TSR's 2022 D2 XC Top 25 Individual Rankings (Women): Update #2

Written by Grace McLaughlin & Eric Baranoski

Additional edits and commentary by John Cusick & Garrett Zatlin

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

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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.

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25. Johanna Wistokat, Senior, Christian Brothers (Unranked)

How many people predicted Johanna Wiskikat to be an All-American favorite during the summer? I’m not sure too many fans around Division Two did (we certainly didn't).

You may be wondering right now, "who is this?", but Wistokat's resume throughout 2022 has given her a sneaky-good resume which is frankly better than a lot of other women who would be considered for this spot.

To start, she’s in much better shape than she was last year as she ran 30 seconds faster at the Chile Pepper XC Festival earlier this season, finishing runner-up in the "Open" race at that meet.

Additionally, this season has produced two individual victories for Wistokat. Most recently, at the Alabama Huntsville Showcase, she beat out a competitive field made up of highly respectable athletes from Charleston (WV), Cedarville and Wingate.

Even with her improvement in fitness, Wistokat remains as a fringe top-25 athlete. Her competition has been solid, but we would still like to see how she fares in higher-quality fields with more elite-caliber competition.

Regardless, this Christian Brothers ace has been great as of late, hasn't had a poor performance and has tons of momentum on her side.

24. Madison Brown, Sophomore, Dallas Baptist (-5 / 19)

Like her Lone Star conference rival, Eleonora Curtabbi, Madison Brown had a relatively unexciting race back mid-October. However, that wasn’t so much on her, but more because the field she was faced was smaller and not as competitive. In fact, she won that race!

With the DBU Old Glory Gallup the only race on her resume in the month of October, we have to move Brown back a bit to make room for other women who have simply done more as of late.

Seeing the trio of DBU Patriots finish relatively close together in that mid-October home meet bodes well for them first in their attempt to win back-to-back Lone Star titles and bolster their chances at qualifying for the national meet.

Brown will have a greater chance of bolstering her resume once the postseason comes around.

23. Nicole Lawrence, Junior, Adams State (-10 / 13)

Lawrence comes into our rankings at TSR #23 and admittedly, it's tough to see her move 10 spots backward after her performance at the Highlander Invitational.

She finished 20th in that race and was the seventh runner for the Grizzlies.

Did we expect her to run better? Yes.

Did she run poorly? No, not really.

It just so happens that there were plenty of good results from other athletes over the course of these last two weeks. We still think Lawrence has top-25 potential this year and we will get to see if that speculation is true when the postseason rolls around.

22. Lauren Kiley, Freshman, Grand Valley State (0 / 22)

A true freshman, Lauren Kiley is a true plug-and-play runner from the high school ranks to college. It's not entirely uncommon for true freshmen to make an immediate impact, it’s just not the norm, especially when all eyes were on Abby VanderKooi coming into this season.

Despite her youth, Kiley is flexing great firepower. She even emerged as the Lakers' second scorer earlier in the season and was the second-fastest freshman at the Bradley Pink Classic this past weekend en route to a respectable 27th place finish.

Coach Jerry Baltes has done the right thing with Kiley, holding her back at the beginning of the season (i.e. September) until she was ready. Now, she looks like a true varsity scorer for a powerhouse team and a legitimate All-American talent.

21. Kylie Anicic, Junior, Edinboro (-1 / 20)

This past weekend, we saw Kylie Anicic win a small local invite with relative ease, although she hardly faced any major competition.

It’s admittedly not her fault that she falters one spot in these rankings. If you remember correctly, she finished runner-up only to Lindsay Cunningham at the Lewis Crossover earlier this month, a major invitational which gives her some great staying power in our top-25 list.

We still like her chances of being an All-American and this spot may even be a bit too conservative for where she actually deserves to sit in our D2 hierarchy.

20. Nicolette Schmidt, Senior, Augustana (-4 / 16)

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

The Augustana duo of Means and Schmidt have looked like different runners in 2022 compared to what we saw from them last year.

Both Viking veterans ran well last year during championship season as Means finished a surprising 8th place while Schmidt secured a 20th place finish at the national meet, each taking home All-American honors.

But so far this season, neither women has necessarily wowed us.

In fairness to both of these women, they have still been fairly competitive. Schmidt has maybe fallen somewhat under the radar after quietly stringing together good, but not great, races. Means, meanwhile, is still very much in the All-American conversation.

Placing 23rd (Means) and 26th (Schmidt) at the Bradley Pink Classic is fairly solid, but that pair of results alongside what they have already done this fall doesn't match the caliber of their postseason peak from last year.

