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Three Sentences Or Less: 2023 D3 NCAA Indoor Championship Women's 5k Preview
- Hannah Thorn
- Mar 9, 2023
- 6 min read
Written by Hannah Thorn, edits and additional commentary by John Cusick & Garrett Zatlin
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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. Fiona Smith (St. Benedict)
Fiona Smith comes into this race with a 19-second lead on the field when it comes to national qualifying times. Her unconverted time of 16:36 (5k) is still 11 seconds faster than everyone else. We imagine that she'll try to win while saving her energy for the 3000 meters the next day (which looks like a much closer affair).
2. Genna Girard (Williams)
Genna Girard saw four women scratch from this event to make her the second seed and give her a chance at earning her first All-American honor on the indoor oval. Her 16:47 (5k) seed time is not converted and she clearly favors the longer distances, making this her ideal race. She may not have a ton of proven speed, but aerobically, this Williams distance runner could probably thrive if Fiona Smith puts down an honest pace.
3. Ella Behrens (Washington U.)
Ella Behrens faces a few UAA rivals in this race, but has the fastest seed time of them all with a converted 16:51 (5k) mark. She will be looking for redemption after a disappointing 128th place finish at the cross country national meet. That should be great motivation for Behrens who has been quietly consistent this winter, priming herself for an All-American result.
4. Katarina Birimac (U. of Chicago)
The fastest (by a slim margin) of the Maroon trio in this race, Katarina Birimac is making her debut at a national meet on the track. This moment could be overwhelming for a first-timer like herself, but it's also possible that she will work with her teammates to employ some pack-running tactics. They will, after all, be looking to bring home as many team points as possible for U. of Chicago.
5. Anna Kenig-Ziesler (U. of Chicago)
Moving up from the mile this year, Anna Kenig-Ziesler showcased her newfound strength by qualifying for the national meet in both the 5k and the 3k. There are plenty of familiar faces in this race, so the Maroon distance standout should feel comfortable and use that familiarity to her advantage. If she's near/with the top group (i.e. Fiona Smith) at the end of this race, Kenig-Ziesler's turnover could help her become a national champion in an absolutely perfect scenario.
6. Kathleen McCarey (SUNY Geneseo)
After finishing 3rd in the 5k at last year's NCAA Indoor Championships, Kathleen McCarey is back at the national meet to try and better that placement. It won’t be easy, but she qualified on the last weekend of the regular season and appears to be trending in the right direction. She hasn't been quite as strong as she was last year, but that may not matter if she ends up peaking like we think she will.
7. Frances Schaeffler (U. of Chicago)
Frances Schaeffler finished 15th at last year’s indoor national meet in the 5k, so she will be looking to upgrade from second-team All-American to first-team All-American. The U. of Chicago runner has set PRs in the mile, the 3k and the 5k this year, so she looks to be better than ever. And with a more well-rounded resume, Schaeffler should be able to handle, in theory, at least a few different race scenarios.
8. Helen Cross (Carleton)
Helen Cross is one of four women within a second of each other coming into this weekend's national meet. Her PR of 17:03 (5k) converts down to 16:55 which puts her right in the middle of this race. The former 1500/mile runner has moved up in distance and has transitioned seamlessly to the 5k where she'll be a threat in the late stages of the event given her history of strong turnover.
9. Ella Ball (Williams)
The breakout year continues for Ella Ball as she is doubling in the 3k and the 5k this weekend. As someone who has never made it to the indoor national meet before, her inexperience may be something to monitor. However, her 16:55 (5k) seed time is not a converted mark which means that in terms of raw talent, she's probably more than capable of racing her way to an All-American honor.
10. Hannah Preisser (Carleton)
Hannah Preisser was a star freshman during the 2022 cross country season and she has kept her momentum rolling this winter. She is one of only two freshmen in this field, so it will be interesting to see if she lets the moment overwhelm her. If she is able to keep her wits about her, then her youth-based upside could allow her to sneak into the All-American conversation.
11. Sofia Carlson (St. Olaf)
Sofia Carlson had a poor national meet experience during the 2022 cross country season, but has rebounded extremely well this winter. Her personal best of 5:11 (mile) doesn't give us much hope for the St. Olaf runner if this race comes down to a fast finish, but the overall improvement in her fitness at least tells us that she'll be around in the more critical stages of this race.
12. Shaelyn Hostager (Wartburg)
Shaelyn Hostager's national qualifying time of 17:10 (5k) came at the NCC Invitational which converts down to 17:02. Her last race was at the ARC Indoor Championships which means that she's had nearly three weeks to sharpen up. She should be well-rested coming into this meet and if the pace is hot early, then we could see Hostager have a lifetime performance.
13. Rachel Hirschkind (SUNY Geneseo)
Rachel Hirschkind has had an insane racing schedule this winter and she took it down to the wire to secure her national qualifying mark. The SUNY Geneseo talent has proven to be a remarkable steeplechaser, but has yet to put it all together on the indoor circuit. With improvements in nearly every event this season, we could see Hirschkind replicate her outdoor success on the indoor oval for the first time in her career.
14. Alison Bode (St. Olaf)
Alison Bode has set PRs in the 1000 meters, the mile, the 3k and the 5k this season which, in turn, has qualified her for the first national meet of her career. However, despite running a personal best in the 5k at the MIAC Indoor Championships, Bode still finished 5th in that race. That result leaves us a bit unsure about what to expect from this high-momentum, but still-inexperienced distance talent.
15. Grace Richardson (NYU)
Grace Richardson doesn’t race a ton, but she was able to grab a national qualifying mark after running 17:07 (5k) in Boston a few weekends ago. She should be very fresh and used to running on a bank track, both of which give her an advantage here.
16. Kate Sanderson (MIT)
The obvious question is, how will freshman Kate Sanderson fare in a very competitive field in her first national meet appearance? Well, after earning a top-50 finish at the cross country national meet and running a pair of personal bests in her last two races, this MIT talent probably has more confidence than most rookies would coming into this stage.
17. Carolyn Todd (Washington and Lee)
Carolyn Todd is thanking all of the women in front of her who scratched from the 5k, effectively giving her the chance to run at her first national meet. The senior has dropped a large chunk of time off of her 5k personal best multiple times this season, leading us to believe that she's capable of doing that again this weekend. Of course, this scenario will be unlike any other that she has faced, meaning that Todd could falter under the pressure or capitalize on a big opportunity to run even faster.
18. Nia Goddard (RPI)
Nia Goddard is another runner who qualified for the national meet on the final possible qualifying weekend. She’s always been a good cross country runner, so her level of strength doesn't come as much of a surprise. She'll have to rely on that strength-based fitness this weekend as it's more than likely that this will be a fairly aggressive and aerobically-centric race.
19. Penelope Greene (SUNY Geneseo)
The third SUNY Geneseo runner in this race, Penelope Greene, didn’t even make the Knights' national meet cross country lineup this past fall, so to say her rise has been meteoric would be an understatement. She has improved her times across the board, including the 5k where she ran 17:16 at the AARTFC Indoor Championships, dropping 24 seconds off of her previous personal best. Does that mean that she has even more room to improve in a field that will certainly push her to the absolute limit?
20. Jessica Hoffman (Scranton)
Jessica Hoffman was one of D3's biggest surprises this past fall, so we knew to keep an eye on her during this indoor track season. Her 17:17 (5k) qualifying time came against Penelope Greene at the AARTFC Indoor Championships, but she has run faster (17:07) as recently as last spring. Her times have been all over the place this season, so we're not sure what to expect from her this weekend, but that partial unknown is what makes her an interesting name to monitor.
