TSR's 2023 Preseason D2 XC Top 25 Rankings: Just Missed & Honorable Mentions (Women)

TSR Collaboration
Jul 25, 2023
9 min read

Updated: Jul 29, 2023

Written by Gavin Struve & Garrett Zatlin, edits and additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin

Here we go. Our 2023 Division Two men's and women's preseason individual cross country rankings. Let's start with our Just Missed and Honorable Mention names.

As a reminder, you can find our rankings rubric here. This week will be our D2 and D3 rankings. You can also check out our D1 rankings on our ARTICLES page from last week!

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Gianna Bomarito, Sophomore, Sonoma State

It's important to look at the entire resume of a runner in order to fully understanding what they are capable of. That's especially important for rising sophomore, Gianna Bomarito.

As a rookie, this Sonoma State ace was incredible throughout most of her debut season. Not only did she win the "White race" at Paul Short (by a lot, we might add), but she also secured a clutch 5th place finish at D2 Pre-Nationals. That result allowed her to take down the likes of Kendall Kramer, Molly Maksin, Holly Moser, Allison Beasley and more.

However, after a strong silver medal performance at the CCAA XC Championships, Bomarito ventured to the West Regional XC Championships. And unfortunately for her, the former rookie chose a bad day to have her worst race of the season.

A 33rd place on the regional stage highlighted the youth and inexperience of Bomarito. That result also meant that the newest Sonoma State star wouldn't be able to redeem herself on the national stage given that she didn't even qualify.

The west coast freshman went on to have a respectable year on the track. She ran 16:50 (5k) and 34:05 (10k), qualified for the outdoor national meet in the latter event and finished 15th overall in Pueblo, Colorado.

Based on her regular season, Bomarito probably has an argument to be ranked. But given her youth and her tough showing at the West Regional XC Championships, it's hard to give her the nod of a handful of women who are far more established. That, however, is something that she'll likely make us regret come October and November.

Kira MacGill, Junior, Colorado Mesa

There’s something to be said for an athlete who slots into a powerhouse program seamlessly, adding to its depth and potentially becoming its next low-stick star.

But it’s arguably even more impressive to achieve the same progress without the surrounding influences. That’s the case for Kira MacGill. While Colorado Mesa is no slouch of a program, the Mavericks don't often provide her the high-level running mates or measuring sticks to compare and compete against on a daily basis that their RMAC foes would.

MacGill has largely thrived all the same. After all, she’s accumulated a pair of All-American results between the cross country and track seasons.

Last fall, MacGill first defeated all of the Western Colorado women over 5000 meters at a dual meet, then placed a solid 10th at D2 Pre-Nationals. However, a 22nd place finish at the RMAC XC Championships and a 14th place effort on the regional stage, depending on how much value you place on the latter result, didn’t indicate that she was gaining momentum.

Of course, MacGill seemingly paid little attention to that notion, ultimately finishing 29th at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships. And she didn’t slow down from there.

A 7th place All-American finish in the 5k at the outdoor national meet, a 10th place finish at the indoor national meet and a new PR of 16:23 all help MacGill's stock. They also counteract what was an underwhelming finish at the RMAC XC Championships.

Between our men's and women's D2 preseason rankings, this was arguably the most challenging name to omit from our top-25. MacGill could absolutely be a top-15 name by the end of the season. Her recent progress even suggests that she has greater upside coming into this fall.

However, in comparison to other names, we just want to see a bit more consistency throughout the fall months, specifically in the postseason.

Riley McGrath, Junior, Colorado Mines

No, that's not a typo. Colorado Mines is now where Riley McGrath will be competing. The former UCCS runner has transferred to join the Orediggers, bringing with her All-American accolades and, potentially, another true low-stick.

McGrath is an interesting name to analyze when it comes to cross country. On the grass, the RMAC standout doesn't necessarily jump off the page. She has never finished higher than 19th at the RMAC XC Championships and her best placement at the South Central Regional XC Championships is 13th.

