TSR's 2022 D2 XC Top 25 Individual Rankings (Women): Update #1

TSR Collaboration
Oct 11, 2022
13 min read

Written by Grace McLaughlin & Eric Baranoski

Additional edits and commentary by Garrett Zatlin

NOTE: Theses rankings are based on how a team fared throughout the entirety of a season, not just how they ran at the NCAA XC Championships.

KEY

(Unranked):

Was not ranked in our last update.

(#/#):

First number indicates how much the team has moved in the rankings.

The second number indicates where the team was ranked in our last update.

25. Taryn Chapko, Sophomore, Grand Valley State (-11 / 12)

Yes, middle distance runners like Taryn Chapko run cross country.

The now-elder Laker runner (despite what her eligibility says) finished 14th at last year’s NCAA XC Championships, but has run even faster this year.

Chapko finally broke the 17:30 barrier for 5000 meters earlier this season and helped the Lakers take 3rd behind only Furman and West Virginia at the Louisville Classic with a solid, but unexciting, 38th place finish. The 800 meter specialist was also the 18th place finish at the MSU Spartan Invitational, a solid result that seemed to be on par with expectations.

Chapko does drop quite a bit this week. While her improved time at Louisville was encouraging, that course is arguably the fastest in the country and her inability to finish in the top-30 sends her backwards.

Of course, if a top-40 finish at Louisville qualifies as one of her lesser performances, then this Grand Valley State ace should still be allowed to hang around in our top-25 (for now).

24. Precious Robinson, Junior, Adams State (-10 / 14)

23. Franziska Althaus, Senior, Adams State (-12 / 11)

We initially thought that we should remove these two Adams State women from our rankings, but that might be a bit too harsh after seeing them in unexciting rust-busters so far this year.

Robinson place 4th at the Joe I. Vigil XC Open back in September while Althaus finished 9th overall in that race. Robinson hasn’t raced since then, but Althaus picked up an individual victory at the Ted Castaneda Classic two weeks ago.

Both women are still expected to be highly impactful names in the Grizzlies' varsity squad in 2022. And while they each move back a handful spots, leaving them in our top-25 feels necessary until they've proven otherwise.

22. Lauren Kylie, Freshman, Grand Valley State (Unranked)

Wow! What a debut by GVSU rookie, Lauren Kylie.

All of the freshman attention going into this season was on the Lakers' star recruit, Abby VanderKooi -- and understandably so! After all, VanderKooi had a phenomenal high school campaign and would have been a major impact name for most teams.

But Kylie just stepped up and produced a huge 13th place finish at the Louisville XC Classic the other week, giving the Lakers a massive injection of scoring potency going into this season.

Kylie is still young, inexperienced and only has one race under her belt, but it's undeniable that she just had a fantastic race in Louisville. We'll need to her produce that kind of result on a more consistent basis, but her upside in these rankings is certainly higher than most.

21. Alyssa Becker, Sophomore, U-Mary (-1 / 20)

Let's be clear, Becker has not at all been racing poorly this season, but some of her results have kinda left us shrugging our shoulders and saying, "Yeah, that's fine I guess."

Finishing runner-up at the MSU Moorhead Dragon Invitational, ending that race in a pack of North Dakota State runners, along with her win at the Jimmie Invitational, admittedly don't tell us a lot.

A 4th place finish at the Griak Invitational, falling behind Lindsay Cunningham, D3 star Fiona Smith and McKenna Taylor did leave us wanting just the slightest bit more.

Even so, Becker is running just fine right now and is still producing solid results which suggest that she is one of the better D2 distance runners in the nation. In fact, compared to last year, her regular season performances are actually much better than what she produced last fall.

20. Kylie Anicic, Junior, Edinboro (Unranked)

This ranking was long overdue for Kylie Anicic.

Before her race in Romeoville, Illinois this past weekend, Anicic had won two small races in the Doug Watts Invite and the Robert Morris Invite. However, based on those times, we couldn't really tell what type of shape she was in.

But Saturday was the opportunity that Anicic needed to truly put her fitness on full display -- and oh boy, did she cash out.

The Edinboro ace finished runner-up at the Lewis Crossover this past weekend, only losing to Winona State’s Lindsay Cunningham who has looked unstoppable so far this fall. To see Anicic finish only behind Cunningham is a massive validation of her success on the track from earlier this year.

Momentum is clearly on the side of this Fighting Scot.

19. Madison Brown, Sophomore, Dallas Baptist (Unranked)

Brown is turning into a familiar name in the D2 running world.

