegiate career, we could just fill this space with the massive list of national titles she won.
Exactly how many? Nine.
Kipyego won three consecutive cross country titles from 2007 to 2009. On the track, she won both the 10k (2007) and 5k (2008) during the outdoor season, along with winning the 3k national title in 2007. Oh, and she also won three consecutive indoor 5k titles from 2007 to 2009 as well. The recent Olympic marathon qualifier was an absolute stud at Texas Tech and was one of the most dominant cross country runners in NCAA history.
Stephanie Cotter would likely have a much better seed if this bracket was taking place two to three years from now. The Adams State star has only been in the NCAA for two years, but already has four national titles to her name. Cotter won the 1500 meter national title at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2018 and was the indoor mile and DMR champion that same year. She only raced three times this past cross country season, but won all of her races, including the National Championships.
The biggest thing going against Cotter is the fact her career is still going. She had a very solid chance of repeating in the mile this indoor season if the meet had not been cancelled.
#8 Geena Gall (Michigan ‘09)
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#9 Tracy Robertson (Arkansas ‘01)
Geena Gall was one of the most prolific middle distance runners during her time at the University of Michigan. Coming into university as one of the top high school runners in the world, Gall quickly rose in the ranks of the NCAA, winning back-to-back national titles in the 800 meters in 2008 and 2009. While in the NCAA, Gall racked up a total of 10 BIG 10 titles, 10 All-American honors, and was a member of the 4x800 and 4x1500 relay teams that set collegiate records at the Penn Relays.
Tracy Robertson was also a strong middle distance runner during her time at Arkansas. The former Razorback won the NCAA title in the mile during the indoor season of 2001. Although this was her only individual title, Robertson earned a total of nine All-American honors over her four years in Fayetteville. She also won five SEC titles while running for Arkansas and helped the team to numerous SEC titles across cross country and track.
#5 Emma Coburn (Colorado '13)
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#12 Shelby Houlihan (Arizona State '15)
Emma Coburn won three national titles during her time at Colorado. She excelled in the steeplechase and won the event at the 2011 and 2013 Outdoor National Championships. She also won the 2013 mile, was runner-up in the steeplechase in 2010, placed 8th in the 2011 mile and was 20th at the 2012 Cross Country National Championships for a total of six All-American awards. She ranks NCAA #2 all-time in the steeplechase in the with her collegiate PR of 9:25. At the time, it was a collegiate national record until Courtney Frerichs broke the record four years later.
Shelby Houlihan was the 2014 1500 meter national champion and was a 10-time All-American for Arizona State. She placed 31st at NCAA's in cross country in 2012 and then bettered her performance to 8th and then 9th the following two years. She was a versatile distance runner that excelled from the 800 meters up to the 5k. She was runner-up at the 2015 Indoor National Championships in the mile as well as the 1500 meters one season later. Houlihan also placed 7th at the outdoor national meet in the 5000 meters that same year.
Houlihan's incredible range can be highlighted by her collegiate bests of 2:01 (800), 4:09 (1500), 9:03 (3k) and 15:49 (5k).
#4 Betsy Saina (Iowa State '13)
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#13 Emily Oren (Hillsdale '16)
Betsy Saina was the 2012 NCAA cross country champion, the 2012 indoor 5k champion and the 2013 10k champion. She was also the runner-up finisher in the 2010 10k, the 2013 indoor 5k and the 2013 outdoor 5k. If that wasn't enough, Saina also earned three additional All-American honors, twice in the 3000 meters and once more in the indoor 5k.
She had PR’s of 9:04 (3k), 15:12 (5k), and 31:37 (10k). Those 5k and 10k marks currently rank NCAA #6 and NCAA #3, respectively in the all-time collegiate outdoor record books. The Iowa State ace certainly left her mark on the NCAA distance running scene.
Emily Oren was a 12-time Division Two champion for Hillsdale. She won the 3k and DMR at the 2015 Indoor National Championships, the 5k and steeplechase at the 2015 and 2016 Outdoor National Championships, and the 1500 meters at the 2016 outdoor national meet.
Her most impressive feat was her triple at the 2016 Indoor National Championships where she won the mile, 3k and DMR. She owns the NCAA #2 all-time mark in the indoor 3k as well as the NCAA #2 all-time mark in the steeplechase and the NCAA #10 all-time in the 1500 meters. Emily Oren had a fantastic collegiate career and will be a very strong challenger to potentially topple Saina.
