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Three Sentences Or Less: 2024 D3 NCAA Outdoor Championship Women's 10k Preview
- Kevin Fischer
- May 20, 2024
- 7 min read
Written by Kevin Fischer, edits and additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin & Gavin Struve
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.
The below athletes are ordered alphabetically to match the start list
Predictions coming later this week!
1. Stephanie Ager (Wesleyan)
In both of Stephanie Ager’s 10,000-meter efforts this season she has won by over a minute, including a dominant NESCAC Championship performance. To earn her way to this meet, despite largely having to work alone in the 10k, is hugely impressive. Be on the lookout for Ager to potentially surprise a few people come Thursday.
2. Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel (U. of Chicago)
Following a personal best mark of 34:25 (10k) in her season opener, Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel hasn't put down jaw-dropping times in any event since then. Even so, she came away with a comfortable double victory over 10,000 meters and 5000 meters at the UAA Championships. This 1500-meter All-American’s decision to transition to the longer distances has paid off beautifully and she is in a position to hang with almost anyone in the country.
3. Alison Bode (St. Olaf)
After missing the majority of the cross country season, it took Alison Bode until April to really get back to her best self. But nowadays, she is back where she belongs now after a 35:34 (10k) result at the Drake Relays which was a massive step considering that her indoor track seasonal best over 5000 meters was 18:05. It’s great to see Bode overcoming adversity to compete against the nation’s best again, but she will have her eyes set on more than just showing up at the national meet.
4. Teghan Booth (Simpson (IA))
While her teammate in this field draws more acclaim, Teghan Booth has had a fantastic season in her own right. Despite entering this spring without a sub-38:00 (10k) mark to her name, she put together an excellent showing with a 35:23 effort and 2nd place finish at the Phil Esten Challenge. Thursday will present the biggest stage that Booth has seen in her career, but she has done plenty to indicate that she will be ready for it.
5. Sophie Bouldin (Centre)
Since running 35:40 over this distance at the Washington U. Distance Carnival in March, Sophie Bouldin hasn’t had any performances that have matched that level. She has absolutely earned her spot here, especially given that the cut-off is faster than it's ever been, but it will take a special effort to hang with a lot of these women.
6. Rachel Brennan (Gordon)
Like many others in this field, Rachel Brennan’s seasonal best came at Washington U. in March. Since then, she has enjoyed a well-rounded campaign with personal bests in the metric mile and the 5k. Brennan has made big strides this spring and now has an excellent chance to compete well on the national stage given her current momentum, potentially contending for a fringe All-American spot.
7. Riley Buese (Lewis & Clark)
With a 40-second gap between her and fourth-seeded Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel, it will be highly difficult for Riley Buese to outperform her seeding this weekend. Even so, she is certainly an All-American favorite following a campaign in which she has improved her personal bests by 28 seconds over 5000 meters and 75 seconds over 10,000 meters.
8. Courtney Drumm (Lynchburg)
Having run marks of 4:32 (1500) and 2:15 (800), Courtney Drumm has more speed than the majority of women in this field. At the same time, she has only raced the 10k once in her collegiate career, so a lack of experience over this distance makes her a bit of a wild card in this setting. It's possible that Drumm will struggle in a championship setting, but on the other hand, a breakthrough day would not be a shock, either.
9. Genna Girard (Williams)
After missing the majority of the outdoor track season, Genna Girard came back with a national qualifying mark just in time last weekend. A 35:20 (10k) was a really nice result for her first race in two months, but while it was technically a PR, we know that she is capable of even more based on her overall resume. Of anyone in this field, Girard appears to be one of the most likely to outperform her seeding.
10. Penelope Greene (SUNY Geneseo)
The 35:24 (10k) mark that Penelope Greene ran at Bucknell wasn’t necessarily jaw-dropping given her prior achievements between the grass and the oval. Even so, she did everything she needed to in order to give herself a chance to compete this Thursday and there’s no question regarding her fitness at this point after a 16:32 (5k) win at Williams last week in which she led almost wire-to-wire. Greene is highly likely to be in the mix for another All-American finish in a few days time.
11. Shaelyn Hostager (Wartburg)
This outdoor track campaign has been a highly successful one for Shaelyn Hostager. She came away with massive lifetime bests in both the 10,000 meters and the 5000 meters and earned an American Rivers Conference title in the 10k without having to go too deep into the well. She has raced somewhat sparingly this spring, but Hostager has made the most of every opportunity and will aim to do the same this weekend.