That's why it shouldn’t have come as any surprise to see her name in the top-10 at the Chile Pepper XC Festival even against Division One competition. A 10th place finish while leading the Patriots to a 3rd place finish over Oklahoma and Kansas State likely led to a nice bus ride home.

Given her newfound confidence that she seemingly began to find during the spring months, the one questions that remains for her is, can Brown break up the West Texas A&M duo of Florance Uwanjeneza and Eleonora Curtabbi at the Lone Star XC Championships later this fall?

It's certainly not out of the question, especially after racing in Arkansas and taking down a handful of promising Razorback talents. Brown is much better than some people may realize.

18. Molly Maksin, Senior, Colorado Mines (+4 / 22)

The Oredigger veteran beat out our TSR #19 ranked runner, Madison Brown, at the Roadrunner Invite earlier this season. That's a massive development for Colorado Mines given how highly we view Brown in this week's rankings update.

Other than that, it looks like Maksin has just been stacking miles and ripping workouts. She has not raced this season outside of that lone invitational.

At that same Roadrunner Invite, Maksin ran about the same time this year as she did last year -- and she ended up being an All-American in 2021. Considering that she has been to two NCAA Championships since then (5k indoors and 10k outdoors), she should know how to reach the upper-echelon of the D2 scene in the coming months.

17. Kaela Dishion, Senior, Stanislaus State (Unranked)

Kaela Dishion is just absolutely killing it right now. Her recent streak of performances has shown us that she has the ability to thrive in a handful of fields.

The Stan State veteran was 3rd at the University of San Francisco Invite which featured numerous Stanford and Cal runners. She also won the Kim Duyst Twilight XC Invitational and the Cougar Challenge.

Admittedly, that San Francisco meet was the only race where Dishion actually faced any legitimate competition this fall, and it came all the way back on September 3rd, but it's hard to ignore that result.

Dishion flashed moments of promise on the track, but it looks like we're seeing something a bit more cohesive from her over the last month and a half. For that reason, she slots in at TSR #17 in our individual rankings.

16. Nicolette Schmidt, Senior, Augustana (0 / 16)

Schmidt opened her season with an 11th place finish at the Augustana Twilight Meet is very early September. That was admittedly not her best performance, but she followed that up with a solid win at the WSC Wildcat XC Classic, another easy, September-time meet.

In fairness to Schmidt, it's still early in the season, so these two uninspiring performances are nothing to worry about. After all, let's not forget that Schmidt was 18th at the Augustana Twilight Meet last year and then went on to place 20th at the NCAA XC Championships.

The Augustana ace will display her full talent when it matters most, we just haven’t seen it yet this season.

15. Gemma Rebollo, Sophomore, Wingate (+2 / 17)

Rebollo had a fantastic outdoor track season, ending her 2022 spring campaign as an All-American in the 10,000 meters this past track season. However, we were unsure coming into this season if she would be able to transition that fitness from the track to grass.

And so far this fall, we're a little conflicted.

She won Catawba Fleet Feet XC Invite with the fastest 5k cross country time of her career and then competed with the best of them in the Paul Short "Gold" race where she ran a new 6k personal best.

But Rebollo's 148th place finish in the most competitive field at Lehigh University wasn't all that exciting. We thought she could be closer to the top-100 even if this field was loaded with Division One programs.

After just missing out on being a cross country All-American a year ago by finishing 44th, Rebollo is likely to crack the top-40 come at the meet come December. However, we'll need to see another race from her in a field where we can better gauge her performance.

14. Annika Esvelt, Sophomore, Seattle Pacific (-4 / 10)

Esvelt has raced just once this season, producing a 9th place finish at the Willamette Invite. That appeared to be just a typical run-of-the-mill rust-buster kind of thing against mostly Division One runners.

We'll wait to see Esvelt race again this fall before we make any major decision about her ranking in our top-25 list.

13. Nicole Lawrence, Junior, Adams State (+1 / 14)

We know Nicole Lawrence is fit. She was the second woman across the line at the Joe I. Vigil meet in early September. However, since then, we haven’t seen her race and we can only assume that she’s looking to toe the line at the Highlander Invite this upcoming weekend.

If not, then they are likely holding her out until the RMAC XC Championships.

12. Megan Means, Senior, Augustana (-5 / 7)

Means had a very rough performance at the Augustana Twilight Meet to start her season, finishing 44th overall. However, she partially redeemed herself at the WSC Wildcat XC Classic with her runner-up finish, although that field was hardly a challenge.

