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One Sentence Previews: 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships Women's 3k Steeple (D3)

  • Brett Haffner
  • May 25, 2022
  • 4 min read

Additional contributions by Garrett Zatlin



NOTE: Athletes are listed in order of their seed position. Final predictions are at the bottom.

1. Evie Miller (Trine)

With a historic steeplechase season underway and given the absolutely ridiculous range that she has flexed, Miller’s dominance in 2022 should result in her winning a national title.


2. Aubrie Fisher (Wartburg)

Even though she’s the reigning national champion in the steeplechase, Fisher has her work cut out for her with Evie Miller in this field, giving way to a potential electric final which could be an all-out test of Fisher's aerobic capabilities.


3. Molly Fitzgibbons (Williams)

Nearly qualifying in the 1500 meters as well, Fitzgibbons’ steeplechasing abilities will be on full display this weekend, as she could do some serious damage in this event with her underappreciated middle distance prowess.


4. Alyssa Laughner (Baldwin Wallace)

Laughner has been running very well in the steeplechase all year long, but she made a terrific jump at the Harrison Dillard Twilight meet, running 10:37 for a 19-second PR, giving her some outstanding momentum to pair with her excellent consistency.


5. Rachel Hirschkind (SUNY Geneseo)

Earning a PR from the front at the AARTFC Championships, Hirschkind has proven that she can run well tactical races and in fast races, giving her an arsenal of tools for numerous race situations coming into the national meet.


6. Emma Malooly (UW-La Crosse)

Malooly placed 3rd in the steeplechase at the 2021 outdoor national meet and with the season she’s had so far, non-barrier events considered, seeing a replication of that performance wouldn’t be too surprising for the veteran who doesn't really have anything to dislike on her resume.


7. Ellie Meyer (Wartburg)

Meyer has dropped buckets of time in the steeplechase this year, dropping 33 seconds from her debut time of 11:17 down to her current PR of 10:44, although the most dangerous aspect of her resume is that she may have even more room for greater improvement.


8. Audrey Grimes (Middlebury)

Grimes’ 10:51 performance at the Williams Final Qualifier was a really nice jump from her previous attempts at the steeplechase and she even has two late-season wins in this event, giving us a lot to like about this MIddlebury talent going into this weekend.


9. Isabella Glenn (Redlands)

Finding herself earning a PR in every event this spring, Glenn has exhibited solid momentum with each of her attempts in the steeplechase, knocking down her time down to 10:51, although her lack of national meet experience could potentially counter her hot streak in this event.


10. Kate Kenny (Middlebury)

Although she’s behind teammate Audrey Grimes on the national leaderboard, Kenny has been very consistent in this event all season long and even has a handful of nationally competitive marks in other events, further validating her overall talent.


11. Emma Palumbo (Saint Lawrence)

Finding her groove in the steeplechase, Palumbo went sub-11:00 on her final two attempts in this event during the season, resulting in a 10:53 PR, which puts her in contention to compete for All-American honors, especially with the rest of her resume displaying overall improvements throughout this spring season.


12. Mary Bernotas (Eastern)

Bernotas has won every single steeplechase that she has contested in 2022, dropping quality times throughout the season, and with some good competition at the national meet, does that mean her ceiling could rise even higher?


13. Emily Gilligan (Elmhurst)

Gilligan ran an impressive 10:54 mark at the Bryan Clay Invitational and came back to win the CCIW Conference Championships in the steeplechase as well, showing off her ability to run well in various race settings.


14. Jenna Allman (Calvin)

Allman focused mainly on the steeplechase this season, a decision which paid off big time following her consistent improvements and her 10:54 PR, all of which give her crazy-high momentum coming into this meet.


15. Sara Stephenson (Johns Hopkins)

Stephenson has found great success in non-barrier events, but she has also qualified for the national meet in the steeplechase (in addition to the 5000 meters), making her probably one of the top women in this field if you look outside of one's steeplechase prowess.


16. Kendall Accetta (Colorado College)

Accetta has been having a solid outdoor season this year, finding herself personal bests in all of her distance events while creating a niche ability in the steeplechase, the latter of which earned her a place to the NCAA Championships with a high-upside PR of 10:57 in tow.


17. Nora Blodgett (Swarthmore)

Making a big jump down in time when it mattered most, Blodgett ran 10:57 at the Swarthmore Final Qualifier, finishing just behind Mary Bernotas, a result that could overshadow the fact that Blodgett won three-straight steeplechase races this spring.


18. Caroline McMartin (Central College)

McMartin has been a consistent performer in the steeplechase all season long, running between 11:00 and 11:09 in her three seasonal attempts at the event, leaving us to wonder if she's knocking on the door of a big new PR.


19. Maya Bradbury (Wellesley)

Bradbury made small, incremental improvements each race throughout the season in the steeplechase, but those little improvements have added up in a big way, rewarding her with an 11:00 PR and an opportunity to crack that 11 minute-barrier at the national meet, a highly realistic goal that this field could lead her towards.


20. Bayleigh Redd (Southern Virginia)

Significant improvement in this event is very common from attempt to attempt, but Redd is probably the only person in this field to have contested only one steeple race in the regular season, meaning that she's a bit of a wild card in this race.


21. Einat Gavish (MIT)

Gavish ran a 19-second PR at the MIT Final Qualifier to earn herself a spot to the national meet, but can that kind of jump be replicated on the national stage after originally coming out of nowhere?


22. Kelsey Lagunas (Lynchburg)

Lagunas has won every steeplechase race that she has contested this year which could give way to a very big improvement if she is able to maintain that same composure on a different stage like the national meet.


Final Predictions:

  1. Evie Miller (Trine)

  2. Aubrey Fisher (Wartburg)

  3. Molly Fitzgibbons (Williams)

  4. Emma Malooly (UW-La Crosse)

  5. Rachel Hirschkind (SUNY Geneseo)

  6. Alyssa Laughner (Baldwin Wallace)

  7. Ellie Meyer (Wartburg)

  8. Kate Kenny (Middlebury)

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