Without truly knowing what to expect from Means and Schmidt at this year's national meet, the Vikings' chances at a podium finish are bit more up in the air than we expected them to be.

Of course, all of this is being written before the Augustana women enter the championship portion of the 2022 season. And admittedly, the postseason is usually when the Vikings assume a new identity (for the better).

It’s almost like Joe Flacco, an NFL quarterback who won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens. He was great during the postseason and had a great group around him, but he wasn't quite as sharp during the regular season.

And in 2022, the same could eventually be said for the ladies from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

18. Molly Maksin, Senior, Colorado Mines (0 / 18)

With transfers Jenna Ramsey and Clare Peters joining Colorado Mines earlier this year, it seems like Maksin's scoring potency and overall talent has been overshadowed and maybe even forgotten.

Maksin is (and has been) a consistent part of the Orediggers' top-five which also consists of established veterans and exciting rising stars such as Zoe Baker, Jenna Ramsey, Clare Peters and Holly Moser.

Seeing Maksin place 7th at D2 Pre-Nationals showed us that Colorado Mines simply has so much firepower and just because she in the middle of that group doesn't mean that she's not one of the better women in Division two.

And if you don’t remember, Maksin was an All-American a year ago. Not only is she running at a high level in 2022, but she's also got the experience.

17. Franziska Althaus, Senior, Adams State, (+6 / 23)

Very few women are operating with the same amount of confidence that Franziska Althaus is performing with. Coming off of a pair of early-season wins, Althaus followed up those two small-meet victories with an even more impressive performance by finishing 10th at the Highlander Invite.

So what does that mean for the Grizzlies?

Well, for starters, it shows us that Adams State and Althaus can be just as effective at sea level as they can be at altitude. That's fairly important to keep in mind since this year's cross country national meet is being hosted in Washington.

But that result also showed us that Althaus is still on track to mimic her incredible postseason success from the 2021 cross country season which is admittedly a high bar to reach.

16. Emily Schoellkopf, Sophomore, Adams State (Unranked)

Not to alarm any rival runner or any RMAC for, but Emily Schoellkopf has emerged as a scorer for an already-deep Adams State program. We knew she was good, but we weren't initially projecting her to be a scorer for the Grizzlies when the season began.

Schoellkopf placed 8th in the loaded Highlander Invite which is the best showing in her still-young cross country career.

Yes, it was only one race, but she is surely trending toward being an All-American based on her two races thus far. Of course, she has also shown tremendous promise on the track as well, further validating her recent rise.

Admittedly, we I’d like to see her have a strong race at the RMAC XC Championships, a true high-pressure setting, before we definitively say that she’s arrived. But either way, there is more on her resume to suggest that she is the real deal than not.

15. Jenna Ramsey, Sophomore, Colorado Mines (-4 / 11)

Jenna Ramsey not raced since our last rankings update.

14. Clare Peters, Junior, Colorado Mines (Unranked)

Clare Peters may have the most unconventional road to the top of the Division Two scene.

She spent three years at NC State, but only ran on the club team for one year before transferring to Colorado Mines as a graduate student. And after showing even more promise in a few early-season meets, Peters ended up making a statement at D2 Pre-Nationals, placing 4th overall and proving to us that she is a national-caliber contender at the D2 level.

Peters made an immediate impact for Colorado Mines earlier in the season with her 5th place finish at the 2022 Roadrunners Invitational, just behind Oredigger veteran Molly Maksin. She already showed a huge jump in fitness from her first meet to her second meet, and the momentum and natural talent she has displayed is promising as we head into the postseason.

After running way about her level at the club level, Peters still seems to have plenty of untapped upside even in the highest tiers of Division Two. Admittedly, she does lack experience, but as we saw at Pre-Nationals, she is a poised and fierce competitor who seems unfazed by the high-level talent around her.

13. Precious Robinson, Junior, Adams State (+11 / 24)

Precious Robinson started off pretty high in our rankings, but fell down to TSR #24 in our last update. She returns to the higher range of this list after her beyond-impressive 4th place finish at the Highlander Invitational.

The biggest takeaway from that performance is that she was only nine seconds behind title favorite and teammate, Brianna Robles. This was extremely promising for Robinson as an individual and for the Grizzlies' lineup.

After her most recent performance, it is safe to say that Robinson is back to the fitness level that we originally expected of her and is going into the postseason in great shape with tons of momentum.

12. Kaela Dishion, Senior, Stanislaus State (+5 / 17)

Kalela Dishion put herself in the national conversation after her performances earlier in the season. Still, her 6th place finish at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational verified, and set in stone, her place in our rankings.

