TSR's 2022 D3 XC Top 20 Individual Rankings (Women): Update #5

TSR Collaboration
Nov 26, 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 an individual fared throughout the entirety of a season, not just how they ran at the NCAA XC Championships or at a singular meet. You will notice that these rankings may mirror the national meet results, but not precisely. That is intentional. These rankings are intended to be an aggregate, not a recency list.

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. Olivia Rosenstein, Sophomore, MIT (Unranked)

We talked about Olivia Rosenstein's incredible national meet performance in our most recent group chat article, but it's still hard to express just how emphatic of a statement she made last weekend.

Since her 38th place All-American finish last fall, Rosenstein didn't race at all on the track and her absence extended all the way to the NEWMAC XC Championships where she finished a modest 13th place overall.

For her to finish 12th at the national meet is flat-out incredible, effectively earning herself a spot in the final edition of our individual rankings.

19. Lucy Groothuis, Sophomore, U. of Chicago (Unranked)

After a few week hiatus from our individual rankings, Lucy Groothuis makes her return to our list by finishing 17th at the national meet last weekend.

There has to be some disappointment on the team side after coming so close to beating out Johns Hopkins for a team title, but the individual performance of Groothuis was still very solid. She is now an All-American for the first time in her career and she delivered on the higher end of her true potential on the stage that mattered the most.

She may only be returning to our rankings in this update, but she's been consistent this fall and overall, has a great 2022 cross country resume.

18. Maddie Hannan, Junior, UW-La Crosse (+1 / 19)

Maddie Hannan's season-defining performance was probably her win at the WIAC XC Championships, although that result then prompted us to ask just how competitive she could be as a national-caliber low-stick. But then she backed up that win with some solid performances on the regional, eventually national, stages.

Ultimately, a 20th place finish was about what we expected from Hannan going into this meet, but she still exceeded preseason expectations by a significant margin. She peaked for the postseason better than most women at the Division Three level did.

17. Mary Kate McGranahan, Junior, Amherst (-5 / 12)

Mary Kate McGranahan's day at the NCAA XC Championships was certainly not her best performance of the season, but it definitely wasn't her worst, either.

After some early-season dominance and an NESCAC XC Championship individual title, a top-10 result in her season finale race was deemed feasible for her. Sure, her finishing 25th last Saturday isn't exactly what she wanted, but it's not like that performances forces her out of the conversation of being one of the 20-best women in the country this fall.

That was McGranahan's first time finishing as an All-American and she made a big jump from previous seasons, so that should absolutely be credited to this Amherst athlete.

16. Lexi Brown, Sophomore, Wartburg (+1 / 17)

Lexi Brown had a good day at the national meet, finishing 16th overall as the second Wartburg runner to cross the line. She is one of multiple first-time All-Americans on this list.

Brown's improvement throughout the season has helped her reach this level. She showed promise early-on, but then really began to build momentum and emerged as a legitimate low-stick threat who changed the dynamic of her team's lineup for the better.

And even though Wartburg's title charge fell short, she ended up being an even bigger and more impactful piece on that roster than we expected her to be.

15. Natalie Bitetti, Sophomore, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (-7 / 8)

Natalie Bitetti was one of many runners who succumbed to the cold and snow in Michigan last weekend, although she still managed to sneak into the last couple of All-American spots, finishing 39th place overall.

Obviously, that result wasn't what she was hoping for, but it doesn't take away from everything that she was able to do throughout this season. Before the national meet, the only Division Three competitor who she lost to was Annika Urban, which speaks a lot to the nature of her entire body of work this fall.

So despite only barely sneaking into the All-American range, we feel pretty confident about Bitetti remaining as a top-15 name, nationally. She was just so. darn. good. throughout the entirety of this season.

14. Hannah Preisser, Freshman, Carleton (+2 / 16)

Hannah Preisser has been amazing as a true freshman, showcasing a strong mix of talent and composure. And as the postseason unfolded, Preisser began to show more and more comfort as one of the top distance talents in Division Three this fall.

The Carleton rookie didn't shy away from the big lights of the national stage and because of that, she walked away with a massive 15th place finish, the highest result of any true freshman last weekend.

When Clara Mayfield graduates, Preisser will be the heir to this Carleton program and it wouldn't be totally surprising to see her contend for national titles in the future, especially if she continues to build on the clear momentum that she established this fall.

