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TSR's 2023 Preseason D1 XC Top 25 Rankings (Women): #23 Florida State Seminoles
- Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
- Aug 11, 2023
- 7 min read
NOTE: Earlier this summer, The Stride Report reached out to nearly every team that was considered for a possible ranking this summer. While we did receive numerous responses and great clarity, we did not get a 100% response rate. On rare occasions, we are referencing TFFRS in order to talk about returners and athletes who are out of eligibility.
The Florida State women are in a slight state of flux at the moment.
The Seminoles were supposed to have a middle distance star in Rylee Penn joining their team later this fall. And while she is an exceptional 800 meter and 1500 meter talent, the former Cincinnati runner was also expected to offer decent-enough backend support to FSU's cross country lineup.
That, however, all changed when women's distance coach, Baylee Mires, left Florida State for Louisville earlier this summer. In turn, Penn has switched her transfer commitment to the Cardinals. Not only that, but high school distance standout Leah Stephens, who originally committed to Florida State, will now be joining the NC State women rather than the 'Noles.
We'll admit, the recent developments within this program have thrown a wrench into our rankings. That, and a recent discovery that Emmy van den Berg is no longer with the team.
Even so, there are a handful of women on this roster who could make some noise and allow the Seminoles to remain as a nationally competitive group over the next few months.
* * *
When looking back at the start of Florida State's 2022 cross country season, it's hard to be too surprised by their performance at their first major meet.
At the Joe Piane Invitational, the 'Noles settled for a 5th place finish, losing only to NC State, New Mexico, Alabama and Notre Dame -- four legitimate podium contenders to varying degrees. Meanwhile, Liberty, Toledo and Oregon State would all fall to FSU.
In that race, Emmy van den Berg emerged as the 17th place finisher and was complemented by Alyson Churchill who placed 22nd overall. Through two runners, the Seminoles had to be happy with the results that they got.
From there, Agnes McTighe held her own with a 36th place finish, offering some level of stability to a lineup that seemed thin on depth. Yasmine Abbes (51st) and Caitlin Wilkey (53rd) would later close out their team's top-five.
For as much as we want to dissect that result from Florida State, there simply wasn't much to talk about. The Seminoles, for the most part, did exactly what we had expected them to do.
Unfortunately, that was not the case at the Nuttycombe Invitational.
At the Wisconsin-hosted meet, the 'Noles struggled, placing 24th overall. Alyson Churchill was the team's top scorer with a decent 51st place finish, but Emmy van den Berg, who had a slight "off" day, was the only other FSU woman in the top-100 (finishing 83rd).
While Agnes McTighe did enough to get by in 111th place, it was the final two scorers of the Seminoles' lineup who finished 167th and 187th. That, in turn, left lineup gaps far too large for this team to overcome.
Luckily, the Florida State women rebounded at the ACC XC Championships. Yes, it's true, they "only" placed 5th overall in that field, but when you remember that the top-four teams all placed in the top-10 at the national meet, it was hard to be upset at FSU's result.
And given how strong Syracuse looked at the time, taking down the Orange had to be a confidence booster.
On the conference stage, Florida State had a more compact trio of leading scorers. Emmy van den Berg, Agnes McTighe and Alyson Churchill finished 13-18-23 in the final results while Abbes and Wilkey stayed just inside the top-50 to complete what was a fairly strong effort.
That race, in retrospect, is likely what sparked a better-than-expected performance at the NCAA XC Championships.
After comfortably navigating through the South Regional XC Championships, the Florida State women went to Stillwater, Oklahoma to cap off their season. And it was there where the ladies from Tallahassee, Florida would end up having their best race of the season.
Emmy van den Berg's 50th place finish was roughly on par with expectations and maybe even slightly better than we were projecting. Meanwhile, Alyson Churchill (79th) and Agnes McTighe (84th) put together strong races of their own, giving Florida State a highly stable and effective top-three.
In fact, it was arguably the best 1-2-3 punch that the team had assembled all year long.
Admittedly, we wouldn't see any other Florida State runners cross the line until they reached 165th place and 184th place. And yet, despite that, the 'Noles still locked down a very solid 18th place finish. For perspective, no one at The Stride Report predicted that FSU would place higher than 25th on the national stage.
* * *
Trying to gauge the Florida State women as we enter the 2023 cross country season has been a challenge. They lost their coach, a graduate transfer and a star recruit from their upcoming fall roster, but none of those women directly impacted last year's scoring.
