Indoor Top 25: Update #2 (1/29) (Women)

25. Fiona O'Keeffe, Rs. Sophomore, Stanford (-6 / 18)

We have yet to see teammate Christina Aragon make her season debut, but O'Keeffe had a nice opener at Washington with a 4:39 mile. Despite the strong time, she had to lose few spots in our rankings due to a number breakout performances in the mile and the incredible talent in the 5000 meters.

24. Susan Ejore, Junior, Oregon (Unranked)

It's hard to dislike what we've seen from this Oregon junior so far in 2019. Ejore ripped off a fast time of 2:44 for 1000 meters at the UW Preview and just recently ran a 4:35 mile at the UW Invite. She has become an integral part of the Ducks distance arsenal and should be a key name to watch moving forward.

23. Jessica Pascoe, Junior, Florida (0 / 23)

For someone who will likely focus on the 3000 and 5000 meters later this season, a time of 4:43 in the mile is a solid result. It's nice to see that she's developing some of her mid-distance speed before the later portion of the season arrives.

22. Elly Henes, Junior, NC State (-2 / 20)

Her 15:34 5k is still a top 10 time in the NCAA, but she was able to tack on a personal best of 4:38 in the mile as well. Much like Monson and Pascoe, it's nice to see a top long distance talent drop down in distance and further develop her speed.

21. Alicia Monson, Junior, Wisconsin (0 / 21)

After running a flat-track converted 4:36 in the mile, Monson showed off her long distance fitness this past weekend with a monster time of 15:34, currently placing her at #11 in the NCAA for 5000 meters. With such strong performances in both the mile and 5k, it will be interesting to see how she'll fare in the 3000 meters (which may be her best event this season).

20. Carina Viljoen, Junior, Arkansas (Unranked)

19. Lauren Gregory, Rs. Freshman, Arkansas (Unranked)

When you run as fast as this Arkansas duo did, it's hard to leave them out of the Top 25. The Razorback pairing of Gregory and Viljoen kept things interesting this past weekend when they faced off against Oregon's Jessica Hull in the mile. Neither of them pulled out the win, but they secured two NCAA top five times in the process.

Gregory (4:32) and Viljoen (4:33) may be at the top of the NCAA leaderboard, but we haven't seen this kind of elite fitness from either of them before. They both lack experience on the big stage (Nationals), so I would like to see how the rest of their season goes before we move them up our rankings.

18. Millie Paladino, Senior, Providence (+1 / 19)

Millie Paladino continues to stay under the radar. She has shown off some incredible range so far this season with times of 2:08 and 9:19. She recently ran a blistering 2:42 for 1000 meters at Boston, further strengthening the idea that the mile is her sweet spot for the 2019 indoor track season.

17. Nicole Hutchinson, Senior, Villanova (+5 / 22)

Hutchinson has been on fire so far this season. The Villanova ace recently anchored her Wildcat teammates to an NCAA #4 time of 10:59 in the DMR and posted a 4:33 mile as well to beat out 2017 indoor mile champion Karisa Nelson. Watching out for this 'Nova star in March...

16. Charlotte Prouse, Junior, New Mexico (0 / 16)

We haven't seen Prouse toe the line since her 15:26 personal best at Boston. If we don't see her the next time New Mexico hits the track, then there may be a cause for injury concern.

15. Erin Finn, Rs. Senior, Michigan (-8 / 7)

Erin Finn has extended her racing hiatus as we have not yet seen her post a result this indoor season. If she doesn't race at Michigan's home meet this weekend, then it is very likely that she'll be opting not to race this indoor season so that she can focus on outdoor track.

14. Dorcas Wasike, Rs. Sophomore, Louisville (-1 / 13)

Wasike's 4:48 from the Notre Dame Invite two weekends ago isn't anything eventful, but we can't dismiss her 15:25 5k from Boston. Hopefully we see her in a 3k soon.

13. Katie Rainsberger, Rs. Sophomore, Washington (+1 / 14)

So far, Rainsberger seems to be adjusting well to life in Seattle. The Husky ace threw down a very strong 4:36 this past weekend after anchoring her DMR to an NCAA #5 time of 11:00. The highlights may have gone to Sinclaire and Ostrander, but Rainsberger can't be forgotten for staying competitive in one of the more stronger fields of the weekend.

12. Sharon Lokedi, Senior, Kansas (-2 / 10)

Lokedi hasn't raced since she ran 15:15 for 5000 meters back in December. We'll continue to monitor the results in hopes that she'll be back on the track this season.

