TSR's 2023 D2 XC Top 25 Individual Rankings (Women): Update #2

Written by Grace McLaughlin & Marissa Kuik

Additional edits & commentary by Gavin Struve & Garrett Zatlin

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NOTE: These rankings are based on how an individual fared throughout the entirety of a season, not just how they ran at a singular meet or (eventually) at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships. Click here to learn more about our ranking criteria.

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KEY

(Unranked):

Was not ranked in our last update.

(#/#):

First number indicates how much the individual has moved in the rankings.

The second number indicates where the individual was ranked in our last update.

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25. Clare Peters, Senior, Colorado Mines (-1 / 24)

After a 14th place finish at the RMAC XC Championships, Clare Peters moves down one spot in our rankings update, though to no fault of her own.

All told, Saturday was a good showing for Peters. In her last few races, she has helped lead this Colorado Mines team, usually finishing with teammate Holly Moser. However, at her conference meet, she was a few places back, fading to 14th.

Again, that is not a bad result, especially considering the competitiveness of the RMAC and even more so the fact that her teammates improved from their prior races. We just expected her to finish closer to Moser after both women were at the backend of the top-10 at the Lewis XC Crossover.

Regardless, Peters is still a good bet for an All-American finish. If a slight "off" day is still a 14th place finish at the RMAC XC Championships, then Peters is a strong name to count on in high-stakes situations.

24. Linda Weigang, Freshman, Fort Lewis (-3 / 21)

Linda Weigang definitely surprised us this season with her 6th place finish at the Lewis XC Crossover. However, she takes a bit of a tumble in our rankings after her 16th place finish at the RMAC XC Championships.

Although that meet is incredibly competitive, we did expect Weigang to finish closer to the top-10, especially after beating all of the Orediggers at the Lewis XC Crossover. This time around, it was almost the opposite, with most of the Colorado Mines women beating her.

However, Weigang is only a freshman, so she does lack some experience in these championship settings compared to many of the women she is facing. And all things considered, a 16th place finish in Division Two's deepest conference is still a strong first-year result.

Given how she already fared in a more national-caliber field, Weigang has strong odds of improving upon that performance so long as her inexperience does not get in the way in the postseason.

23. Helen Braybrook, Junior, CSU-Pueblo (Unranked)

After a lot of good, but not necessarily great, showings, Helen Braybrook returns to our rankings thanks to her consistency and experience. All of that paid off with an impressive 9th place finish at the RMAC XC Championships.

That is the kind of finish that we expected from Braybrook after placing 23rd at last year’s cross country national meet.

Though she is more of a middle distance specialist on the track, Braybrook has shown plenty of ability on the grass and proved it once again at her conference meet, buoying CSU-Pueblo to a 4th place team finish with her low-stick result.

Braybrook seems to be riding a ton of momentum and has been known to peak for the postseason. Furthermore, Coach Matt Morris has shown an aptitude for turning middle distance talents into strong cross country runners, so expect Braybrook to continue to improve with the next couple of meets.

22. Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge, Junior, Colorado Mines (Unranked)

Ever since transferring to Colorado Mines, Jenna Ramsay-Rutledge has consistently helped the Orediggers to some great team finishes on the grass. However, after sustaining an injury last fall, she struggled at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships before rounding back into form during the track season.

Now, she is once again proving how crucial she is to this lineup.

Ramsay-Rutledge solidified her placement in these rankings with her stellar performance at the RMAC XC Championships where she placed 7th overall. She has quietly pieced together a very strong fall campaign and is proving that she can run with some of the nation's top talents.

21. Hannah Smrcka, Junior, Lewis (+2 / 23)

Another name who is quietly putting together an impressive season is Hannah Smrcka. After her fantastic showing at the Lewis XC Crossover (8th), which helped put her team on the map by beating Winona State, Smrcka can now add an individual conference title to her resume.

At the GLVC XC Championships, Smrcka not only won the individual title by a sizable margin, but she helped lead her team to a conference title as well. That performance further legitimizes Smrcka as a low-stick ace and proves to us that her performance at the Lewis XC Crossover was no fluke.

Smrcka has emerged as a dependable lead scorer for a top-flight team and is showing no signs of slowing down entering the most important month of the season.

