TSR's 2022 Preseason D1 XC Top 50 Rankings: Just Missed & Honorable Mentions (Women)

Here we go. Our 2022 men's and women's preseason individual cross country rankings. Let's start out with our Just Missed and Honorable Mention names.

As a reminder, you can find our rankings rubric here. This week will be our D1 rankings while next week will be our D2 and D3 rankings. Let's begin...

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JUST MISSED (in no order)

Everlyn Kemboi, Senior, Utah Valley

At one point, Kemboi was listed in our rankings. However, the realization that we had missed one name forced us to make the difficult decision to leave the Utah Valley standout out of our Top 50.

On paper, Kemboi's cross country accolades don't blow you away. Her 2021 fall rust-busters weren't all that great and she faced very little competition at the Utah XC Open which she won.

Kemboi's 4th place finish at the WAC XC Championships was solid, but in a smaller conference, the Utah Valley runner likely needed to take home the win if she wanted to be in consideration for our preseason rankings.

Luckily, Kemboi would later secure a very encouraging 13th place finish at the Mountain Regional XC Championships. No, that performance didn't advance her to the national meet, but it did lead us to believe that she could be competitive in the future -- and that's exactly what happened.

This past spring, Kemboi and her Utah Valley teammates impressed in a major way. Kemboi ran 16:04 for 5000 meters and posted a huge 33:12 mark for 10,000 meters. Not only that, but Kemboi would also advance to the national meet in the 10k where she finished 12th overall.

Based on her outdoor track performances, the Wolverines' distance star has shown us that she can be one of the 50 best cross country runners in the country. Still, that's only speculation and we need her to actually deliver on that potential before she's ranked.

Gionna Quarzo, Sophomore, NC State

Gionna Quazro wasn't supposed to be this good.

The Pennsylvania native was part of, arguably, the greatest women's high school distance running recruiting class ever, at least when it came to domestic talents. In that recruiting class, Quarzo shared the spotlight with not only Katelyn Tuohy and Marlee Starliper, but numerous other high-octane prep stars as well.

While Quarzo still had a ridiculously strong high school resume, she felt overlooked in a recruiting class that had an overwhelming amount of star power.

Since then, Tuohy and Starliper have had grand success, but it's Quarzo who has joined those two women as national-caliber Wolfpack runners from the Class of 2020.

Quarzo broke out in the spring of 2021 when she ran 33:24 for 10,000 meters at the ACC Outdoor Championships. She was then the first woman out of qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships that same year.

However, Quarzo wasn't truly appreciated until this past spring season when she ran 15:56 for 5000 meters, placed 6th in the 10k at the Raleigh Relays and qualified for the national meet in the 10k.

Quarzo clearly favors the longer distances, but she has yet to truly have a competitive opportunity on the grass. The NC State women were a loaded powerhouse last fall, a fact that ultimately forced the inexperienced sophomore to run in "Open" races at both Joe Piane and Nuttycombe where she would earn a pair of top-10 finishes.

There aren't many people in our "Just Missed" list who have as much upside as Quarzo. Still, it's hard to rank someone who has a limited cross country resume and who is still transitioning into an established long distance talent.

But make no mistake, Quarzo is plenty talented enough to be a Top 50 runner.

Katelynne Hart, Sophomore, Michigan

Katelynne Hart is a name that carries a lot of weight.

Her past dominance of the high school scene paired with the brand recognition that the University of Michigan holds makes it challenging to ignore her in rankings such as these.

The 2021 winter cross country season was almost nonexistent for then-freshman Katelynne Hart. The Wolverines weren't able to compete throughout most of the winter season thanks to restrictions implemented by their university, but they did cruise through an unexciting field at the FSU Winter XC Last Chance meet and qualify for the national meet as a team.

Hart, however, was a DNF at the NCAA Winter XC Championships.

Fast forward to the most recent cross country season and we were able to gain a greater understanding of what Hart could bring to the table for the Michigan women. The Wolverine youngster placed 4th in a respectable field at the Louisville XC Classic and went on to earn a 3rd place finish at the Penn State National Open.

Despite the solid results, neither of those meets held much competition, at least not in comparison to Joe Piane, Pre-Nationals or Nuttycombe.