#6 Tiffany McWilliams (Mississippi State ‘04)
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#11 Aneita Denton (Arkansas ‘05)
While we have seen many older marks get left in the dust over recent years, Tiffany McWilliams personal bests would be just as competitive now as they were back in 2004. The Mississippi State athlete was a dominant middle distance force in the NCAA, winning back-to-back national titles in the 1500 meters over 2003 and 2004. She broke the collegiate record in the 1500 meters during the 2003 season, posting a mark of 4:06.75. She also won the indoor national title in the mile in 2004 and earned a total of six All-American awards during her four years.
Aneita Denton was one of the top 800 meter runners in the country dating back to the early 2000's. The former Arkansas Razorback boasted a University of Arkansas school record of 2:01.96 in the indoor 800 meters (which ranks NCAA #10 all-time). On the outdoor oval, Denton won the 2005 800 meter national title to pair with her indoor national title from the same year. In an era headlined by Katie Erdman, Alysia Montano and Maggie Vessey, Denton still came out on top when it mattered the most.
#3 Johanna Nilsson (Northern Arizona '06)
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#14 Alysia Montano (California '08)
Johanna Nilsson was one of the most dominant female athletes to ever represent the Lumberjacks and one who took over the NCAA scene early on in her career. She was the 2005 NCAA D1 XC champion her junior year when she crushed the field, winning by 12 seconds. Nilsson was in the lead or right off the leader for the entire race before she took off with roughly 1000 meters left to take the title. That same year, Nilsson was able to win both the mile and 3000 meter national titles at the NCAA Indoor National Championships running the two events just 90 minutes apart from each other. She was then named the 2006 NCAA D1 Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.
The former Cal Golden Bear earned her spot in our bracket as one of the best athletes to don the blue and gold. Alysia Montano (who competed as Alysia Johnson) had an incredible year in 2007 as a junior. She was able to finish the season undefeated and win the 800 meter national titles at both the indoor and outdoor national meets. She also went on to become the US Champion over 800 meters that same year.
At the 2007 Outdoor National Championships, Montano ran an incredible mark of 1:59, setting a Cal school record and establishing the third fastest time ever for a collegian over 800 meters (a mark that is still intact today). She also went on to be named the 2008 PAC-10 Women’s Track Athlete of the Year.
#7 Hannah England (Florida State ‘08)
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#10 Anne Shadle (Nebraska ‘05)
It’s rare to see one-and-done athletes in distance running at the NCAA level. While it’s relatively common amongst basketball players, runners compete at the collegiate level for four to six years, looking to maximize their performances.
Hannah England, however, is an exception.
Originally from the United Kingdom, England spent a year at Florida State as part of her program at Birmingham University. She made the most of that time in athletics, winning national titles in the indoor mile and the outdoor 1500 meters during the 2008 seasons.
In contrast to England, it took Anne Shadle three and a half years in the NCAA to really find her stride. Shadle was a solid runner for Nebraska during her first three seasons, qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the steeplechase in both 2003 and 2004. However, her biggest successes came in the 2005 seasons when she claimed national titles in the mile indoors and the 1500 meters during outdoors. During her outdoor title, Shadle also set the Nebraska school record, clocking a time of 4:11.37.
#2 Lisa Uhl (Iowa State ‘10)
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#15 Nia Akins (Penn ‘20)
Lisa Uhl (formerly Lisa Koll) could easily be considered the fastest 5k/10k woman in collegiate history. Uhl set the American Collegiate Record in 2008 in 32:11, before setting the collegiate record two years later in 2010 in 31:18.07. That record still stands and has never been challenged within 15 seconds.
Not only was Uhl dominant in terms of best times, Uhl graduated with numerous NCAA Championships. Uhl won the 2008 10k national title by a full minute. Uhl’s other titles came in the indoor 5k, outdoor 5k, and the outdoor 5k in 2010. That year, Uhl also placed 2nd in the indoor 3k by less than 0.20 seconds.
Uhl’s collegiate personal records include 8:56 (3k), 15:17 (5k) and 31:18 (10k). Uhl holds the All-Time best 5k (14:55) and 10k times in collegiate history, although her 5k time came in the summer after her graduation.
Nia Akins likely had the most to gain out of any of the 2020 seniors as she was the favorite for the indoor and outdoor 800 meter national titles. Akins jumped onto the national scene her junior year with back-to-back runner-up NCAA finishes. The Penn star was also known for her dominant lead-off leg in the 2019 Penn Relays DMR that brought Penn their first Penn Relays championship wheel.
Akins’ short 2020 campaign was nothing but dominant. Losing only her first race of the season in a field predominantly made up of pros, Akins went undefeated through the remainder of her season. She also set the NCAA #2 all-time indoor performance at 800 meters in 2:00.71. She doesn't have a national title, but that doesn't mean she wasn't an all-time great.