20. Aria Hawkins, Junior, Lee (Tenn.) (Unranked)

Move over Celine Ritter and Toni Moore, the Flames appear to have a new low-stick in Aria Hawkins. The junior standout has improved with each race that she has toed the line for this fall. In her latest outing at the Gulf South XC Championships, Hawkins came away with a solid win and helped her team to the conference title as well.

Hawkins also finished nearly 20 seconds ahead of the individual runner-up, demonstrating her emergence as a top runner in Division Two while suggesting that she is ready for greater competition on the national stage.

That notion is corroborated by her 19th place finish at the Louisville XC Classic last month. With growing experience and confidence, Hawkins is rounding into form as a legitimate force.

19. Ava O'Connor, Rs. Sophomore, Adams State (Unranked)

This is the performance that we've been waiting for with Ava O’Connor!

We knew the Irish ace is an incredibly talented runner from her results on the track. However, we had yet to truly see her display an ability to compete against some of the best talent in Division Two on a cross country course. Well, look no further than the RMAC XC Championships where O’Connor finished an incredible 6th place overall!

Oftentimes, finishes at certain conference meets do not carry great significance because some conferences are fairly weak. But the RMAC is routinely so incredibly competitive that O’Connor finishing in top-10 shows us that she is starting to translate her high-end talent from the oval to the grass.

The last remaining doubts about O’Connor is whether she can continue to have this success in an even larger field. However, we're more confident than not that she'll prove herself to be the real deal over the coming weeks.

18. Holly Moser, Senior, Colorado Mines (+4 / 22)

Holly Moser is another name stepping up and solidifying herself as someone capable of mixing it up with the best runners in Division Two. The Oredigger veteran has been a consistently reliable and valuable scoring piece for Colorado Mines, but had never truly separated herself from the rest of the squad.

However, after her 4th place run at the RMAC XC Championships this past weekend, which can be paired with her 7th place finish at the Lewis XC Crossover, she is looking like her team’s newest low-stick star.

Admittedly, the rest of this Colorado Mines team is still pretty close to her, but instead of now only being a few seconds ahead of them, Moser has created a small gap between herself and the rest of her team.

After this weekend, she proved to us she can be a front-runner for a podium team and go stride for stride with some of the other low-sticks from the best teams in Division Two. With the trajectory Moser is on, a favorable projection could see her soon jump into the top-10.

17. Rosie Fordham, Junior, Alaska Fairbanks (+2 / 19)

The best part of Rosie Fordham’s performances this season has been her consistency. Her "worst" finish has been 3rd place and she continues to beat some of the best talent in Division Two, including her own teammate, Kendall Kramer.

However, most recently, Kramer did get the upper-hand. At the GNAC XC Championships, Fordham and Kramer battled it out, but in the end, Fordham had to settle for 2nd place.

That was still a really encouraging performance for Fordham as it further demonstrated her consistent high-level form this fall. She entered this season as a strong candidate for first-time All-American honors, but now she appears just as likely to finish as a top-half All-American.

16. Anna Fauske, Junior, UC-Colorado Springs (0 / 16)

To be honest, we were not surprised by Anna Fauske’s 5th place finish at the RMAC XC Championships. It was about where we expected her to place, but it does not take away the fact that Fauske seems to be in the best shape of her life this season.

With each year that passes, Fauske gets better and better -- she is not afraid to put herself out there with the best of Division Two. She is incredibly gritty, competitive and willing to take risks as necessary. Honestly, we might be underrating her a bit with this ranking.

Either way, Fauske feels like she has one of the higher floors in this range of our rankings, which is to say, she's an incredibly reliable top-end talent.

15. Gianna Bomarito, Sophomore, Sonoma State (+5 / 20)

Through three races this season, Gianna Bomarito has added three wins to her resume. Her latest title comes from the CCAA XC Championships where she ran away from the field and finished almost a minute ahead of the next competitor.

This win, mostly over the Chico State women, truly legitimizes Bomarito as a top-half All-American favorite this fall, particularly when paired with her victory at the Griak Invitational.

While we wouldn't necessarily compare the two, Bomarito has found herself alone in most of her races this fall, similar to Lindsay Cunningham. And when the cross country national meet comes around, Bomarito will have much more competition, something that should benefit her even more (theoretically).

