TSR's 2022 D3 XC Top 20 Individual Rankings (Women): Update #4

TSR Collaboration
Nov 15, 2022
11 min read

Written by Kevin Fischer, Hannah Thorn & Brett Haffner

Additional edits and commentary by John Cusick and Garrett Zatlin

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.

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.

20. Genna Girard, Sophomore, Williams (0 / 20)

Genna Girard put together another very solid performance at the Mideast Regional XC Championships, finishing 3rd behind Morgan Lee (TSR #9) and Mary Kate McGranahan (TSR #12). Her effort helped Williams further the gap between themselves and Amherst, winning the team title by 23 points.

With every passing race, Girard looks more and more like somebody who can compete with some of D3’s best runners on the national stage. She has been so steady and reliable this fall and seems to be throwing down some of her better performances in the postseason.

19. Maddie Hannan, Junior, UW-La Crosse (-4 / 15)

After winning the WIAC XC Championships title and vaulting into our rankings two weeks ago, Maddie Hannan is backing up the hype. She finished 4th at the North Regional XC Championships last Saturday with some of the best top-end talents in the country such as Fiona Smith (TSR #2) and Clara Mayfield (TSR #3).

In addition to those two women, Hannan also finished behind Carleton’s Hannah Preisser, but that isn’t really a cause for concern, especially since she was still the top finisher from the WIAC by a comfortable margin.

Yes, Hannan does drop a few spots in our rankings, but that's not necessarily a reflection of her momentum or our optimism in her.

18. Riley Martel-Phillips, Junior, UC-Santa Cruz (Unranked)

Last year, Riley Martel-Phillips finished 34th at the West Regional XC Championships.

Since then, she has developed a ton, but it was still surprising to see her beat defending regional champion Genevieve DiBari and Meredith Bloss (TSR #15) on the way to a runner-up finish at this year’s meet.

Now, that said, Martel-Phillips has shown us that she can hang with some loaded fields, finishing a solid 11th place overall at Augustana, so it shouldn’t be a complete shock that she was able to thrive last weekend.

And yet, she was still somebody that flew under our radar for most of the season.

Despite having no national meet experience and a 5000 meter personal best of 17:48 from the track, Martel-Phillips has gotten herself to the point where she looks like a clear-cut All-American barring an exceptionally bad day.

17. Lexi Brown, Sophomore, Wartburg (Unranked)

What’s cool about Wartburg is that after Aubrie Fisher, anyone from their second scorer to their fifth scorer can step up any given day, at least in theory.

And on Saturday, it was Lexi Brown.

The Wartburg ace finished 3rd overall at the Midwest Regional XC Championships, only 10 seconds behind Fisher and ahead of every U. of Chicago runner. That was a huge reason why the Knights came out on top against the Maroons.

Brown's upside has never been questioned, but her inconsistency this fall stopped us from placing her inside our top-20 until now. She's recently stepped up when it truly matters and she had another big moment on Saturday.

If her recent trend of success continues, then don't be surprised if you see Brown as the second runner for the Knights at the national meet.

16. Hannah Preisser, Freshman, Carleton (Unranked)

The Carleton freshman makes a jump into our rankings after her 3rd place finish at the North Regional XC Championships. Preisser is the only true freshman in our current rankings after replacing another true freshman, Vivian Kane.

And much like Kane, Preisser has made a big splash in Division Three this year.

Despite her youth, this Carleton standout has been incredibly consistent all year long. She has lost only to Fiona Smith, Clara Mayfield, Kathleen McCarey and Morgan Lee this season.

That’s it. That’s the list.

Preisser is somebody who not only has the potential to be a star, but looks to already be there as she moves into our top-20 for the first time (and likely not the last time) in her career.

15. Meredith Bloss, Sophomore, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (-2 / 13)

Meredith Bloss didn’t have the best day at the West Regional XC Championships, but only falling back to 4th place isn’t disastrous by any means. That's especially true when considering the body of work that she has put together this season.

Even after that result, this CMS standout likely remains as arguably the best secondary scorer in the country. Truthfully, there aren’t many athletes in Division Three who can beat her, even when she has an “off” day.

14. Emily Konkus, Junior, Washington U. (-5 / 9)

Emily Konkus didn't race with her team at the Midwest Regional XC Championships and she was severely missed. The Bears ultimately fell well behind two powerhouse programs in Wartburg and U. Chicago.

The absence of Konkus heading into this weekend is a slight concern, but with fellow teammate Ella Behrens also not racing, we're led to believe that Washington U. was simply resting a few of their scorers.