Hart's 15th place finish at the BIG 10 XC Championships was solid, as was her 6th place at the Great Lakes XC Regional Championships. Her final result of the season, a 69th place finish at the national meet, epitomized Hart's entire 2021 fall season -- very solid, but not quite top-50 caliber.

Even so, the consistency and reliability that Hart has shown us is encouraging. Still, she needs to exhibit more firepower and low-stick prowess. Luckily, that's something that can come naturally with age.

Camila Noe, Rs. Junior, Montana State

I'll admit, we had a very hard time trying to figure out where we should rank Camila Noe, if at all. The Montana State ace was a 30th place cross country All-American in 2019. She also won the BIG Sky cross country title that year and placed a respectable 24th at Pre-Nationals.

Just off of those performances alone, Noe is 100% a name who would be listed in our XC Top 50. Unfortunately, these things are never that straightforward.

The pandemic-altered fall of 2020 and winter of 2021 seasons were almost nonexistent and largely unexciting for Noe. And when you fast forward to last fall, Noe was a bit quieter in comparison to 2019.

Yes, it's true, she did earn a very impressive 14th finish at Pre-Nationals. However, Noe would go on to place 8th at the BIG Sky XC Championships and then 18th at the Mountain Regional XC Championships. She would not advance to the national meet.

There is no question that Noe can be an All-American once again in 2022. Still, she is coming up on being three years removed from her last national meet appearance. After having just one good race last fall, we need to see more consistency and greater postseason prowess. She also hasn't raced (per TFRRS) since mid-April.

The good news is that Noe recently had a strong outdoor track season, running a personal best of 15:52 for 5000 meters. If there was ever a season for her to rebound, it would likely be this season.

Samree Dishon, Sophomore, New Mexico

Written by Maura Beattie

New Mexico will not only be looking to repeat as podium finishers later this fall, but they may also attempt to play spoiler to NC State's repeat title hopes.

In order for that to happen, Dishon may have to be the key x-factor who pushes her team over the top and gives them a surprise upper-echelon scorer.

The Lobo youngster has flexed some serious range from the 1500 meters up to the 10k and has even seen some solid success on the cross country course. And while all of those results are encouraging, trying to figure out what they mean in the context of this season, at the moment, is a challenge.

During the 2021 fall cross country season, Dishon opened her season by finishing 2nd at the Lori Fitzgerald Open and then competed in the "Open" race at Joe Piane where she finished a solid 4th place overall.

However, two weeks later at Nuttycombe, the Lobo rookie made a statement by placing 26th overall in the varsity race, emerging as the team's fifth runner and showing signs of top-tier promise. She would later go on to finish 6th at the Mountain West XC Championship, an improvement by 53 places from where she finished during the 2021 winter cross country season.

Dishon would have a decent race at the Mountain Regional XC Championships, finishing 34th, but that would be the end of her cross country season. Unfortunately, she would gain no national meet experience.

For as good as Dishon was on the grass, her outdoor track season was notably better. She posted excellent marks on the outdoor oval, running times of 4:18 (1500), 15:54 (5k) and 33:09 (10k). That latter 10k mark would produce a Mountain West title for the up-and-coming distance talent.

Dishon might not be the lead front-runner for the Lobos this fall, but she may be depended on to score key points for the team. If her outdoor track performances are able to translate to the grass, then seeing Dishon inside our XC Top 50 isn't just realistic, it's probable.

Lindsey Stallworth, Senior, BYU

The graduate transfer from East Tennessee State may be one of the most underrated distance runners in the NCAA. The newest BYU standout is a national meet veteran who could be a major name that the Cougars lean on throughout the fall.

Stallworth didn't truly breakout until the winter cross country season. During that time, she won the Southern Conference title and then went straight to the NCAA Winter XC Championships where she earned a huge 38th place All-American finish.

Stallworth's winter season success came a bit out of nowhere, but her fall cross country season did (somewhat) validate her recent success. A 14th place finish at the Louisville Classic and a 3rd place finish at the Southern Conference XC Championships were respectable, but admittedly unexciting.

Luckily, Stallworth placed 8th at the South Regional XC Championships and advanced to the national meet where she placed 72nd overall.

Despite her All-American finish in March of 2021, Stallworth just wasn't on that same level eight months later. Still, she remained very productive and clearly proved that she was a nationally competitive talent.

Plus, if any team in the country is going to get the most out their runners, it's BYU.