The Warrior star rises four spots due to the firepower that she displayed against some of the best runners in California and nearly breaking the 20:00 barrier for the 6k distance. She led a talented trio of Stanislaus State runners at the Bronco Invitational who ultimately placed 8th in the team results.

Dishion has everything that you look for in an athlete who you want to succeed. She has steadily improved throughout her time at Stan State, has been consistent with her success and has some serious momentum going into the championship portion of this season.

Dishion is the real deal and has displayed the talent and firepower to put her near the top-10 portion of our rankings and maybe even at the NCAA XC Championships in December.

11. Layla Almasri, Rs. Senior, UC-Colorado Springs (-4 / 7)

Layla Almasri not raced since our last rankings update.

10. Eleonora Curtabbi, Junior, West Texas A&M (0 / 10)

Since our last rankings update, Eleonora Curtabbi went to New Mexico Junior College and was the victor over a fairly light field by over 10 seconds. And truthfully, we don't have a ton more to say about this result.

The next race on her schedule is the Lone Star XC Championships which is where West Texas A&M will try to win a conference title after losing last year to Dallas Baptist by a mere three points. Eleonora Curtabbi will likely join teammate Florance Uwajenza (assuming she returns to action) and will look to lead the team in bringing back the LSC title to Canyon, Texas.

9. Florance Uwajeneza, Senior, West Texas A&M (-3 / 6)

Florance Uwajeneza has not raced since our last rankings update.

8. Klaudia O'Malley, Junior, Grand Valley State (0 / 8)

We went into this season with really high expectations for Klaudia O’Malley after her runner-up performance at last year’s NCAA XC Championships. And while she has been solid so far this season, she hasn’t shown the same firepower that she had in the fall of 2021.

O’Malley is still having a strong season, but it hasn't been quite as good as her national meet silver medal suggests.

The GVSU star placed 17th at the Bradley Pink Classic and was Grand Valley State’s second runner after being the Lakers' third scorer at their previous meet. She also placed 14th at the MSU Spartan Invite and was 35th at the Louisville XC Classic earlier this season.

Again, those were “solid” performances for O’Malley, but nothing flashy or beyond our expectations for her.

This Michigan-based star has the talent to at least come close to her runner-up finish from last year's cross country national meet, but her season so far suggests that she will be a little further back.

But if your so-called "basement" is 10th at the national meet, then that is still wildly impressive.

​​7. Zoe Baker, Senior, Colorado Mines (+3 / 10)

Zoe Baker is a veteran who consistently has strong performances on the national stage. And after thriving on the national meet course this past weekend, finishing 3rd at D2 Pre-Nationals, it looks like she'll be primed for even more success in December.

Overall, Baker is an excellent runner who has steadily improved throughout her collegiate career. The Colorado Mines low-stick tends to fare well at national meets, but she has shown much more firepower during this year's regular season than in previous fall campaigns.

Looking ahead, Baker will race the best women who Division Two has to offer at the RMAC XC Championships, the South Central Regional XC Championships and finally, the NCAA XC Championships.

Her performances this season and her current fitness level are promising as they indicate that she will greatly improve upon her 25th place finish at last year’s NCAA XC Championships.

6. Naomi Bailey, Sophomore, Alaska- Fairbanks (Unranked)

Welcome to the national conversation and our rankings, Naomi Bailey!

The Alaska-Fairbanks star pulled off the season's biggest upset so far with her win at D2 Pre-Nationals. Bailey beat a group of highly ranked runners by over nine seconds. Considering that she took down Katie Doucette, Zoe Baker and Clare Peters after essentially only racing dual meets this year, Bailey has the potential to be even better than this performance suggests.

The Nanook standout was 174th at the NCAA XC Championships last year and Fairbanks doesn’t have a track program. Instead, most of their athletes participate in skiing during the winter and spring months.

Bailey opened up her season with a 3rd place finish at the Seawolf Throwdown and earned another bronze medal at the Yellowjackets/Battlin’ Bears XC Open.

Just looking at those performances, it seems like Bailey’s recent win came out of nowhere, but remember, she was 4th at the GNAC XC Championships and then 6th at the West Regional XC Championships last fall which more closely aligns with her current momentum.

She has the talent to be a top-10 runner at the cross country national meet, but can she learn from last year and maintain this level of excellence heading into the postseason?

5. Stephanie Cotter, Senior, Adams State (0 / 5)

Stephanie Cotter has still not raced during the 2022 cross country season.

She didn't open her season up until the RMAC XC Championships the last time that she was part of this program, so we're expecting that same kind of situation this time around.

We will keep her in our rankings for now. But if she doesn't debut in the postseason, then she will likely be axed from our top-25 list.

