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Three Sentences Or Less: 2023 D2 NCAA Outdoor Championship Women's 5k Preview
- Grace McLaughlin
- May 25, 2023
- 8 min read
Written by Grace McLaughlin
Edits and additional commentary by John Cusick & Garrett Zatlin
Do you have an interest in writing for The Stride Report? We're looking for high school coverage writers and Division Three writers. Want to know more? Read this and send us an email at contact@thestridereport.com to let us know!
Editor's Note: Our TSR writers were asked to produce three sentences or less of analysis on every entrant in every distance event for every division. We will be slowly rolling out these previews leading up to the indoor national meets. Stay tuned!
The below list is ordered by seeding
1. Lindsay Cunningham (Winona State)
The D2 indoor record holder and indoor national title winner at this distance has run 15:45 (5k) and 32:43 (10k) in the past few weeks and has faced fierce competition. Lindsay Cunningham is clearly fit and her consistent front-running tactics in the endurance events will do her well over 12-and-a-half laps this weekends. And while she won't have to battle Stephanie Cotter, she will have to face the altitude, making her typical racing style a bit riskier.
2. Florance Uwajeneza (West Texas A&M)
Florence Uwajeneza goes into this weekend with momentum from her successful cross country and indoor track seasons, a shiny new 10k PR of 32:49 and a national qualifying time of 16:07 (5k) on the outdoor oval. Her aerobic strength has improved plenty and it seems like the longer the race, the better she gets. Matching the closing speed of some of her competitors could be an issue this weekend, especially after doubling back from the 10k, but she might be your best bet not named Lindsay Cunningham to win the 5k national title.
3. Klaudia O’Malley (Grand Valley State)
Klaudia O’Malley has historically been a star on the grass, a successful metric mile/mile runner and a nationally competitive name over 3000 meters and the 5000 meters. The Laker ace will contest the 1500/5k double this weekend and historically, O'Malley hasn't always met expectations when she's contesting multiple races on the national stage. Things could get even trickier with the altitude in Colorado, but O’Malley is an experienced veteran and one of the most complete distance talents in this field.
4. Zoe Baker (Colorado Mines)
Zoe Baker is an incredibly reliable veteran endurance specialist who has shown a jump up in her fitness this season. Her PR of 16:07 (5k) from April will put her in the chase pack this weekend and while her performances at previous championships meets are not as flashy as some of her competitors, Baker can rely on her current momentum (as well as the altitude advantage) to bring her to another All-American honor in the event.
5. Natalie Graber (Grand Valley State)
Natalie Graber finished her indoor track season as our “Most Improved” D2 women’s athlete and she has carried that momentum onto the outdoor track, running major PRs in the metric mile, the steeplechase and the 5000 meters. Her dynamic talent and overall firepower lead us to believe she is capable of a top-five finish this weekend, even while doubling in the steeplechase and coming from sea level.
6. Brianna Robles (Adams State)
Brianna Robles is the reigning national champion in this event and while she’s been running well this season, she hasn’t been laying down the same times on the outdoor oval as she was last year. Despite this, she was the runner-up finisher in both the 3k and the 5k at the indoor national meet in March as well as the 10k last spring. She is incredibly reliable and an excellent runner in terms of aerobic strength and closing speed, but the competition this year will be much stronger.
7. Katie Doucette (Western Colorado)
The recent Colorado graduate transfer signee has been relatively quiet this season, but she ran a 10k PR of 34:19 at the APU Last Chance meet and won the RMAC title in the 5k with a converted mark of 16:13, showing us that she’s just as fit as ever. These flashes of the same strength-based talent that we saw from her during the 2022 indoor track season, as well as altitude playing a factor, make Katie Doucette potentially underrated (which feels weird to say) heading into this weekend.
8. Marissa D’Atri (Chico State)
Marissa D’Atri is an athlete who you want to buy stock in right now. She showed a jump up in fitness this past fall with her 14th place finish at the cross country national meet and she has only improved since then. Her recent personal bests of 10:21 in the steeplechase and 16:14 in the 5k shows us that her ceiling for success has dramatically increased, but we can't forget that D'Atri will also be on the double on Saturday.
9. Emily Schoellkopf (Adams State)
Just like Marissa D'Atri, Emily Shoellkopf is also running the steeplechase/5k double and has run PRs of 10:27 and 16:16 in those respective events. Outside of those two races, Schoellkopf hasn’t shown a lot of firepower, making us question how she’ll perform this weekend which seems to be a common theme for the Grizzlies this season. But after ending her indoor track season with an 8th place finish in this same event, Schoellkopf could be a sneaky-good name to watch, especially the altitude advantage.
10. Morgan Hykes (Adams State)
Morgan Hyke’s three-sentence preview is almost identical to her teammate, Emily Schoellkopf, minus the All-American performance from the indoor track season and a slightly faster steeplechase PR of 10:24. Hykes is a bit more speed-based and focused on the mile and the 3k during the indoor track season, but her identical 16:16 PR in the 5k and quiet spring season also makes her an interesting name to watch this weekend.
11. Lauren Kiley (Grand Valley State)
Lauren Kiley is going to be a problem at the Division Two level for years to come. Grand Valley State’s freshman phenom ended her indoor track season on a lower note than we were expecting after her 7th place finish at the cross country national meet, but her 5k PR of 16:17 from April and recent 1500 meter efforts indicate that she has improved her aerobic fitness and turnover. Her gained experience and Grand Valley State’s pattern of peaking perfectly put her in the conversation for All-American honors.