Sasha Neglia, Sophomore, North Carolina

Sasha Neglia has been one of, if not the, marquee names who has revitalized the North Carolina women. Neglia, alongside a massive slew of young distance talents, has made Chapel Hill one of the best hubs of collegiate cross country talents in the NCAA nowadays.

During the pandemic-altered 2020 cross country season, Neglia broke out in a major way despite her freshman status. She was earning key wins against established teams (albeit, in very small fields) and she went on to place 6th at the ACC XC Championships that October.

Fast forward to March, and Neglia would ultimately secure a clutch 46th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships in her first year despite a global pandemic creating mass chaos.

Her 2021 fall cross country season, however, was less exciting.

Make no mistake, Neglia didn't necessarily have any poor races last fall, but she didn't exactly standout like she did in the fall of 2020. She was 6th at Beantown, 41st at Pre-Nationals, 20th at the ACC XC Championships, 22nd at the Southeast Regional XC Championships and 113th at the NCAA XC Championships.

On paper, those finishes don't necessarily suggest that Neglia is a top-50 cross country runner.

Even so, if those results are supposed to be the "worse" half of her cross country career so far, then that's still really darn good. Neglia is still young and the upside is clearly there. 2022 will give us a more wholistic view of what she can bring to the table scoring-wise for the Tar Heels.

Fiona Max, Sophomore, Princeton

We really like Fiona Max. There is so much more to like about her than dislike. Max isn't perfect, but she has shown plenty of encouraging signs on the grass, so much so that we think she could be an All-American this fall.

But first, she needs to race at that level for an entire season.

Admittedly, the first few races of Max's 2021 fall cross country season were far from exciting. She competed in a few negligible rust-busters and went on to place 48th at Joe Piane. That latter result was fine, but as far as our Top 50 rankings were concerned, it wasn't worthy of putting Max in the conversation.

But then Max won the Princeton XC Invite.

And then she placed 2nd at the Ivy League XC Championships.

And then she secured a huge 6th place finish at the Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Championships.

And then, despite being a true rookie, Max ended her inaugural cross country season with a very strong 84th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships.

Was Max super consistent throughout the entire 2021 fall cross country season? Not quite, but she clearly peaked when it mattered the most and frankly, that's all that really should matter.

Was Max always facing the best competition? Admittedly no, but that's not necessarily her fault and it's not like there was a ton of room for her to place higher in either her conference or her region.

After all, trying to beat Kayley DeLay, Ceili McCabe, Sami Corman, Maggie Donahue, Lydia Olivere and/or Sammi Ragenklint is an extremely challenging task.

Max's youth combined with her promising results from last year leads us to believe that she could be the next star of the Ivy League for years to come. If she makes the jump that we think she will, then Max will be a major problem for her competitors in 2022.

Lydia Olivere, Senior, Villanova

During the 2019 cross country season, Olivere was flat-out incredible.

She won the BIG East title, won the Mid-Atlantic regional title and then placed 29th overall at the NCAA XC Championships to earn All-American honors. Despite a modest regular season, Olivere's 2019 postseason was considered a monumental success.

In the following cross country seasons, Olivere has continued to produce solid results, but she hasn't necessarily replicated her success from 2019.

During the 2021 winter cross country season, Olivere placed 3rd at the BIG East XC Championships and then 91st at the NCAA XC Championships.

Those were solid results, but they weren't amazing, either.

Then, during the 2021 fall cross country season, Olivere placed 3rd at Paul Short, 57th at Nuttycombe, 2nd at the BIG East XC Championships, 4th at the Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Championships and 99th at the NCAA XC Championships.

Again, those are solid results, but they just didn't standout in any major way.

Olivere is a proven All-American, highly experienced, very consistent on the grass and an excellent steeplechaser. She has all of the intangibles to be a cross country All-American once again in 2022.

However, Olivere needs to reproduce some of her past firepower and generate better results in larger, nationally competitive fields like Nuttycombe and the NCAA XC Championships.

It's already hard to keep Olivere out of our rankings, but if she returns to her 2019 form, then we'll have no issues moving her well inside of our XC Top 50.

Lexy Halladay, Sophomore, BYU

Is Lexy Halladay the next great BYU star? She could be, but it may take a few seasons to gain greater confirmation.

Either way, Halladay is a fantastic young talent who has already given us so many positives to highlight in her still-young college career.