This Sonoma State sophomore star (say that five times fast) is seemingly a prime candidate for a breakout race on the national stage. She is someone with tons of untapped upside who could emerge as a household name this time next month.

14. Emily Schoellkopf, Junior, Adams State (+4 / 18)

Following an incredible 3rd place finish at the RMAC XC Championships, Emily Schoellkopf gets a well-deserved bump in our second rankings update.

We have been pretty hard on Schoellkopf since the season started after she performed so well at the outdoor national meet. That, however, is because we knew that she was capable of considerably more than her 25th place finish at the Louisville XC Classic (which was still a fairly solid result). Sure enough, the Adams State junior definitely rose to the occasion at her conference meet this past weekend.

The only thing that we need to see from Schoellkopf in order to feel 100% confident in her is consistency. Her result at the RMAC XC Championships was incredible, but she has struggled with (somewhat minor) bouts of inconsistency relative to her talent level in the past.

Even so, this is someone who largely has done no wrong over the past year, and we don't expect that to change in the weeks ahead.

13. Kendall Kramer, Junior, Alaska Fairbanks (+1 / 14)

Similar to her teammate, Rosie Fordham, Kendall Kramer has consistently finished towards the front of every field this fall, finishing no "worse" than 4th place across a couple of in-state rust-busters such as the WWU Bill Roe Classic and the San Francisco State XC Invitational.

We have had high expectations for Kramer after a top-10 All-American turn a year ago and she has largely lived up to them. Most recently, she came away with a second-consecutive GNAC title, beating her teammate, Rosie Fordham, in the process after losing to her a couple of times this fall.

Those two women, along with Naomi Bailey when healthy, have consistently pushed each other in recent years. That extra practice and pressure should pay dividends in the high-leverage situations awaiting them. Plus, we already know that Kramer can deliver when it matters most.

12. Kylie Anicic, Rs. Junior, Edinboro (+1 / 13)

Kylie Anicic moves up one spot in our rankings this week after taking home gold at the PSAC XC Championships. The Edinboro talent crossed the line 30 seconds ahead of 2nd place, a fairly unsurprising result.

With two early-season wins, a 5th place finish in Romeoville and a huge margin of victory this past weekend, Anicic is firing on all cylinders and has quietly established herself one of the best runners in Division Two.

Her current momentum and consistent success suggests that this Edinboro ace is prepared to be in the top-15, or better, at the upcoming cross country national meet.

11. Liz Wamsley, Junior, Hillsdale (+1 / 12)

Similar to Anicic, Liz Wamsley also moves up one spot in our rankings this week. Wamsley has enjoyed a very similar season to Anicic in that she dominated her two season-opening meets, was 4th at the Lewis XC Crossover and had a convincing victory at the G-MAC XC Championships this past weekend.

At that latter race, the Hillsdale star crossed the finish line 13 seconds ahead of the talented Cedarville duo of Hannah Rhem and Savannah Ackley. Those are two very respectable distance runners who should not be taken lightly.

Wamsley has been extremely consistent at a high level this season and she’s made a clear jump in fitness on the grass. Her 4th place finish at the Lewis XC Crossover was the result that best showcased her new ceiling for success, but her G-MAC win over Rhem and Ackley supports her case to be in the top-half of our rankings.

The Hillsdale junior is the real deal and it wouldn't at all be wrong to suggest that she is a top-10 talent right now rather than projected to be.

10. Klaudia O'Malley, Senior, Grand Valley State (0 / 10)

Klaudia O’Malley stays at TSR #10 this update after her bronze medal performance at the GLIAC XC Championships. She has proven herself to be capable of even more than this placement suggests, but some early-season losses to other runners in our rankings make it difficult to put her any higher.

It appears that O’Malley is starting her postseason peak right on schedule as she performed more on par with what we would expect from her at the GLIAC XC Championships than what we saw from her at the Louisville XC Classic. Of course, she does certainly deserve some kudos for her 3rd place finish at the Lewis XC Crossover as well.

With her level of experience, overall aerobic talent and ability to peak for the postseason, O’Malley is only going to get better through the end of the season.