The only major loss is Emmy van den Berg who, according to Instagram, is done with her time at Florida State. Backend scorer Yasmine Abbes is also moving on from Tallahassee and has taken her talents to the University of San Francisco.
This, in turn, leaves Florida State with two lead scorers and a few still-developing backend talents to form a new lineup.
Truthfully, the loss of Emmy van den Berg could end up being a bit more challenging than we're maybe letting on. Based on the scoring structure of Florida State's team last fall, losing a runner like her is what ultimately sends the FSU women falling back in our rankings from where they finished on the national stage.
The good news, however, is that Alyson Churchill had a fantastic year on the track. She ran 4:37 in the mile during the winter months and came back during the spring to run 15:33 for 5000 meters, qualifying for the outdoor national meet in the process.
On paper, Churchill should be better than she was last fall by a somewhat decent margin. And while those improvements won't offset the scoring loss of van den Berg, it'll at least soften the blow of her departure.
As for Agnes McTighe, she was solid across the board last fall, usually delivering top performances in nearly every meet except for the Nuttycombe Invitational. Yes, her efforts on the track were fairly unexciting, but she made steady improvements as a sophomore and was as solid as they come.
If McTighe continues to improve in 2023 -- and there's no reason to think that she won't -- then she will also make the loss of van den Berg a touch easier to process. And even if she doesn't improve, then this Swiss distance talent will still offer great scoring reliability.
Of course, for as good as Churchill and McTighe are expected to be, it's the rest of this lineup that will ultimately make or break this team over the next few months.
* * *
Not having Yasmine Abbes to act as a top-five scorer this fall isn't ideal. But the good news, however, is that Rebecca Bergnes is returning. She was a scorer for Florida State at the South Regional XC Championships last fall.
We'll admit, Bergnes' consistency will need to be a bit stronger this year compared to last fall. But a 29th place finish in the South region is hardly a poor result and that was actually good enough for her to be the Seminoles' fifth scorer that day.
Can she continue to progress and step into the role that Abbes left behind? Or better?
Also returning is Caitlin Wilkey who finished 28th at the South Regional XC Championships last year. She was a consistent backend scorer for the Florida State women last fall, but will need to be better if the 'Noles are going to avoid more races like they had at Nuttycombe.
However, the name that maybe intrigues me the most is someone who has proven to be far better than all of the backend options that Florida State will have this fall.
Enter Elizabeth Funderburk.
In the fall of 2019, Funderburk was excellent and maybe even a borderline low-stick. That year, she placed 23rd at the Joe Piane Invitational, 11th at Pre-Nationals, 8th at the ACC XC Championships and 101st on the national stage.
But after a strong indoor track season, the 2020 pandemic hit. And while Funderburk would have a decent 2020 fall campaign (during the altered cross country season), we wouldn't see her race again until the winter (and early spring) of 2022.
Based on her Instagram page, Funderburk was dealing with a lower leg injury last year.
It's been well over a year since Funderburk last raced, but the redshirt senior is still listed on Florida State's roster. And yes, we'll be totally honest, we have no idea what version of this Georgia native we're going to see this fall (if at all).
However, if this veteran is able to recollect herself and find even half of the fitness that she showed during the fall of 2019, then Funderburk could be a legitimate impact scorer for Florida State.
Or at the very least, she could offer valuable depth.
Other women such as Bieke Schipperen and Suus Altorf are additional names to monitor. They're more middle distance runners, but for a team that needs depth, I would imagine that one of these women could be called upon to fill out this lineup.
* * *
We'll admit, not having Leah Stephens or Rylee Penn on this team in 2023 alters the trajectory of the Seminoles. The Florida State women will be relying heavily on the returners of this team to collectively make improvements to offset the scoring losses of van den Berg and Abbes.
We struggle to see an avenue where the 'Noles replicate their national meet performance from last fall in November. Even so, there are still enough pieces on this team for the Florida State women to be nationally competitive.
Many of these returners hold some youth-based upside and there are two lead scorers who could still improve. Plus, Funderburk is a massive x-factor who could dramatically alter how we view this team by October.
Depth will be a massive aspect to watch from Florida State over the next few months, but as long as they can field a complete scoring five, then we think a TSR #23 ranking is fairly reasonable for them...at least for now.