During the pandemic, Halladay made her collegiate debut at the Oklahoma State Invite in October of 2020. There, she posted a remarkable 6th place finish, despite only being a rookie, in a field that consisted of BYU, Southern Utah, Oklahoma State and an unattached Colorado team.

Fast forward to the winter months and Halladay placed 10th in the very top-heavy Silver State XC Challenge. However, she admittedly faltered a bit in the postseason, placing 15th at the West Coast Conference XC Championships and then 184 at the NCAA Winter XC Championships.

Luckily, Halladay started off her 2021 fall cross country season very strong. She placed 3rd in a sneaky-good field at the FSU XC Open and later placed 20th at Nuttycombe, giving her resume a key spark.

Unfortunately, after a 5th place finish at the West Coast Conference XC Championships, Halladay had national meet troubles once more. This time, she placed 164th overall.

There is no denying that Halladay is an outstanding distance talent. Not only does she have great results on the grass, but she has also run 9:55 for the steeplechase and 9:02 for 3000 meters.

On paper, those times mimic the caliber of a true cross country low-stick.

The only reason why Halladay sits in the "Just Missed" portion of our rankings is because of her national meet results. She's had two tries, but hasn't quite figured out the formula for a top-100 finish yet.

The good news is that Halladay is still fairly young and she has tons of eligibility. Previously, she was an inexperienced underclassman who was balancing the dynamic of two very different cross country seasons.

It would makes sense if the most pressure-driven meet of the year didn't go her way.

Luckily, those races are behind her and now Halladay is positioned to be the face of BYU's future distance running success. All she has to do now is go out and execute.

Savannah Shaw, Senior, NC State

My general rule of thumb for these rankings is that we typically don't have more than 10 names for our "Just Missed" preseason cross country list...but Savannah Shaw's outdoor track season has convinced me to break that rule.

On paper, Shaw wasn't amazing during the fall months of 2021. She won the Joe Piane "Open" race, but then secured a modest pair of 25th place finishes at both the ACC XC Championships and the Southeast Regional XC Championships.

Those three races would be Shaw's entire cross country season.

Admittedly, none of those results suggest that Shaw is a top-50 cross country runner.

But her track times do.

This past winter and spring, Shaw had a huge breakthrough. She ran 4:39 in the mile, earned a flat-track converted 9:01 mark for 3000 meters, dropped a 15:33 personal best for 5000 meters at the East Regional Championships and used that latter time to qualify for the outdoor national meet.

Say what you will about Shaw's cross country performances, but it's abundantly clear that this NC State veteran is a much different (and much better) runner now than she was eight to nine months ago.

Others might suggest that Shaw has done enough on the track to warrant a preseason ranking (and they might be right). But for now, we're playing it on the safer end.

That said, Shaw's resume gives her the greatest chance of moving out of this "Just Missed" section (and into our rankings) assuming she begins to produce strong results on the grass.

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no order)

• Angelina Perez (Florida)

• Sadie Sigfstead (Villanova)

• Hannah Miniutti (Colorado)

• Simone Plourde (Utah)

• Perri Bockrath (Kentucky)

• Erin Strzelecki (Notre Dame)

• Sarah LaTour (NC State)

• Grace Fetherstonhaugh (Oregon State)

• Victoria Heiligenthal (Wisconsin)

• Mia Barnett (Virginia)

• Makayla Perez (Michigan State)

• Greta Karinauskaite (California Baptist)

• Sammi Ragenklint (Monmouth)

• Annabelle Eastman (George Mason)

• Kristen Garcia (Gonzaga)

• Ryann Helmers (Ole Miss)

• Lily Tomasula-Martin (Colorado State)

• Aliandrea Upshaw (New Mexico)

• Hannah Moran (Radford)

• Annabel Stafford (Colorado State)

• Katie Thronson (Notre Dame)

Quick Note(s) & Key Omissions

• Despite receiving notice that Lauren Gregory's junior eligibility listed in the 2021 NCAA Fall XC Championship results was accurate, The Stride Report has since learned that Gregory does not have cross country eligibility. In a video interview with TrailRunner.com, Gregory noted that she has indoor and outdoor eligibility, but her "fall is free". That statement would align with the number of countable cross country seasons she has listed on TFFRS. As a result, Gregory will not be in our rankings.