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

Katie Doucette only falls one spot despite a shocking upset at D2 Pre-Nationals. We expected her to win, with her biggest competition from the Colorado Mines’ women, but a breakout race from Naomi Bailey took the Pre-Nationals title from Doucette.

We weren’t expecting the underdog from Alaska Fairbanks to pull away from Doucette and her RMAC foes, but that doesn't mean that Doucette ran poorly. In the grand scheme of things, she still ran really well!

When considering our rankings, career-long consistency, experience and overall season projections, that result is more of a plus for Naomi Bailey than a negative for Katie Doucette.

The Mountaineer star will face serious competition at every meet from here on out. She’s had a slightly rougher season than we predicted, considering her wrong turn at the Mountaineer/Cowboy Invite and the most recent upset, but she is fit and has the opportunity to showcase her true talent in the coming weeks.

3. Natalie Graber, Junior, Grand Valley State (+1 / 4)

Natalie Graber continued her strong season as Grand Valley State’s low-stick with her 8th place finish at the Bradley Pink Classic. She led the Lakers to a 4th place team finish against some of the best Division One teams in the midwest.

This performance adds to a string of successful races that Graber has thrown down so far this season. Looking ahead, Graber is the clear favorite at her conference and regional meets and is a top-five name for the national meet.

Graber has tons of experience and her steady improvement is extremely promising. The Lakers also tend to bring major firepower into the postseason, and I would expect us to see that from Graber in the coming weeks.

But just how high is Graber’s ceiling? We would be surprised if she fell outside the top-10 at the cross country national meet, but could she put herself in the mix with Robles and Cunningham?

2. Lindsay Cunningham, Sophomore, Winona State (0 / 2)

While there were two high-profile Division Two meets this past weekend, Pre-Nationals and the UAH Festival Year Showcase, Cunningham opted to stay local and win the Bob Waxlax Invitational by nearly 50 seconds. She beat her time at this meet from last year by nearly 90 seconds, indicating that she has improved immensely.

This was another extremely impressive performance for Cunningham after her wins at the Lewis Crossover and the Griak Invitational. Another dominant win while dipping under 20:00 minutes for 6k adds value to an already-successful season and adds to the argument of Cunningham taking home gold in December.

One of Cunningham’s biggest strengths is the momentum that she is currently carrying. Looking back to last year, she placed 7th at the NCAA XC Championships, 5th in the 5000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships and then 6th in the 5000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Her personal bests of 34:08 (10k) and 16:05 (5k) from last spring suggested that she would have a huge cross country season in 2022, but I don’t think we correctly gauged just how good she would be.

Cunningham is arguably the top name to watch as we head into the conference and regional meets in the coming weeks.

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

Brianna Robles holds steady at TSR #1 as we head into the postseason.

Her 3rd place finish at the Highlander Invitational is impressive and it indicates that she is primed for a successful finish to her junior year. The Grizzly ace ran a solid time of 19:50 for 6k and led her teammates to a dominant win against talented Division One teams.

Looking ahead to the NCAA XC Championships, I think it is safe to say Robles will have harder competition than we initially thought heading into this season. The competition is on another level this year and it is becoming increasingly more difficult to rank the slew of talented women elevating the Division Two scene.

However, until we have reason to think otherwise, Robles remains at TSR #1.

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ADDED

Naomi Bailey (Alaska-Fairbanks)

Clare Peters (Colorado Mines)

Emily Schoellkopf (Adams State)

Johanna Wistokat (Christian Brothers)

KICKED OFF

Taryn Chapko (Grand Valley State)

Alyssa Becker (U-Mary)

Gemma Rebollo (Wingate)

Annika Esvelt (Seattle Pacific)

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Katie Fankhouser (Fort Lewis)

Morgan Hykes (Adams State)

Taryn Chapko (Grand Valley State)

Najwa Chouati (Stanislaus State)

Holly Moser (Colorado Mines)

Kira MacGill (Colorado Mesa)

Paige Tack (Colorado Christian)

Allison Beasley (Western Colorado)

Alyssa Becker (U-Mary)

Kayden Legan (Stanislaus State)

Gianna Bomarito (Sonoma State)

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)

Caroline Cunningham (NW Missouri)

McKenna Taylor (Winona State)

Cailee Peterson (Minnesota-Duluth)

Kendall Kramer (Alaska Fairbanks)

Alauna Carstens (Saint Martins)

Savannah Ackley (Cedarville)

Elise Leveel (Charleston (WV))

Rachael Morrison (Lewis)

Bradley Weimer (Drury)

Aria Hawkins (Lee (Tenn.))