9. Allison Beasley, Junior, Western Colorado (+2 / 11)

Allison Beasley is a name who we would like to move even higher in a slightly altered Division Two landscape. The Mountaineer star just placed 2nd at the ultra-competitive RMAC XC Championships which is exactly what we needed to see to move her up into the top-10 portion of our rankings.

Beasley was in an odd place competition-wise during this race -- at one point, she was 14 seconds behind the winner, but 14 seconds ahead of 3rd place. In other words, she was basically in "no man's land."

Even so, that result validated the fitness that we saw from her 8th place finish against Division One harriers at the Chile Pepper XC Festival. The Mountaineer junior has been on fire this year and her most recent performance indicates that she has entered a new territory among the nation's best individuals.

8. Kaylee Beyer, Senior, Winona State (+1 / 9)

We can only move up Kaylee Beyer by so much in these rankings without her facing a loaded postseason field or winning a race. Even so, she has produced no shortage of prodigious results during her 2023 cross country campaign.

Most recently, she put forth another impressive race at the NSIC XC Championships. The Winona State low-stick placed 2nd behind fellow Warrior, Lindsay Cunningham, and was 20 seconds ahead of 3rd place. That was Beyer’s third runner-up finish of the season, all behind her superstar teammate, which further highlights the strides that she has made in her fitness this season.

In a world without Cunningham, Beyer would be undefeated this year and winning these races by comfortable margins. Don’t let Cunningham’s victories overshadow Beyer’s talent and competitive prowess. The Warrior senior has incredible momentum and should be in the lead chase pack in Missouri in a few weeks.

7. Sarah Koomson, Freshman, West Texas A&M (-2 / 5)

Sarah Koomson moves down two spots this week to TSR #7 following her 3rd place finish at the Lone Star Conference XC Championships.

To put it simply, this result was not ideal and something was clearly “off.” Koomson finished 66 seconds behind her star teammate, Eleonora Curtabbi, as well as 20 seconds behind another fellow Buffalo, Elise Leveel.

To put this result in context, Koomson finished 10 seconds ahead of Curtabbi at the Louisville XC Classic. Her 3rd place finish in Louisville ahead of star names like Lauren Kiley, Brianna Robles, Ana Tucker and Curtabbi was wildly impressive, but her performance this weekend was far from that.

It's possible that she was not truly “racing” and was saving her legs for the upcoming regional and national stages. However, with better results coming from other runners this past weekend, we had no choice to move her down a bit.

6. Ana Tucker, Senior, Grand Valley State (+1 / 7)

To be honest, there’s not too much to say about Ana Tucker. Grand Valley State has to be thrilled with how she has performed so far this season, especially following her runner-up finish at the GLIAC XC Championships this past weekend.

Tucker is consistent, aerobically strong and has the experience to excel in a variety of race settings. With a 9th place finish in Louisville and 2nd place finish this past weekend, Tucker is more of force to be reckoned with than ever before and she has lived up to her TSR top-10 preseason ranking in her transition to Division Two.

5. Eleonora Curtabbi, Senior, West Texas A&M (+3 / 8)

Eleonora Curtabbi is back to racing like the athlete that we’ve seen in the past and she now moves into our top-five as a result.

Her 10th place finish at the Louisville XC Classic was impressive, but winning the Lone Star Conference XC Championships by 46 seconds this past weekend was more on par with what we would expect from a runner of her caliber.

While the competition at her conference meet was limited, especially compared to Louisville, her dominance showed us that she has gained fitness throughout the season and is building momentum leading into the championship meets.

The 'Buffs steeplechase star may have had a slower start to her season, but she is firing on all cylinders now. That's a dangerous development when paired with her championship pedigree and history of success.

4. Lauren Kiley, Sophomore, Grand Valley State (+2 / 6)

Lauren Kiley has put herself among elite company this fall and is now the nation's highest-ranked underclassman.

The Laker sophomore's most recent result, 5th at the GLIAC XC Championships, was not truly indicative of her current fitness level, but it's also not a performance that we're putting much emphasis on given how dominant Grand Valley State was a team. There was likely little need for urgency in this race from an individual perspective, at least for the Lakers.

Kiley was 7th at last year’s NCAA XC Championships, and with the massive improvements that she has shown already this fall, combined with Grand Valley State’s reputation of peaking in the postseason, her current trajectory puts her in the top-five.