And when looking at her regular season performances, it's fair to say that we wanted more from McGrath at last year's Louisville XC Classic where she placed 60th overall.

However, this former Mountain Lion has also been one of the more reliable national meet performers in all of Division Two. In the fall of 2021, McGrath finished 39th overall before finishing 32nd at the NCAA XC Championships in 2022.

While her overall consistency could certainly improve, the reliability that McGrath has shown on the nation's biggest stage is encouraging to see. Two All-American honors largely counterbalances any deficiencies that she showed us in the postseason. And because of that, we thought McGrath would be a good choice for our "Just Missed" section.

If this newly-minted Oredigger can translate her national meet success to the entirety of her fall campaign in 2023, then McGrath will absolutely be ranked in our top-25 before the postseason even begins.

Kaela Dishion, Junior, Stanislaus State

If you’re a regular reader of The Stride Report, then you likely know how much we value consistency. It’s invaluable to know, or at least have a good idea, of what you’re getting out of a given runner, particularly your low-stick, when they toe the line.

Knowing the emphasis that we place on that intangible, it should come as no surprise that Dishion, despite never finishing in the top-30 at the cross country national meet and only racing once since last fall, is still listed in our "Just Missed" section.

Not only can she be relied upon at the cross country national meet, where she placed 34th in 2022 and 48th in 2021, but Dishion was just as dependable in her lead-up to the grand stage.

The Stanislaus State standout first raced at the University of San Francisco Invitational last fall where she came in 3rd place behind a pair of Stanford athletes. She then took home a pair of victories before returning to the Division One competition level and finishing 6th at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational.

A CCAA conference title and an easy cruise through the regional stage set up Dishion’s first All-American honor upon reaching the NCAA XC Championships.

She was similarly successful the year prior despite not breaking through into the top-40 at the national meet. That fall, Dishion won three-straight races, including her conference and regional meet.

We tried everything we could to get Dishion into our top-25. It feels like a crime to leave her out. But other women either had stronger schedules, better national meet finishes or huge breakout years on the track. And with this Stan State star only racing once since December, it's hard to know where this Warrior distance star is at, fitness-wise.

Even so, we're big fans of what Dishion could bring to the table and natural progress suggests that she may take a leap into our top-25 by the time the postseason rolls around.

Kaylee Beyer, Senior, Winona State

Between all three seasons of competition, it's hard to dislike anything that Kaylee Beyer brings to the table. She is the definition of consistency and she has risen the occasion every time that she is called upon. And after having so much success on the oval this past year, it may be fair to suggest that Beyer deserves a top-25 preseason ranking this fall!

Beyer didn't have a single bad race last fall. She placed 6th at the Griak Invitational (Maroon race), was 11th at the Lewis Crossover, 4th at the Bob Waxlax Invitational, 7th at the NSIC XC Championships, 4th at the Central Regional XC Championships and then 36th at the NCAA XC Championships.

While some races were better than others, Beyer proved to be incredibly reliable. On a team where a heavy portion of the scoring can be attributed to Lindsay Cunningham, it's Kaylee Beyer who offers a secondary low-stick.

On the track, Beyer ended up emerging as a top-five All-American between the mile and the 1500 meters at the indoor and outdoor national meets. She ran a new mile PR of 4:46 and continued to showcase incredible consistency.

On paper, there isn't necessarily a "flaw" on Beyer's resume. The Winona State runner is simply great across all three seasons. However, in order for her to crack our top-25 rankings, we'd like to see a bit more firepower and scoring potency at the top of these competitive fields.

Placing 11th at the Lewis Crossover, 6th at the Griak Invitational (Maroon race) and 36th at the national meet are all strong results. They are not, however, performances that would put someone in the top-25 of our preseason rankings.

That, of course, is a trend that Beyer could easily change (rather quickly) come October and November.

