TSR's 2022 Preseason D2 XC Top 10 Rankings (Women): #7 Wingate Bulldogs

Edits and additional commentary by John Cusick & Garrett Zatlin

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The Bulldogs are most likely not going to match what last year’s team accomplished...right?

That, of course, is not to say that they aren't talented or aren't capable of reaching (or exceeding) that kind of success again. It just might be delayed is all. We say that because of a recent development that came across our TSR inbox.

Lara Orrock and Finja Schierl, the two star-studded scorers from Wingate's 2021 lineup which placed 5th at the NCAA XC Championships, are going to be redshirting/not racing this fall. Admittedly, that news forced us to make a last-minute alteration where the Bulldogs are now ranked at TSR #7 in our preseason top-10.

Even so, this is still a very talented roster. Gemma Rebollo is a star-in-the-making and combination of some fresh faces, as well as some returners, should be enough to keep this group as one of the 10-best cross country teams in Division Two.

However, before we dive any deeper into this team's projected 2022 lineup, let's rewind back to their 2021 cross country season for a few moments.

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Last fall, the Wingate women were ranked at USTFCCCA #20 during the preseason, a spot that was fitting for them at the time. However, that ranking was ultimately a massive undervaluation by the time the season concluded.

In their first two meets, the Bulldog Stampede and the Converse Kick-Off, the Bulldog women were crafting a lineup that would eventually find major success when toeing the line at one of the biggest meets of the year, Pre-Nationals.

In those early-season tests, Laura Orrock looked like a promising low-stick and the supporting cast seemed fine as well. However, with a handful of key women running unattached in a few races, there were questions as to what team we would see in the larger regular season meets.

But Wingate's lineup was ultimately finalized at Pre-Nationals where the Bulldogs destroyed their competition, winning with just 25 points while they went 1-4-5-6-9 and, most importantly, gaining experience on the course that they would be racing on at the NCAA XC Championships.

Finja Schierl validated her performance from the team's first meet by taking home a huge individual victory at Pre-Nationals. Teammates Mollie Scott and Gemma Rebollo, the latter of whom was running in a Wingate singlet for the first time that season, crossed the line in 4th place and 5th place, respectively.

With Tatjane Mense and Lauryn Tumey going 6th and 9th in the overall results, the Wingate women had what was easily the most complete top-five of the meet.

But despite their overwhelming victory, greater challenges in the postseason lied ahead. After all, their competition at Pre-Nationals, relative to what the Bulldogs would face in their championship races, was admittedly limited.

If you have been following the D2 scene for a while, then you know that in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) and the Southeast region, the Queens (NC) Royals are the team to beat.

But at the 2021 SAC XC Championships, it was the Wingate women who knocked the Royals off of their throne, by putting seven in the top-12 to take home the team crown. Not only that, but Lara Orrock shockingly defeated superstar Fatima Alanis for the individual win.

With mass depth, an elite low-stick and minimal scoring gaps, the Wingate women looked boarderline unstoppable on the east coast. No team, on paper, had been able to touch them so far that season.

But two weeks later at Southeast Regional XC Championships, the Royals took back their crown and beat the Bulldogs. Lara Orrock once again bested Alanis, but Queens simply looked far better in comparison to their conference outing.

The Royals put four women ahead of Wingate's second scorer, a stunning reversal of performances after what seemed to be a fairly convincing series of results at their conference meet.

Of course, it's important to note that Finja Schierl, Zoe Brickley and Nanna Nielson all recorded DNF results, perhaps intentionally. And if Schierl had run, then the scores would have been far closer -- although Queens would have still had the edge.

But when it mattered the most, it was the Wingate women who could ultimately gain the edge over the Queens Royals on the national stage.

The Bulldogs' elite duo of Lara Orrock and Finja Schierl would each come away with All American finishes, placing 5th and 40th, respectively, to offer upper-echelon scoring potency like we had expected. And with Rebollo thriving in 44th place, the final two scorers in this lineup simply had to keep gaps at a minimum.

With Tumey placing 65th and Scott placing 89th, the backend of this scoring group did exactly that. The Wingate women walked away with a huge 5th place team finish, 46 points ahead of their regional and conference rivals (Queens) who finished 6th.

* * *

Yes, we'll admit, not having Orrock or Finja Schierl this fall is going to be brutal for the Bulldogs this fall. Those are the two women who really gave the Wingate women a massive scoring edge last fall.

It also doesn't help that Lauryn Tumey is gone, a very reliable and high-value scorer who stabilized this lineup and allowed Wingate's low-stick stars to fully capitalize on their All-American prowess.

Not having that dynamic scoring duo and their backend supporting scorer makes it almost impossible for this team to be any better this fall than they were in 2021 (we think).

And yet, at the same time, we don't see this team being that much worse in 2022, either.