13. Emily Konkus, Junior, Washington U. (+1 / 14)

After not racing at Midwest Regional XC Championships, low-stick ace Emily Konkus returned to the Bears' lineup and finished 13th place overall at the national meet.

After finishing 41st at last year's NCAA XC Championships and later placing 9th in the 1500 meters at the outdoor national meet this past spring, Konkus was arguably the best non-All-American distance runner in the country coming into this season. That was plenty evident this fall given her overall seasonal resume.

Konkus took her game to a new level this fall, consistently finishing high up at nationally competitive invitationals and capping off her season with a national meet performance that was representative of what she had been doing all season long.

12. Sara Stephenson, Junior, Johns Hopkins (Unranked)

Sara Stephenson vaults into our final rankings after finishing 9th place overall at the national meet. We have always known that Stephenson had the potential to be a top-10 talent, but we weren't super confident that we would see that potential materialize like it did.

Besides her strong effort at Paul Short, Stephenson didn't seem to have many thoroughly convincing performances this year. Admittedly, part of that was because of a racing schedule that was difficult to gauge, but even so, she stepped up when it mattered the most.

Last Saturday's performance was more than just a good one for Stephenson, individually. In addition to a top-10 finish, she helped lead the Blue Jays to a second national title in as many years.

11. Anna Kenig-Ziesler, Freshman, U. of Chicago (0 / 11)

In her first cross country season as a collegiate, Anna Kenig-Ziesler was consistently one of U. of Chicago's top runners.

As expected, she was towards the front of the pack on the national stage. That gutsy effort culminated in her matching our TSR #11 ranking that we had already tallied for her going into the national meet.

This was Kenig-Ziesler's first appearance at a national meet in any season, so for her to have a solid day shows us that she is not fazed by these moments or the pressure that comes with it. She has been the definition of consistency this fall and never really seemed to have a true "off" day despite being put in a handful of challenging fields.

10. Aubrie Fisher, Junior, Wartburg (-4 / 6)

Relative to expectations, Aubrie Fisher fell off from the main pack at the national meet by just the slightest bit, dropping back 14th place overall last Saturday. That wasn't an ideal performance for someone who we expected to challenge for a top-five finish, individually, but no one is going to say that it's a poor result, either.

Regardless of her national meet result, Fisher put together a great overall season which included a couple of wins at smaller meets and three 2nd place finishes. And all three of those runner-up finishes were behind eventual national champion, Kassie Parker, a factoid that gives her resume a minor boost in terms of evaluating her entire season.

Fisher is still one of the best Division Three talents in the country and she made that clear this season. Her slide of six spots isn't solely because of her national meet performance -- the results of others certainly contributed to this drop.

As always, she will be someone to watch as we transition to the oval.

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

Kathleen McCarey was 10th at the national meet which is just about where we expected her to be after ranking her at TSR #10 going into the national meet.

The SUNY Geneseo star didn't shock anybody this fall, but she did her job and validated all of the hype that came her way. She impressed at the Rowan Interregional Border Battle with her 3rd place finish before walking away with the Niagara regional title.

Her stock was rising from early in the season and she continued to build upon it in Michigan last weekend. All in all, her season was representative of our preseason expectations and that's not a bad thing.

We will see if McCarey continues to trend upward during the track season, but for now, she finishes this fall at TSR #9 in our rankings.

8. Windsor Ardner, Senior, SUNY Geneseo (+5 / 13)

After missing out on the Rowan Interregional Border Battle and the SUNYAC XC Championships, Windsor Ardner returned to the competitive scene with vengeance.

The SUNY Geneseo veteran cruised to 2nd place finish behind teammate Kathleen McCarey at the Niagara Regional XC Championships. She then followed up that strong performance with her best performance of the 2022 season...

Ardner finished 8th at the NCAA XC Championships and was a big reason why the Knights could stay inside the top-five as a team. She's always been a fantastic distance talent, but Ardner's ability to reach that next tier of competitiveness this fall has been plenty evident in the few results that we do have from her in 2022.

The upstate New York veteran was long considered the second scorer of this SUNY Geneseo team throughout the years, but roles were reversed at the national meet as Ardner led her team ahead of teammate McCarey.

And although there were signs that she could be this good, Ardner's 19th place finish at the MSU Spartan Invite and constant runner-up results to McCarey didn't necessarily suggest that she would place 8th on the national stage.

With some newfound confidence and fitness, Ardner looks primed to run fast on the oval in the coming months.

7. Morgan Lee, Sophomore, RPI (+2 / 9)

After initially making waves with a big day at Paul Short, Morgan Lee stayed on our radar for the remainder of the season.