11. Rachel Pocratsky, Senior, Virginia Tech (0 / 11)

So far, Pocratsky has run back-to-back 1k's this season and the results have been worth her ranking. After opening up her season with a 2:47 and following that up with a 2:43 two weeks ago, it's clear that Pocratsky was readying herself for a big mile debut at the JDL Fast Track this weekend.

10. Karisa Nelson, Senior, Samford (+2 / 12)

It's been over a year since we last saw the 2017 mile national champion step onto a track. Her return, however, has certainly been entertaining. She may have lost to Nicole Hutchinson at the Armory this past weekend, but a 4:34 mile result puts her back into the All-American conversation. With season bests of 2:05 and 9:22, Nelson may have some of the best range in the NCAA as of right now. For that reason, she moves into the top 10.

9. Allie Ostrander, Junior, Boise State (0 / 9)

We saw two very strong efforts from Ostrander in first competition back from winter break. However, she dropped to 2nd in both of her races this past weekend as Oklahoma State's Sinclaire Johnson proved to be her kyrptonite. Nonetheless, anchoring her relay to a 10:56 and running 4:35 the next day is super impressive, especially for someone who is predominately a 3k/5k runner. Still, it would've been nice to see her emerge at the top of the results in one of those races.

8. Jazmine Fray, Senior, Texas A&M

It's been a very quiet January for the Aggie senior who has been on relay duty in her last two weekends of competition. Look for Fray to make her 800 debut in the next week or two.

7. Sinclaire Johnson, Sophomore, Oklahoma State (Unranked)

When I watched the replay of the UW Invite DMR, I audibly said out loud "Wow, that was incredible" to an audience of no one. Oklahoma State gave Sinclaire Johnson the stick well behind the leaders. There was at least a 30 meter gap before she steadily climbed back into the top group and pulled away for the win in the final 150 meters. Her patience and poise showed a tremendous amount of race acumen, something that you don't often find in underclassmen. As if that wasn't enough, Johnson would go on to run 4:35 in the mile and hold off Allie Ostrander for the second night in a row to earn the top collegiate spot.

I'm usually someone who is pretty conservative on their estimates and rankings after seeing just one big weekend of performances, but this was one was wildly impressive. Plus, I didn't think anyone else was suited for the #7 spot in our rankings...

6. Sammy Watson, Sophomore, Texas A&M (-2 / 4)

Admittedly, Watson's season debut for 800 meters was a bit underwhelming. Her 2:06.89 was eventually converted to a 2:06.52 following her upset by Alyssa Brewer (USC) at Texas Tech. It's important that we don't over analyze this performance, but it wasn't the start that Ben Weisel was looking for in regards to his fantasy track team...

5. Weini Kelati, Sophomore, New Mexico (+1 / 6)

The New Mexico sophomore star has been known her for what she can do in the longer distances, but she impressed many fans of the NCAA this past weekend with a 4:39 mile at nearly 5000 feet of altitude. That time converts to an NCAA #3 ranking, although it's fair to say that Kelati will likely choose to run the 3000 and 5000 meters over the mile. Then again, with Kurgat likely attempting the same double, the Lobos may think about fielding Kelati in the mile and 3k to maximize their points. Don't shut down that idea just yet...

4. Ednah Kurgat, Senior, New Mexico (-2 / 2)

The New Mexico veteran still holds the top time in the NCAA when it comes to the 5000 meter racing distance. However, she hasn't raced since Boston, leaving many of us to wonder what her next move will be.

3. Danae Rivers, Junior, Penn State (+2 / 5)

So far, 2019 has been the year of Danae Rivers. The Penn State superstar has elevated her fitness to a completely new level this year. She ran a collegiate record of 2:38.58 for 1000 meters in her season opener and just ran 2:02 this past weekend. Rivers has gone from an All-American lock, to a very legitimate national title contender. It'll be interesting to see if she attempts the mile this season and what she decides to run when Nationals rolls around.

2. Jessica Hull, Senior, Oregon (+1 / 3)

The national champion for 1500 meters in 2018 has returned to the indoor equivalent of that distance and absolutely dominated in her debut. Her 4:31.03 was enough to claim the top time in the NCAA and hold off two very impressive efforts from Arkansas' Lauren Gregory (4:32) and Carina Viljoen (4:33). With a strong mile time now under her belt, Hull can look towards the 3000 meters as her next choice of an event. Since the mile finals will be complete before the 3k toes the line at Nationals, it's hard to see the Oregon senior not attempting the mile/3k double this year (should she qualify for both events).

1. Dani Jones, Senior, Colorado (0 / 1)

Jones is the only one on this list who hasn't officially raced this indoor season. That, however, should come as no surprise considering Colorado's "lay-low" approach towards racing. Expect to see the Colorado star make her season debut this weekend or next.