.png)
TSR's 2023 Preseason D2 XC Top 25 Rankings: #15-11 (Women)
- Marissa Kuik
- Jul 29, 2023
- 5 min read
Written by Marissa Kuik & Garrett Zatlin, additional edits by Gavin Struve & Garrett Zatlin
NOTE: TSR erroneously and unintentionally omitted Gianna Bomarito (Sonoma State) from the "Just Missed" portion of our preseason rankings. We have since added her to that section with the proper analysis.
15. Morgan Hykes, Junior, Adams State
With a very similar competitive year as her teammate, Emily Schoellkopf (TSR #16), Adams State junior Morgan Hykes comes in highly ranked thanks to her continued improvement on the biggest stages.
As the Grizzlies’ fifth scorer at last year’s cross country national meet, Hykes was a part of the winning national title team. She also snuck in for her own individual All-American award with a 38th place finish.
Sure, that effort may not have been as strong as her 15th place finish from the 2021 NCAA XC Championships, but Hykes overall improvements throughout the 2022 regular season were incredible. After all, this is someone who finished just 31st placed at the 2021 RMAC XC Championships.
Yes, Hykes struggled at her regional meet last fall, but an 11th place finish at the Highlander XC Invitational put her ahead of numerous top-ranked women from the D2 level as well as a handful of D1 runners.
And on the oval, Hykes continued to make massive, and arguably more impactful, strides. She qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in two different events and finished as an All-American in the steeplechase this past spring while reaching the national meet in the 5k as well. Her steeplechase success is made all the more impressive when you consider that 2023 was her first time contesting the event.
Admittedly, Hykes did not finish as well as most of her varsity teammates last November, but she did bounce back to show improvement on the national stage in the spring. Plus, with a 15th place finish at the 2021 NCAA XC Championships in the bank as one of her three All-American honors, it's admittedly difficult not to rank Morgan Hykes in our top-15 for this fall.
14. Elizabeth Wamsley, Junior, Hillsdale
During the 2022 cross country season, Elizabeth Wamsley appeared to have a fairly modest start. The Hillsdale ace settled for a 51st place finish at the Louisville XC Classic and later a 26th place result at the Lucian Rosa Invitational.
But those regular season meets did little to hint at how Wamsley would finish the rest of her cross country season. The Charger low-stick began to peak at the perfect time for the postseason last fall, finishing runner-up at the G-MAC XC Championships and later finishing 4th on the regional stage. She then ended her fall campaign with a fantastic 22nd place finish at the NCAA XC Championships.
Wamsley smashed her 2021 national meet result, where she placed a respectable 55th, showing a clear jump in fitness. She continued to improve throughout the 2023 track seasons, further demonstrating her ability to compete well on the national stage.
On the oval, Wamsley came away with two more backend All-American finishes between the 5k (indoors) and the 10k. And with a monster 16:29 (5k) PR, we can only find positives about someone who reaches a totally different level when she's at championship meets.
We anticipate another substantial jump is in the cards for her this fall.
13. Lara Murdock, Junior, Pittsburg State*
NOTE: TSR has recently learned that Lara Murdock is expected to leave Pitt State and enter the transfer portal. Because Murdock has not yet officially declared where she will be heading next, we have opted to keep her listed in our D2 preseason rankings.
If you think the gains that Elizabeth Wamsley made throughout last year were head-turning, then you may find Lara Murdock’s profile captivating. In 2021, Murdock didn't even qualify for the NCAA XC Championships, finishing 26th at her regional meet.
But in just one short year, a lot has changed.
Last fall, Murdock improved to 4th place at the MIAA XC Championships and later 6th place at the Central Regional XC Championships. She then finished just outside of the top-10 in the nation with a tremendous 13th place finish at the cross country national meet.
It was a fantastic result that completely altered how we viewed Murdoch.
After such a significant breakthrough on the grass, Murdock’s 2023 track seasons may have been a little below our expectations. Even so, she still ran personal bests in nearly every distance event from the 1500 meters to the 10k.
This Pitt State Gorilla star is an extremely lethal low-stick on the grass with some deceptive upside. For her to improve so much and compete so well as a sophomore implies that she has yet to reach her ceiling...which literally can’t get that much higher than what she enjoyed in the fall of 2022.
With another year of experience under her belt, we may see Murdock finish inside the top-10 on a national meet course that she is very familiar with.
12. Allison Beasley, Junior, Western Colorado
Gosh, it's hard to dislike any result on Allison Beasley's resume from the past year. The Western Colorado standout was flat-out fantastic last fall as well as on the oval, often producing big-time marks on a consistent basis while having her best efforts in the postseason.
Last fall, Beasley scored top-10 finishes at D2 Pre-Nationals, the RMAC XC Championships and the South Central Regional XC Championships, placing either 9th or 10th place between those three meets.
However, it was at the NCAA XC Championships were Beasley threw down an excellent 19th place finish. Coming into this fall, that result alone would have been enough to have Beasley flirting with a top-15 spot in our preseason rankings.
But what this Mountaineer star did on the track has only bolstered her resume even further.
Not only was she a double All-American between the mile and the DMR this past winter, but she was also the silver medalist in the steeplechase at the outdoor national meet. There, she ran 10:24 over the barriers at altitude (unconverted). Beasley also produced times of 4:27 (1500), 4:48 (mile), 9:34 (3k) and 16:23 (5k).
There may be an argument that between her cross country national meet performance and her incredible streak of personal bests from the track, that Beasley should be ranked in our top-10. And while we wouldn't totally disagree with that, we would like to see this RMAC standout have a slightly stronger lead up to the national meet (top-five finishes versus top-10) before we put her in that range.
11. Molly Maksin, Senior, Colorado Mines
In the fall of 2021, Molly Maksin was "good," but maybe not "great." However, if you were just looking at her 30th place All-American finish that year, then you would probably argue otherwise.
But throughout the fall of 2022, Maksin was a different runner (for the better). Placing 7th at D2 Pre-Nationals and later securing a 10th place finish at the RMAC XC Championships was plenty impressive. Her South Central Regional XC Championship effort, where she placed 5th, may have been her best result leading up to the national meet.
However, Maksin would then venture to Seattle and drop a fantastic 12th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships. For the second year in a row, the Oredigger veteran had her best cross country race on the stage that mattered the most.
After running 16:23 (5k) and earning three top-10 finishes at the indoor and outdoor national meets (but not earning All-American honors), we feel like a TSR #11 ranking is an appropriate spot for Maksin. She is one of the most reliable postseason runners in the country and she has shown numerous instances of upper-tier firepower.
There are a few instances where she could have been a touch sharper leading up to the national meet, but that's hardly a critique. In the grand scheme of things, Maksin's resume is void of any significant flaws.