She brought her fall campaign to a close on a very positive note with a 7th place national meet finish. This was her sixth top-10 performance of the season, demonstrating a huge step forward in her overall talent from her 2021 campaign.

Those seasonal performances consisted of a runner-up finish at the Rowan Interregional Border Battle followed by a win at the Liberty League XC Championships and then another victory at the Mideast Regional XC Championships.

Anytime you win your conference and regional meets, and follow up those performances by exceeding your ranking at the NCAA XC Championships, that's an indicator that your season was a massive success.

6. Annika Urban, Junior, Emory (-3 / 3)

Annika Urban dropped back a little relative to her ranking last weekend and was seemingly one of the victims of the weather and conditions in Michigan. Still, she ended with a 6th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships.

Even though she slightly underperformed relative to our national meet predictions, this was a huge season for Urban as a whole, especially considering that she was outside of our preseason top-10.

Before toeing the line at the national meet, Urban had not lost a race during the 2022 campaign. While there were some smaller meets sprinkled into her schedule, wins at Paul Short ("Brown" race), the UAA XC Championships and the South Regional XC Championships are very strong showings

Sure, she tumbles three spots after her 6th place finish, but it would be unfair to say that Urban's season was unsuccessful. Her ability to get better year to year on the grass makes her a dynamic runner and one who we should continue to keep an eye on as we head toward the track season.

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

Showcasing her consistent and reliable talent at the national meet, Ross matched her TSR ranking on the dot, finishing 5th overall last Saturday in what was a fairly predictable result.

We knew that Ross being a reliable low-stick would be a given for the Blue Jays, but those points truly did matter, as they walked away with the team national title.

It would have been nice to see her compete more frequently against the ladies ranked near or above her during the regular season, but that’s also a tough expectation since she races out east rather than in the midwest.

It’ll be no surprise to see Ross competing for many more All-American honors this track season as she aims to extend her success from last year’s spring and winter campaigns.

4. Ana Tucker, Junior, Hope (+3 / 7)

We should have known that a woman from Michigan would race well in the snow.

Ana Tucker finished in 4th place overall last weekend, tying her best performance at any national meet that she has ever competed at. That’s also a seven-spot improvement from an 11th place finish from last year's NCAA XC Championships. The Great Lakes individual champion was able to tough it out in the snow and pull away from her competitors down the stretch, proving to be one of the most reliable distance runners that D3 has to offer.

Time and time again, Tucker has quietly taken down top name after top name. Her consistency in some of the biggest meets of the year and her ability to thrive in the postseason gives her an overall resume that deserves more attention when recounting the greatness of the women from this era.

3. Clara Mayfield, Junior, Carleton (+1 / 4)

Clara Mayfield moves up on our list after her strong performance in the snow.

Her 3rd place showing from the NCAA XC Championships is an improvement upon her 10th place finish from last year's nationally and it's the best result of her career.

An All-American in all three of her cross country national meet appearances, Mayfield is as consistent as they come and her role as a truly elite low-stick was firmly established this fall.

Sure, she was soundly defeated by Fiona Smith numerous times this year, but Mayfield's national meet result allowed us to fully understand just how good she was -- something her regular season wasn't able to properly portray.

On the biggest stage, Mayfield was able to have her best day. That’s not something that a lot of runners could could say when the race was said and over with.

2. Fiona Smith, Sophomore, Saint Benedict (0 / 2)

Fiona Smith has been our clear TSR #2 runner all season long and nothing changed at the national meet.

Smith made a smart decision by not making a move with Parker and instead raced against the chase pack on her way to a very predictable 2nd place finish. Sure, she probably could have gone with Parker and held on for silver, but understanding her competition and knowing the risk-reward balance of that scenario made her decision to hold back the right one.

This is her second-straight year in the top-five at the national meet and she may be the favorite to take home the individual national title next year with Parker now out of eligibility.

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

This is the easiest choice we’ve ever had to make.

Parker was the individual national champion by 43 seconds.

Again, she won by 43 seconds...in the snow!

That is absolutely insane and it might be one of the biggest margins of victory that we’ve ever seen in a national meet on the grass. She was practically undefeated this season (she had a single loss to a teammate) and no one was ever truly that close to her.

Many will now consider her as the G.O.A.T. of Division Three distance running, right up there with the legendary Missy Buttry. It's safe to say that watching her compete has been a privilege for us here at TSR.