.png)
TSR's 2023 Preseason D2 XC Top 25 Rankings: #25-21 (Women)
- TSR Collaboration
- Jul 27, 2023
- 6 min read
Written by Gavin Struve & Grace McLaughlin, additional edits by Garrett Zatlin
25. McKenna Cavanaugh, Senior, Lee (Tenn.)
We'll admit, we were having some challenges trying to find the right spot in our preseason rankings for McKenna Cavanaugh. She has had a handful of races where has stood out as a top-tier name, but there have been other instances where we've been left wanting more.
And on top of all of that, Cavanaugh was racing at the Division One level last fall. But in 2023, her competition isn't going to be quite as potent as what she was seeing in 2022.
With Southern Indiana moving to the Division One level last year, Cavanaugh was thrown into a gauntlet of competitive mid-major-centric cross country meets. Races such as the Louisville XC Classic (Gold race), the North Alabama Showcase and the Bradley Pink Classic clearly left Cavanaugh with a learning curve that she had to overcome.
But then the former Screaming Eagle distance runner finished 4th at the Ohio Valley Conference XC Championships. That was a fairly respectable result for someone who had been introduced to the D1 ranks somewhat suddenly.
From there, Cavanugh went on to run an excellent 16:39 (5k) PR during the spring months, a clear step up from any fitness level that she had been at previously. She also ran new personal bests of 4:29 (1500), 4:49 (mile), 9:32 (3k) and 10:39 (steeple). At the D2 level, those would be considered nationally competitive times.
It's clear that Cavanaugh is in better shape now than she was in last fall -- and she still had a nice end to her 2022 fall campaign. While we don't know for sure how her track fitness will translate to the grass, every recent mark we've seen suggests that this incoming Lee distance runner will be a top-25 runner this fall.
24. Taryn Chapko, Junior, Grand Valley State
If you desire what many would consider a higher floor version of Helen Braybrook on the cross country course, then look no further than Taryn Chapko.
In terms of postseason success, few women are more reliable than this Laker ace. The Grand Valley State junior has registered a pair of top-60 finishes at the cross country national meet throughout her still-developing career. She has also finished as an All-American over 800 meters at both the NCAA Indoor Championships and the NCAA Outdoor Championships in consecutive years.
The one flaw, which is really more of a question mark, on Chapko’s resume is that her 2022 NCAA XC Championships performance did not live up to the standard that she set for herself at the 2021 iteration of the meet.
The Laker ace finished 59th in her season finale last fall, but produced an awe-inspiring 14th place result at the 2021 cross country national meet. That said, her regular season credentials were not considerably different from one year to another. Last fall, she was 18th at the MSU Spartan Invitational, 38th at the Louisville XC Classic and 5th at the GLIAC XC Championships
If you compare those efforts to finishes of 24th, 49th and 3rd, respectively, the year prior, then that implies that her 2022 national meet result was an outlier.
But if Chapko has shown us anything, it’s that she can be competitive in almost any setting and that she raises her game at the national meet. If her worst NCAA Championship result is a 59th place finish on the grass, then that theoretically points to the high performance floor that we mentioned earlier.
In 2023, Chapko has already bounced back at the NCAA Championships on the track. And because of that, this ranking feels like a fair landing point to reward her top performances while acknowledging her minor slip-up that we saw last year.
23. Naomi Bailey, Junior, Alaska Fairbanks
There's no ideal way to rank Naomi Bailey. She doesn't appear to have any known marks on the track, but her cross country resume is loaded with top finishes.
Throughout last fall, this Alaska Fairbanks runner was one of the top low-sticks in the entire country, thriving on highly competitive stages. Not only did she win D2 Pre-Nationals last fall, but she also earned silver at the GNAC XC Championships and won the West Regional XC Championships. At her best, Bailey looked like one of the 10-best cross country runners in all of Division Two going into last fall's national meet.
Unfortunately for her, Bailey faded to 90th place on the national stage, making it incredibly difficult to find a proper spot for her in our rankings. We know that she is absurdly talented and can run from the front, but the meet that holds the most weight in our rankings was easily her "worst" effort.
Is Bailey a top-25 talent coming into this fall? Yes, almost definitely. At her best, she is someone who was taking down Katie Doucette (now at Colorado) by nine seconds as well as other top names such as Zoe Baker (Colorado Mines), Clare Peters (Colorado Mines) and Gianna Bomarito (Sonoma State).
But with that being the only true marquee meet on her resume other than the national meet, we felt like a TSR #23 ranking, at least for now, was probably the most ideal spot.
22. Katie Fankhouser, Junior, Fort Lewis College
During the 2022 cross country season, Katie Fankhouser put together a sneaky-good campaign. She finished 13th at the RMAC XC Championships, 11th at the South Central Regional XC Championships and then an impressive 26th at the NCAA XC Championships.
Sure, that national meet performance was a slight outlier, but generally speaking, it was a highly successful season for someone who was having a breakout year.
Admittedly, Fankhouser did have an underwhelming indoor track season in which she failed to reach the indoor national meet. That, however, would be a modest precursor to a far more grand campaign on the outdoor oval.
Fankhouser jumped back onto our radar after she won the 1500 meter title at the RMAC Championships this past spring. She then came away with a runner-up performance in the event at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Prior to that race, she had run personal best times of 2:08 (800) and 4:23 (1500) two weeks prior.
Simply put, this Fort Lewis College ace peaked perfectly for the postseason.
It's no secret that this rising D2 runner is well-suited for the middle distance events on the track. But in 2022, Fankhouser proved that she can be a force on the grass as well. Her momentum grew throughout the fall and she delivered when it mattered the most.
Given her leap in fitness through the entirety of the 2022-23 academic year and even the fall to spring months, Fankhouser is one of the athletes who we’re most intrigued to watch this season. And with the cross country national meet being contested in Missouri on a historically fast course this year, her turnover could help propel her to another high finish.
21. Anna Fauske, Junior, UC-Colorado Springs
Now entering the back-half of her collegiate career, Anna Fauske has the look of one of the next stars of the RMAC. In fact, she has already proven to be approaching that level throughout last year.
Last fall, we saw Fauske produce a runner-up result at her rust-buster home meet and later a strong 34th place finish at the Louisville XC Classic. That effort gave way to an impressive 8th place run at the RMAC XC Championships.
After getting through the regional stage, Fauske opened some eyes with a 24th place All-American statement at the NCAA XC Championships. Taken altogether, those cross country results were right in line with the higher end expectations of Fauske after a promising freshman season.
And not only did Fauske display tangible gains on the grass last academic year, but she also established herself as a national talent on the oval.
She qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the mile as an individual, showcasing her range. A double at the NCAA Outdoor Championships this past spring (1500/5k) was also a testament to her overall strength.
There’s honestly not too much to be concerned about on Fauske’s resume. If anything, one could point out that one All-American honor through five individual races on the national stage is a poor conversion rate -- but that’s hardly a deal-breaker in this range of our rankings.
Now that Fauske is an upperclassman, she’ll carry higher expectations on her shoulders. But if she continues on the trajectory that she has followed up and to this point, then she may make this placement look conservative.