Alyssa Becker, Junior, U-Mary

It's highly unlikely that there will be a unanimous agreement as to where Alyssa Becker should be ranked in our preseason top-25 list. What this U-Mary ace did in the fall of 2021 was beyond excellent, but her 2022 fall campaign was far quieter.

In the fall of 2021, Becker was outstanding. She finished 3rd at the Griak Invitational (Maroon race), earned top-10 finishes at her conference and regional meets and then stunned the nation with a monster 17th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships.

Naturally, expectations were high for this U-Mary star in 2022.

But Becker's cross country season throughout last fall was essentially the inverse of what we saw from her in 2021 -- strong throughout the regular season, but not quite as strong on the national stage.

The U-Mary ace was 4th at the Griak Invitational (Maroon race), won a few smaller meets and earned a runner-up finish at the NSIC XC Championships. But after finishing 10th at the Central Regional XC Championships, the then-sophomore secured a 42nd place finish on the national stage, well off from her 17th place result from the year prior.

Without any majorly notable results from the track, we are left trying to balance two seasons from the grass. And while we want to reward the tremendous upside that Becker has proven that she can produce, it's hard to ignore how her most recent cross country season ended.

We think this is a fairly respectable area for Becker to be placed. It's an effective middle ground between her best and worst results from the grass. It also leaves her with plenty of opportunity to jump into our top-25 later this fall.

Nicole Lawrence, Senior, Adams State

We'll admit, the 2022 cross country season was not kind to Nicole Lawrence. Generally a middle distance runner on the track, the Adams State veteran struggled to capture any significant momentum and fell off from her top results that she produced in 2021.

Last fall, Lawrence was 20th at the Highland XC Invitational, 24th at the South Central Regional XC Championships and 65th at the cross country national meet. She did, however, have a lone bright spot at the RMAC XC Championships by placing 7th.

Still, it's hard to say that Lawrence was anywhere close to being a top-25 name last fall.

Of course, this is the same woman who, during the 2021 cross country season, finished 11th at the RMAC XC Championships, 8th at the South Central Regional XC Championships and 21st at the NCAA XC Championships.

Just like we mentioned with Alyssa Becker, we're essentially taking the middle ground of Lawrence's last two cross country seasons by placing her in our "Just Missed" section. And while we do admire her success on the track, it's challenging to translate 800 meter and mile performances to racing distances as long as 6000 meters on the grass.

Even so, this is a runner with tons of experience, proven firepower and recent success on the track. Don't be surprised if Lawrence is able to replicate her fitness from almost two years ago and eventually join a plethora of her teammates inside our top-25 rankings.

Helen Braybrook, Sophomore, CSU-Pueblo

It’s rare to see an athlete seamlessly toggle between the gamut of distance races at the NCAA level. Usually within our scope of coverage, there are ranges that athletes occupy, like the middle or long distances, with little overlap.

But when someone like Helen Braybrook breaks that mold, we’re all the more grateful for it as a site that produces distance running content from the 800 meters to the cross country course.

With that in mind, it was a pleasant surprise when Braybrook entered our collective consciousness on the cross country course. That happened all at once, as the Great Britain native placed 23rd at the NCAA XC Championships.

That result, however, came at the end of a season in which she didn’t finish higher than 15th place in any meet. And truthfully, a 29th place finish at the RMAC XC Championships was arguably one of her better results.

As for that aforementioned range that Braybrook possesses, she has a pair of NCAA Championship silver medals over 800 meters to point to.

So how do we gauge someone who has one result (on the most important stage) that stands above all others? Braybrook did race at the NCAA XC Championships in 2021 as well and wasn’t terrible, but that season didn’t come anywhere close to the success that she enjoyed last year.

There’s truly no guarantee that Braybrook will replicate a performance that, admittedly, came out of nowhere. But this Thunderwolf star showed marked improvement from one year to the next, and her breakout track success suggests she is here to stay atop the national landscape.

If she puts together a more complete regular season campaign, then she'll crack our top-25 cross country rankings without much of an issue.