12. Lara Kallem (Simpson (IA))
Other than a highly tactical conference 10,000-meter race in which she finished runner-up behind Shaelyn Hostager, Lara Kallem ran a personal best every time she toed the line this track season. This past winter marked her first time racing at a national meet on the track where she finished 19th place in the 5000 meters. Given the progress that she has made this spring, it seems highly unlikely that Kallem will finish that far back this time around.
13. Rebecca Markham (Hope)
Even though she is seeded outside of the top-eight, I would frankly be a little surprised not to see Rebecca Markham finish in one of the All-American spots. She hasn’t touched the 10,000 meters since March, but her endeavors in other events -- including a recent 16:46 (5k) mark -- suggests that her fitness is on a higher level than it was even two months ago.
14. Elle Marsyla (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps)
This cross country All-American used the Franson Last Chance meet to run her 10k national qualifying time, posting a 35:30 mark to place 5th in what was largely a Division Two field. Now, in a field in which many of the athletes ran their seed times in March or early April, Marsyla will have the advantage of recent momentum.
15. Sophie Porter (DePauw)
Racing nearly every weekend this spring, Sophie Porter has notched personal bests in every flat distance event from the half-mile to the 10k. Her legs have endured a number of hard efforts in the last couple of months, but she hasn’t shown any signs of fatigue. In fact, her most recent effort, a 16:50 (5k) mark at St. Francis, indicates a great deal of positive momentum heading into this weekend.
16. Hannah Preisser (Carleton)
This past winter, Hannah Preisser broke her streak of competing on the national stage in every season of her collegiate career as she just missed out on qualifying for the indoor national meet. Now, she has put herself back in position to compete at the high level that she has become accustomed to. Even though she just snuck into this field, Preisser's overall pedigree gives us confidence that she can compete well against many of these women.
17. Grace Richardson (NYU)
Latching on to some high-level competitors, Grace Richardson had a big day at the Raleigh Relays with a 34:06 (10k) result. This was her only 10,000-meter effort of the season and she hasn’t finished any race in three weeks, although that may give her legs some extra freshness and pep. If anyone can challenge Fiona Smith, it’s the woman who came within a second of beating her over 5000 meters at the 2024 indoor national meet.
18. Kate Sanderson (MIT)
Despite competing at each of the past three track national meets, Kate Sanderson has finished no higher than 16th place in any event in that setting. She has had some nice breakthroughs as of late, though, and appears to simply be a higher-level athlete than she was in prior seasons. Sanderson is in an excellent position to change her luck and add an All-American finish on the oval after doing so on the cross country course last fall.
19. Fiona Smith (St. Benedict)
There’s no denying that Fiona Smith is the very heavy national title favorite here. Her 32:57 result over this distance back in March was good for the NCAA #2 all-time Division Three mark and it’s over a minute faster than the next-best seed in this field. It seems almost inevitable that this five-time national champion will add another gold medal to her tally.
20. Estelle Snider (U. Of Chicago)
This young U. of Chicago star is already on the way to her third national meet appearance despite holding true freshman status. In her most recent outing, Estelle Snider had a tough day over 5000 meters at St. Francis. However, she has done plenty this spring to show that she can be highly competitive against national-level talents like the ones who she'll face here, so we aren't too concerned.
21. Sophie Tedesco (U. of Chicago)
Coming in less than a second behind Rachel Brennan at the Washington U. Distance Carnival 10k, Sophie Tedesco continued to roll into April with a 16:51 (5k) mark at UW-Platteville. Her only competition in the past month came at the UAA Championships where she placed 3rd and 5th in the 10k and 5k, respectively. Tedesco has operated at a high level this spring without having to tap into her reserves too often which should help her succeed at this stage.
22. Ally Verbauwhede (Edgewood)
Taking care of business early in the season, Ally Verbauwhede had a breakthrough race at the Washington U. Distance Carnival which locked down her first appearance at a national meet on the track. Just last week, she notched a nice 16:51 PR over 5000 meters. While that was not enough to qualify her for the postseason in that event as well, it was a good display of sharpness and momentum at this point in the season.