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

As the top-ranked name among a stable of GVSU studs, Natalie Graber is an extremely talented runner and has been consistently successful throughout her career. However, it feels fair to suggest that she's on another level this fall.

The Laker veteran unsurprisingly won the GLIAC XC Championships and led her team to a perfect score. That performance, combined with her runner-up finish at the Louisville XC Classic, tells us that Graber is ready to do something special on the national stage and get redemption after a somewhat rough race in Seattle last year.

2. Brianna Robles, Senior, Adams State (+1 / 3)

There isn't too much to say about Brianna Robles in this update outside of the fact that she continues to be elite and is progressing beautifully as the season goes on. The Adams State ace (unsurprisingly) won the RMAC XC Championships by an impressive 14 seconds this past weekend, marking her second conference title.

We expected either Robles or Stephanie Cotter to take home the individual title, but with Cotter not on the starting line, Robles dominated the race.

Following her 7th place finish in Louisville behind Natalie Graber, Sarah Koomson and Lauren Kiley, Robles’ win at the RMAC XC Championships was promising and more closely aligns with this Grizzly veteran's previous success.

If Cotter isn't racing, then Robles is arguably the second-best Division Two runner in the country at the moment.

1. Lindsay Cunningham, Junior, Winona State (0 / 1)

Once again, Lindsay Cunningham comes in at TSR #1.

The Warrior star unsurprisingly won the NSIC XC Championships, crossing the finish line an incredible 49 seconds ahead of the runner-up. While we usually do not focus much on times in cross country, Cunningham ran a 6k PR of 19:28 which is a blazing 5:13 mile pace!

This gold medal performance came after her 54-second victory at the Lewis XC Crossover, 48-second win at the Greeno Dirksen Invite and 69-second victory at Green Bay Phoenix Open this season. That is absolute domination!

To put these winning margins and her level of talent in perspective, the runner-up finisher in all of those efforts was fellow Warrior and our TSR #8 runner, Kaylee Beyer. With the momentum that she has going and an unmatched level of endurance, it is hard to imagine a scenario where Cunningham does not take home gold in Missouri.

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Added

Ava O’Connor (Adams State)

Aria Hawkins (Lee (Tenn.))

Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge (Colorado Mines)

Helen Braybrook (CSU-Pueblo)

KICKED OFF

Stephanie Cotter (Adams State)

Kate Hedlund (UC-Colorado Springs)

Morgan Hykes (Adams State)

Molly Maksin (Colorado Mines)

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Grace Strongman (Colorado Mines)

Molly Maksin (Colorado Mines)

Hannah Rhem (Cedarville)

Khot Juac (Sioux Falls)

Elise Leveel (West Texas A&M)

Taryn Chapko (Grand Valley State)

Kate Hedlund (UC-Colorado Springs)

Morgan Hykes (Adams State)

Regan Hodsden (Fort Hays State)

Leah Taylor (Western Colorado)

Jori Paradis (Concordia University Irvine)

Annika Esvelt (Seattle Pacific)

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)

Margaux Basart (Colorado Mines)

Kayce Rypma (Grand Valley State)

Paige Tack (Colorado Christian)

Savannah Ackley (Cedarville)

McKenna Cavanaugh (Lee (Tenn.))

Aubrey Surage (Augustana (SD))

Abby VanderKooi (Grand Valley State)

Fiona Hawkins (Adams State)

Alexa Keiser (Saginaw Valley)

Shannon King (Colorado Christian)

Ashley Reeck (Western Washington)

Elena Carey (Adams State)

Naomi Bailey (Alaska Fairbanks)

Riley McGrath (Colorado Mines)

Alyssa Becker (U-Mary)

Nicole Lawrence (Adams State)

Vienna Lahner (Adams State)

MaKenna Thurston (Minnesota State)

Madi Szymanski (Northern Michigan)

Kirstin Williams (Colorado Mesa)

Tristian Spence (Adams State)

Notes

- We previously had Stephanie Cotter (TSR #2) in our rankings, largely because she is listed on Adams State’s roster. However, it is becoming increasingly more likely that she will not compete this fall, potentially due to eligibility conflicts.