12. Madison Brown (Dallas Baptist)
Madison Brown has earned All-American honors in cross country, but she has yet to earn that kind of finish on the oval. However, her most recent 5k PR of 16:19 suggests that all of that could be changing this weekend. Overall, Brown is a solid and consistent strength-based talent, but she’ll need to show another jump up in fitness this weekend to place in the top-eight.
13. Allison Beasley (Western Colorado)
Allison Beasley is easily becoming Western Colorado’s next star with the departure of Doucette after this season. Like many of her competitors, the Mountaineer ace is running the steeplechase/5k double this weekend and while sh has shown solid progression in both events, she’ll have to have amazing races to compete with the top of the field. Luckily, she has the altitude to her advantage and she could sneak her way into the top-10 by virtue of being more comfortable with the elevation than her opponents.
14. Kira MacGill (Colorado Mesa)
Kira MacGill narrowly missed All-American honors in the 5k back in March, but that hasn’t stopped her from succeeding this spring. She recently tied her 5k PR of 16:23 at the APU Last Chance meet, indicating that her fitness is in the right spot heading into this weekend. She’s been working on her turnover in the 1500 meters and ran a PR of 4:25 which will be beneficial in closing out the final laps this weekend, especially with the competition as narrow as it is.
15. Celine Ritter (Lee (Tenn.))
Celine Ritter could be the biggest surprise in this event this weekend. The Flames' ace has been on fire the past few weeks (no pun intended), running 2:06 over 800 meters, 4:18 in the metric mile and pulling off an impressive triple gold effort at the Gulf South Outdoor Championships. With her recent displays of aerobic firepower and leg speed, Ritter has shown us that she can better her 5th place finish in this event from last spring, even with her recent-ish absence from competition and having to double at altitude.
16. Kayce Rypma (Grand Valley State)
Kayce Rypma is steadily developing into a star runner for the Lakers. While her better event is the steeplechase, her recent 5k PR of 16:27 shows us that she has improved since her 13th place finish in this event from the indoor national meet. While I wouldn’t put her in the All-American conversation in this field, a top-12 finish seems likely with her dynamic talent and recent momentum.
17. Kylie Anicic (Edinboro)
Kylie Anicic is a skilled endurance specialist who is often overshadowed by powerhouse superstars, but the Edinboro ace was an All-American in both the 3000 and the 5000 meters at the indoor national meet and she has only gained momentum since then. Anicic opened up the outdoor track season with a huge PR of 34:30 in the 10k and a 4:25 mark in the 1500 meters. She ran just two seconds shy of her 5k PR of 16:25 a few weeks ago, but her other performances indicate that she is heading into this weekend as an all-around better athlete ready for another breakthrough.
18. PJ English (Augustana)
PJ English has been off of our radar after some sub-par performances at championship meets, but her consistency in the 1500 meters and 16:27 (5k) national qualifying time tell us that she is entering this weekend more prepared than where she was at earlier this year. She has plenty of experience to use to her advantage and if she is gaining momentum like we think she is, then this Viking star could easily outperform her seed.
19. Megan Means (Augustana)
Megan Means' indoor track and outdoor track seasons haven’t been super noteworthy thus far, but I could have said the same thing during cross country season prior to her 11th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships. Means is a veteran athlete and her recent 5k performance of 16:27 at the Portland Twilight meet means that she could surprise us this weekend if she's peaking like she was in the fall.
20. Precious Robinson (Adams State)
Precious Robinson ended her indoor track campaign with a 6th place finish in the 5k and later carried her momentum to the outdoor oval with a 10k PR of 33:54. Like the rest of her Grizzly teammates, Robinson has only raced a couple of times this season, but her 16:31 (5k) performance at the Portland Twilight meet indicates that we shouldn’t be worried about her current fitness level. Despite being one of the last seeds, Robinson is an aerobic workhorse and will have altitude to her advantage.
21. Jenna Ramsey (Colorado Mines)
Jenna Ramsey dealt with an injury earlier this year, but she came back and managed a 14th place finish in the 5000 meters at the indoor national meet. Her recent 5k PR of 16:31 and altitude converted result of 34:40 (10k) are promising marks. Her experience level, and the fact she has her 'Mines teammates to key off of, puts her in the conversation of a top-15 finish.
22. Hannah Tiffany (Chico State)
Hannah Tiffany barely qualified for the outdoor national meet with her 16:33 (5k) mark at the APU Last Chance meet. The redshirt freshman had been building momentum from her 81st place finish at the NCAA XC Championships and recently placed 2nd in the 10k at the CCAA Outdoor Championships. Her ongoing development and seemingly high ceiling is promising, but her lack of experience and the altitude will be challenges for her to overcome this weekend.
23. Anna Fauske (UC-Colorado Springs)
Anna Fauske has become quite the star for the Mountain Lions and this weekend is another chance for her to show just how talented she is. She placed 24th at the cross country national meet this past fall and was a strong miler during the indoor track season. She carried her momentum to the outdoor oval and ran 16:38 (5k) as well as a converted 4:25 (1500) mark. Despite being the last seed, I doubt she’ll finish that way, especially with having altitude and the familiarity with her competition in her favor.