These subpar performances, combined with the fact that we haven’t seen her race against national-caliber competition since her 20th place finish in the 5000 meters at NCAA Outdoor Championships, makes it hard to gauge how the rest the season will go for Means.

She placed 8th at the NCAA XC Championships last year, but that result truthfully felt a bit like an outlier and we simply aren’t seeing the same level of talent in 2022 that suggests she will repeat that performance.

Of course, much like we mentioned with Schmidt, it's still early in the season and the Augustana Vikings historically show up when it matters most. That could certainly be the case for Means as the season continues.

11. Jenna Ramsey, Sophomore, Colorado Mines (Unranked)

Jenna Ramsey joins our rankings at our TSR #11 spot after her highly-promising win at the Roadrunners Invitational, her first cross country race in a Colorado Mines uniform.

Transferring from Emporia State to Mines was a great move for Ramsey. She seems to have taken to the training fairly well and she made a solid statement in her season-opening race.

Ramsey now has women at her level to train with on a daily basis and is clearly riding the high of an excellent outdoor track season where she advanced to the national meet. Those factors, paired with training at 7000 feet of elevation every day, has transformed Ramsey from a great runner to an exceptional runner at the Division Two level.

There’s no reason Ramsey couldn’t crack our top-10 later in the season if she keeps producing performances similar to what we saw at the Roadrunners Invitational.

10. Zoe Baker, Senior, Colorado Mines (-2 / 8)

There's truthfully not much to report from the Zoe Baker corner.

A rust-busting effort at the Roadrunners Invitational, which was held at the site of the South Central regional meet, didn't really give us much to analyze. Baker's 2nd place to teammate Jenna Ramsey is largely unsurprising.

Based on their schedule, we will see Baker race again at Pre-Nationals in Seattle on October 22nd. Colorado Mines has developed a tendency to not race as much during the regular season of the fall months and for the most part, that strategy has panned out for them in the past.

9. Elenora Curtabbi, Junior, West Texas A&M (+4 / 13)

Before the 2022 cross country season started, we had questions regarding how Curtabbi’s steeplechase excellence would translate to the grass.

Well, the West Texas A&M veteran answered those questions definitively with her outstanding 19th place finish at the Louisville Classic. And before her amazing performance at Louisville, Curtabbi placed 2nd at the Texas Tech Open and 4th at the Big Country XC Festival, proving to us that her steeplechase prowess is just as effective on the grass as it is on the track.

Curtabbi has emerged as a top-10 runner and still has momentum building in her favor. She does not have the same experience in cross country as she does on the track, but so far, we have no reason to doubt her given her recent race results.

The Buffalo ace is part of West Texas A&M’s 1-2 punch alongside teammate Florance Uwajeneza. However, despite having two top-ranked athletes in their lineup, the Buffaloes likely won’t make it out of the South Central region this fall, putting pressure on Curtabbi to qualify for the national meet as an individual.

Still, with Curtabbi’s emerging cross country talent, qualifying for the national meet will essentially be the least of her worries. What kind of All-American she can be will be the bigger question.

8. Klaudia O'Malley, Junior, Grand Valley State (-6 / 2)

Klaudia O'Malley is the top returner from last year’s NCAA XC Championships. Naturally, that status puts heavy expectations upon her shoulders. And while she is having a solid season thus far, O'Malley has been quite as spectacular as we would have hoped to see this fall.

The GVSU superstar opened up her season with a solid 14th place finish at the MSU Spartan Invite and most recently placed 35th at the Louisville Classic.

Those are good performances, but they're not great for someone of O'Malley's caliber. The Laker ace has proven in the past that she is more talented than her results suggest.

Yes, it is still early in the season, so there’s not too much to be concerned about with the Grand Valley State low-stick for the moment.

O'Malley will likely return to being listed higher up in our rankings later in the season, but for now, a TSR #8 ranking seems like the right spot for her.

7. Layla Almasri, Rs. Senior, UC-Colorado Springs (-2 / 5)

After a really strong cross country campaign last year, Almasri is off to a fantastic start this cross country season. She moves down only one spot only due to others rather than anything that she has done.

The Mountain Lion low-stick won the UCCS Rustbuster by 31 seconds. That performance was a clear indicator that Almasri is prepped for a stellar season, although she would need to deliver on that potential in future meets.

Well, sure enough, the UCCS veteran further validated her fitness with an outstanding 17th place finish at the Louisville Classic. She was the fourth-best Division Two runner in that race and managed a top-20 finish in a fairly competitive Division One-centric field.