Rising low-stick star Gemma Rebollo is back this fall. The same can be said for a top-tier supporting cast which could feature some combination of Tatjana Mense, Meg Rapley, Mollie Scott, Zoe Brickley and Enora Toupin.

As far as depth goes, the cupboard is not bare for the Bulldogs.

Rebollo just missed being an All-American last year after finishing 44th at the NCAA XC Championships, but she was truthfully a bit inconsistent as a scoring member, bouncing around to different spots within Wingate's lineup last fall.

However, after a monster year on the track, we're confident that this still-young distance star will thrive on the grass. She ran 9:43 (3k), 16:42 (5k) and 34:33 (10k) this past winter and spring before earning All-American honors at the outdoor national meet.

If Rebollo can turn her inconsistencies into a top-tier presence like we think she can, then she could find herself between the All-American spots that Orrock and Schierl earned last fall. That projected improvement alone could replenish at least some of the scoring potency that Wingate's two star low-sticks are leaving behind in 2022.

Then we have Tatjana Mense who took her time easing into the 2021 cross country season, eventually and consistently cutting time off of her 6k personal best throughout last fall. She was a reliable scorer for the Bulldogs except for when she faltered at the national meet and finished 144th overall.

On paper, Mense was clearly better throughout most of last fall than what her season finale performance suggested. She offered great scoring value and, in theory, could have been a top-100 finisher at the NCAA XC Championships.

She is a far better returner than some people may realize.

Mollie Scott is another key name to watch, holding the potential to have underrated scoring impacts (yet again) over the next few months.

Scott was a crucial part of this lineup in 2021, finishing in the top-10 of her races on four different occasions. After placing in the top-90 at last year's national meet, she could be due for a breakout season after running 17:01 for 5000 meters this past spring.

And if that happens, then the idea of Wingate being a top-10 team later this fall becomes far more realistic.

As for Zoe Brickley, she will aim to lock down a place in this Wingate lineup after being off of the main pack in most (but not all) of her races last fall. She did, however, do enough to earn a spot on the starting line at last year's national meet.

And how about Meg Rapley? She was a fringe varsity runner for Wingate throughout last fall, but never top-five. Even so, she did run at the SAC XC Championships and the Southeast Regional XC Championships, finishing as the sixth runner at their conference meet.

Wingate's last returner, Enora Toupin, had the chance to run at Pre-Nationals and at the SAC XC Championships last fall. She was 19th at Pre-Nats which showed some exciting potential, but her DNF result at her conference meet was a little head-scratching.

Between Brickley, Rapley and Toupin, there is clearly some untapped scoring potential and even some sneaky-good value at the backend of this projected Wingate lineup. We don't know which of these women will have a breakout season, if any at all, but their potential and depth is still nice to have.

But how about the freshmen and transfers who are joining the Bulldogs this fall?

Laila Abouzaid is a transfer from Mount Olive who most recently won the 5000 meters and finished runner-up in the 1500 meters at the Conference Carolinas Outdoor Championships this past spring. She faced the Bulldogs at the Southeast regional meet last fall and brings with her a handful of a underrated results.

Finishing 13th at the Royals XC Challenge, runner-up at her conference meet and 27th at the Southeast regional meet is a string of results that should certainly catch your attention. And after running 17:47 this past spring, it feels almost like a guarantee that Abouzaid will be a fairly strong backend scorer for Wingate this fall.

The Bulldogs have also added Doriane Langlois, a Southern Indiana transfer, who was mostly a fringe top-seven runner with the Screaming Eagles last fall, but has actually shown far greater talent in previous seasons.

In 2019, Langlois finished 6th at the Trevecca Nazarene D2 Showcase as well as 13th at the GLVC XC Championships before placing 124th at the national meet that year. If she can replicate that success, and maybe even build upon it in 2022, then this new Bulldog distance talent will almost certainly be a varsity contributor (and maybe scorer) in some capacity.

Spanish distance talent Carmen Robles also comes to Wingate with times of 4:48 for 1500 meters and 10:26 for 3000 meters.

Another transfer from Mount Olive, Vennise Shelton, was the Conference Carolinas champion in the 800 meter and the runner-up in the 3000 meter steeplechase this past spring. She could be another key name to watch.

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The Wingate women may be limited in terms of their elite scoring this fall, but make no mistake, they'll still be plenty strong over the next few months of competition.

Rebollo is a true star who can be amongst the top-20 women in the NCAA this fall. Mollie Scott and Tatjana Mense are also two very underrated and valuable lineup scorers. And with an embarrassment of riches when it comes to depth, filling out the rest of this varsity seven shouldn't be nearly as challenging as it would be for other teams.

Sure, sidelining Orrock and Schierl did force us to make a quick adjustment of these rankings, but we still feel fairly confident about this spot for the Bulldogs. There are simply too many ways that they could find success as a top-10 team over the next few months of competition.