GRAD TRANSFER: Sophie Ryan to Finish Eligibility at Binghamton

In February, Utah middle distance runner Sophia Ryan announced via Instagram that she will be finishing her eligibility at Binghamton University as a graduate transfer starting next fall. She is expected to have at least one year of eligibility remaining across all three seasons of competition.

Ryan has emerged as a very reliable and underrated distance runner. She has recorded highly respectable personal bests of 2:53 (1k), 4:26 (1500) and 4:45 (mile) on the track. Ryan has also shown signs of promise on the grass, leading us to believe that she could make meaningful contributions for the Binghamton women in the America East Conference.

Ryan was a member of Utah's national qualifying DMR lineup which will be competing at the NCAA Indoor Championships next weekend. She split a strong mark of 3:24 on the opening 1200 meter leg of the Utes relay at the Alex Wilson Invitational.

The Binghamton men and women have produced plenty of encouraging results as of late.

Current Bearcat superstar Emily Mackay has evolved into one of the most versatile and most dominant distance talents in the NCAA this winter. Meanwhile, Dan Schaffer has made plenty of noise of his own, running 3:57 (mile) and 7:50 (3k) this indoor season.

Despite former assistant distance coach Pat Murray recently leaving Binghamton for an opportunity at Loyola (Ill.), the Bearcats' biggest and best stars have continued to thrive under head distance coach Annette Acuff.

While Ryan isn't necessarily expected to be the next Emily Mackay, her introduction into this program shows us that Binghamton will continue to take aim at landing (and producing) talented distance runners.

Ryan will also be a nice replacement scorer for Binghamton as she'll be able to compensate for some of the lost scoring at conference meets that Mackay will eventually leave behind.