13. Windsor Ardner, Senior, SUNY Geneseo (Unranked)

Windsor Ardner is back!

Ardner's last race was October 1st, so it’s been six weeks that SUNY Geneseo has had to wait for their second scorer to return to action. Her comeback also comes at the perfect time as well as she was able to shake off some rust before the national meet.

Ardner finished runner-up to teammate Kathleen McCarey (TSR #10) at the Niagara Regional XC Championships. Those two women worked together nicely and it was a nice soft launch for Ardner back into the world of racing. Her time of 21:58 is slightly slower than when we last saw her at the Mike Woods Invitational, but it's nothing that we are too concerned about.

Regardless, if she can finish just two seconds behind McCarey on the national stage, then things will be quite alright in upstate New York. Of course, that hypothesis will definitely be tested this weekend in Michigan.

12. Mary Kate McGranahan, Junior, Amherst (+2 / 14)

Mary Kate McGranahan almost got away with winning the Mideast Regional XC Championship individual title. The Amherst star was able to keep away from her competition for most of the race, but eventually got caught by Morgan Lee (TSR #9).

Even so, a runner-up result is far from bad and it's better than her 3rd place finish at this meet from last year. Her mark of 22:23 isn’t all that impressive, but it looks like the course at St. Lawrence was tough for everyone which is more of a testament to McGranahan's fitness.

McGranahan will be looking to improve upon her 77th place finish from last year's national meet this coming weekend. But with another year of experience under her belt, it wouldn't be a surprise to see McGranahan obtain her first All-American honor.

11. Anna Kenig-Ziesler, Freshman, U. of Chicago (+1 / 12)

Anna Kenig-Ziesler continued her statement season after becoming the 4th place finisher from the Midwest Regional XC Championships last weekend.

In what felt like a major "prove it" race for the U. Chicago star, Kenig-Ziesler showed us that she can handle the pressure. Tying exactly with her teammate Maddie Kelley, but getting the nod, shows us that she has the foot-speed to compete with the best women at the end of a race, something that should come in handy a few days from now.

It’s hard to believe this is Kenig-Ziesler’s first cross country campaign for U. of Chicago as she has been the top runner for them pretty much all season long. She could be the missing piece that the Maroons have needed in the past to finish on top of the podium.

That is, if she can handle the pressure of her first national meet appearance...

10. Kathleen McCarey, Junior, SUNY Geneseo (+1 / 11)

Kathleen McCarey walked away with the Niagara Regional XC Championship title, but her teammate pushed her all the way to the line. McCarey’s mark of 21:56 was only two seconds faster than teammate Windsor Ardner (TSR #3).

Even so, both McCarey and Ardner were almost 25 seconds ahead of 3rd place, so McCarey might not have felt the need to push too hard for the win. What’s the point of burying her teammate to finish 1-2 when they could coast in front of the field and still take the top-two spots?

Saturday was a nice way to lead into the national meet where McCarey hopes to score as few points as possible to put SUNY Geneseo in contention for the overall win.

At last year's national meet, she finished 14th overall. Could this be the year where the SUNY Geneseo mega star breaks into the top-10? We certainly think so...

9. Morgan Lee, Sophomore, RPI (+1 / 10)

Morgan Lee is the breakout star of this cross country season.

Last year, Lee ended her season at the Mideast Regional XC Championships by finishing 22nd overall. This year, she took home the individual win, running 22:10. That mark was enough to beat Mary Kate McGranahan (TSR #12) by 13 seconds. She also bested Genna Girard (TSR #20) in this race.

On Saturday, the RPI star slowly moved up through the field and ultimately closed the gap on McGranahan around the 5k mark. She then put 13 seconds on her in the last kilometer, showcasing a brilliant display of tactical execution and positioning.

That was also an impressive display of strength. And even though she is just a sophomore, Lee has displayed a level of maturity and calmness while racing, making her one of Division Three's most elite distance talents.

8. Natalie Bitetti, Sophomore, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (0 / 8)

Natalie Bitetti continued her reign over the West region by taking home the individual title the other weekend. She took off from the gun and ran the entire race with the pack chasing her.

Her time of 21:43 continues her streak of sub-22 performances.

The CMS ace has been the most talented runner in the West region all year long, so this win doesn't come as a surprise. It will be interesting to see how she will handle the national meet where she'll be surrounded by similar-caliber talents.

Trying to run away from Saturday's field won't be an option, meaning that Bitetti will need to employ a new race approach. That said, if the pace is fast from the gun, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Bitetti at the front.