Almasri was 12th at the NCAA XC Championships last year and with the improvements that she has made on the track and grass over the past year, she should easily be in the top-10 of the national meet come December.

Right now, she is the full package in terms of her racing skillset and it's been encouraging to see her consistency improve as she's gotten older.

6. Florence Uwajeneza, Senior, West Texas A&M (+3 / 9)

Uwajeneza, unsurprisingly, is off to a strong start for West Texas A&M.

The Buffalo star was the runner-up finisher at the Big Country XC Festival, won the Texas Tech Open and had a huge top-10 finish at the Louisville Classic with her 9th place result.

This is also someone who placed 9th at the NCAA XC Championships last fall, but she was notably absent during both the indoor and outdoor track seasons. For that reason, we held her back a bit further in our rankings, just the tiniest bit unsure about what we should expect from her this fall.

Uwajeneza is easily one of the most talented runners in Division Two, but outside of Louisville, we have not seen her race against top competition in nearly a year. She also hasn’t always been the most consistent in the past.

There are some positives and some cautionary aspects about Uwajeneza this season, but her floor this fall is probably a top-10 finish at the cross country national meet which is something that you can’t say about a lot of runners.

5. Stephanie Cotter, Senior, Adams State (Unranked)

Stephanie Cotter has not raced yet, but we were able to confirm that she has returned to Adams State this fall. It's admittedly been a while since we've seen Cotter in any serious races, but she is predicted to be in our top-five based on previous performances.

4. Natalie Graber, Junior, Grand Valley State (Unranked)

We owe Natalie Graber an apology.

After some debate, it was decided that Graber would be a “Just Missed” name in our preseason individual rankings. That, of course, turned out to be a mistake.

The Grand Valley State superstar was quick to prove us wrong with her phenomenal 4th place finish at the MSU Spartan Invitational. That was an incredible result, especially against some top Division One programs, but it was only one race in September. We needed to see more from her if she was going to crack our top-10.

Well, Graber seemingly recognized that as she went on to earn a monster 6th place finish at the Louisville Classic, a result that was arguably better than what we saw at the MSU Spartan Invite.

Clearly, Graber has flipped a switch.

Graber has made some serious strides this fall after her less-than-ideal track season. She was 35th at the NCAA XC Championships last year, but she is on track to blow that performance out of the water.

If she had just one standout race, this ranking would be different. But after thriving in two meets with heavy Division One influences, it's hard to argue against her being a top-five runner in our individual rankings.

3. Katie Doucette, Rs. Junior, Western Colorado (+1 / 4)

Katie Doucette started her season with a runner-up finish at the Mountaineer/Cowboy Invite, which was only because she missed the finish chute, and followed that up with a win at the Gig Leadbetter Maverick Stampede.

Those meets were two strong, high-altitude performances for the Western Colorado ace, but we have yet to see her race against other nationally ranked runners.

Doucette was solid last cross country season, phenomenal on the indoor track and somewhat unexciting during the outdoor track season. We questioned what form Doucette would be in this season, but based on these performances, she’s back to being the athlete we saw during indoor season...we think.

2. Lindsay Cunningham, Sophomore, Winona State (+1 / 3)

Lindsay Cunningham is on a hot streak.

She defended her 2021 individual title at the Griak Invitational earlier this season, winning in absolutely dominant fashion, and later won the Lewis Crossover by a jaw-dropping 19 seconds.

Due to these performances and her current momentum, she moves up into our TSR #2 spot.

The Winona State star is now in the conversation as an individual national title contender and so far, she has had the best overall season of anyone in Division Two.

Cunningham has momentum and consistency on her side, but unlike the other title contenders, Cunningham is racing frequently. With the NCAA XC Championships in December, some might question if she's peaking too soon.

But personally, we would shoot those concerns down immediately. Her display of firepower and poise at Griak and the Lewis Crossover was insanely impressive and she's better competitive in essentially every meet she has toed the line for in her college career.

Cunningham is the real deal, and she might be just getting started.

1. Brianna Robles, Junior, Adams State (0 / 1)

Robles stays at TSR #1 due to her win at the Joe Vigil XC Open earlier in the season. She won that 5000 meter race by over 30 seconds to demolish the field and prove to us that she’s not only the same athlete she was on the track, but that she’s arguably better.

The Adams State ace and two-time Individual NCAA champion hasn’t made much noise in national-caliber fields yet this season. However, she also hasn’t given us a reason to think that she shouldn’t still be the overwhelming favorite to win the title in December.