7. Ana Tucker, Junior, Hope (0 / 7)

Ana Tucker, the Great Lakes Regional XC Championships individual winner, continues to be a beacon of consistency on the grass.

Her three 6k races this season have all been completed within 12 seconds of each other. She also just broke the 21-minute barrier for the first time in her career over 6k. And while times don't necessarily matter with cross country, it's nice to see Tucker peaking at the proper time.

At last year's national meet, this Hope College standout finished 11th overall, so she will be looking to break into the top-10 for the first time in her career on Saturday. And on paper, Tucker has the perfect mix of talent and experience to reach that goal.

6. Aubrie Fisher, Junior, Wartburg (0 / 6)

Aubrie Fisher was the runner-up finisher at the Midwest Regional XC Championships last weekend behind only Kassie Parker (TSR #1). Fisher did what she always does: run fast, but come up just short behind Parker.

In fact, Fisher’s only losses in Division Three this year are to Parker, all in her last three races.

Fisher typically performs very well at national meets as the pressure doesn’t seem to get to her. She is the third-best returner from the national meet last year when she finished in 6th place overall.

She's currently ranked in that same spot as last time, but there's reason to believe that she can finish even higher than that on Saturday.

5. Alex Ross, Senior, Johns Hopkins (0 / 5)

Alex Ross, the Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Championships individual winner, almost did not win her regional meet.

Jessica Hoffman from Scranton made the bold move to break away from the field right before the mile. Ross didn’t start closing down on Hoffman until the 5k mark and caught her with about 800 meters to go. Ross wound up just five seconds ahead of Hoffman, making it a closer race than everyone initially thought.

On a positive note, this race shows us that Ross can stay engaged in a race that isn’t initially going her way. She was able to close hard to catch Hoffman which will be pivotal in a race atmosphere like the one that she will see on Saturday.

On the more cynical side, we expected Ross to win her regional title easily. Her having a challenge does leave an inkling of doubt that she might not finish as high as we have her ranked.

4. Clara Mayfield, Junior, Carleton (0 / 4)

At the North Regional XC Championships, Clara Mayfield took runner-up honors behind Fiona Smith (TSR #2). This time, the race was a bit closer as she finished 15 seconds behind Smith.

Mayfield spent most of the race in "no man's land". Both her and Smith were head and shoulders above the rest of the field and the two women had built a sizable gap before the 2k mark. That gap continued to widen as Mayfield was 15 seconds behind Smith, but 51 seconds ahead of the 3rd place finisher.

Given how the national meet played out last year, it’s encouraging to see Mayfield keep pushing when she is out there by herself. It’s been tough for her to face Smith over and over again this season, but that should prepare her incredibly well for the national meet.

3. Annika Urban, Junior, Emory (0 / 3)

Queen of the South region, Annika Urban, took home the South Regional XC Championships individual title last weekend. She continued her undefeated streak which continues to get more impressive with each passing week.

Urban might have held back a bit at her regional meet as she gears up for a big performance on Saturday. She waited until the 3k mark to break away from the field and then slowly put 20 seconds between her and the rest of the field.

While that isn’t the same massive margin of victory that we're used to seeing from her, it also didn’t need to be. Urban was clearly the favorite to win and she did what she had to do. It will be interesting to see how she fares against Smith and Parker who both like to take off straight from the gun.

Will Urban go with them? Or try to track them down from the chase pack?

2. Fiona Smith, Sophomore, St. Benedict’s (0 / 2)

Fiona Smith is not one to take a race out slow.

We’ve seen it all season long and it happened again at the North Regional XC Championships. Even though she was racing Clara Mayfield (TSR #4), Smith could still take the race out hard and establish a lead within the first mile.

Her finishing time of 20:51 was a new PR for her, so everyone else is in trouble if Smith is actually peaking as she enters her season finale. The national meet looks like it will be a three-woman race between Parker, Smith and potentially Urban.

However, one thing that we can bet on is that Smith is going to make this a fast race.

1. Kassie Parker, Senior, Loras (0 / 1)

We’ll be short and sweet when it comes to Kassie Parker.

She is the best and continues to prove it. She won the Midwest Regional XC Championships in a time of 21:14 this past weekend, 37 seconds faster than Aubrie Fisher (TSR #6).

She is the hands-down favorite to win the individual title which might be by 30 seconds or more. If she winds up losing, it would be one of the biggest upsets since TSR started covering Division Three.

She is the best in the division and should be the repeat national champion.