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TSR's 2023 Preseason D3 XC Top 20 Rankings: #10-6 (Women)
- Kevin Fischer
- Jul 30, 2023
- 5 min read
Written by Kevin Fischer, additional edits and commentary Gavin Struve & Garrett Zatlin
10. Ellie Meyer, Junior, Wartburg
Ellie Meyer is coming off of a 4th place finish in the 3000 meter steeplechase from the 2023 outdoor national meet. And despite how outstanding that performance was, it's important to also recognize that she is far from "just" a steeplechaser.
In fact, this Wartburg star showed some real prowess on the grass last fall, recording top-10 finishes at the Augustana Interregional Invitational, the American Rivers Conference XC Championships and the Midwest Regional XC Championships before ultimately finishing 22nd overall at the cross country national meet.
As we reflect on her 2022 fall campaign, we'll take that streak of performances as a positive sign of progression for a runner who also finished 6th in the steeplechase at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships. And for someone who did not qualify for the 2021 cross country national meet that same academic year, that was a promising development.
Given her growth on the grass and over the barriers, Meyer boasts a high ceiling with untapped potential and a relatively solid floor of possible outcomes. That's a rarity for someone who was only a sophomore by eligibility last year.
This Wartburg junior doesn't often have bad races. And assuming that Meyer's growth over the past academic year is an indication of what’s to come, we feel like there is a good chance that she will be able to make the further improvements that this preseason ranking suggests that she is capable of.
9. Natalie Bitetti, Junior, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
There may be argument for this Claremont-Mudd-Scripps runner to be ranked slightly higher than where she is right now.
Natalie Bitetti was phenomenal for the majority of the 2022 cross country season. She finished 3rd at Paul Short (Brown race) and earned titles at both the SCIAC XC Championships and the West Regional XC Championships on top of winning two early-season races.
However, when it came to the national meet, her 39th place performance was a little underwhelming considering her prior form. It was still an All-American finish, but we knew that Bitetti was capable of much more. After all, she had appeared to improve her fitness measurably since her 16th place finish at the 2021 NCAA XC Championships.
Bitetti didn't compete on the oval this past year. Naturally, that raises some questions about what she'll be able to do later this fall. That being said, this is someone who did reach the national stage on the track in the spring of 2022 over 1500 meters.
Even so, her success throughout the majority of last fall was strong enough that we are not too concerned about one slight “off” performance on the national stage. Pairing her 2022 regular season with her 2021 national meet effort suggests that she'll be a top-10 talent in 2023.
We think that this CMS standout will earn her third cross country All-American finish with ease later this season, returning to the form that she showed throughout much of last fall.
8. Molly Fitzgibbons, Junior, Williams
For somebody who has been an All-American in the mile and the steeplechase, Fitzgibbons has a considerable amount of aerobic cross country strength.
Last fall, this Williams ace put up solid performances throughout the regular season, including a 14th place finish at the Connecticut College Invitational. That field that boasted impressive regional talent. She also placed 11th at the Siena XC Invitational, a respectable meet highlighted by mid-major Division One programs.
However, it was the postseason where this Eph standout really put her name down as somebody who is a force to be reckoned with on the grass.
Her run of 4th place at both the NESCAC XC Championships and the Mideast Regional XC Championships gave way to an 18th place finish at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships. It was a highly impressive streak of results that changed how we think about Fitzgibbons as an endurance athlete, especially when it comes to her versatility and potential.
After recording a DNF at the 2023 outdoor national meet and attacking a highly ambitious triple at the indoor national meet with limited success, this preseason ranking may seem a touch high.
But outside of teammate Ginna Girard (TSR #11), Fitzgibbons is the top returner in the Mideast region and the NESCAC. In fact, when looking at national meet results, she's seventh-best returner from last year, further validating our analysis of where she belongs in these preseason rankings.
This year, Fitzgibbons should be primed to make another jump, particularly now that she’s carrying the experience of her first cross country national meet from last fall.
7. Maddie Hannan, Senior, UW- La Crosse
During the 2021-22 academic year, I liked to say that Middlebury's Cassie Kearney had the most range in Division Three. But when Kearney transferred to Michigan, it was unclear who would get that title.
Well, after seeing what Maddie Hannan has done on the track recently, she might have the best case of anybody to take over that mantle.
Not only did Hannan run 2:08 over 800 meters and 16:47 over 5000 meters this past year, completing the unconventional double in those events at the outdoor national meet, but she also established herself as a cross country All-American last fall.
Hannan was balanced and borderline elite throughout the entirety of the 2022 cross country season. She began her fall campaign with a 7th place finish at the Ken Weidt Classic and then placed 15th at the Griak Invitational (Maroon race).
The Eagle veteran went on to place 8th at the D3 National Preview, win the WIAC XC Championships and snag a 4th place result at the North Regional XC Championships. The UW-La Crosse star finished her season with an excellent 20th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships.
On paper, Hannan has it all. She's still making significant improvements, has plenty of raw talent, holds incredible range, boasts plenty of experience and is super consistent. We're confident that she will enter this fall at her best and with some untapped potential after placing runner-up at the half-mile distance on the national stage back in May.
6. Lexi Brown, Junior, Wartburg
Lexi Brown is the highest-ranked secondary scorer on any roster in the country. As such, she will be a massive part of Wartburg's national title chances this year. But if the past academic year was any indication, then this preseason ranking may actually be slightly conservative.
Brown had a really solid outing at last year’s cross country national meet, finishing in 16th place. That was perhaps a smidge better than what we expected out of her, but not by much. She did, after all, finish 6th at the American Rivers Conference XC Championships and 13th at the Augustana Interregional Invitational.
Of course, placing 2nd at the Dan Huston Invite and later 3rd at the always loaded Midwest Regional XC Championships certainly caught our attention.
But what Brown did on the oval this past year is what really has us excited for her as we enter the fall months. Her confidence should be sky high after completing doubles at both the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships and the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships across four different distances and coming away with an All-American finish in two of those events.
However, maybe more importantly, Brown ran 16:39 for 5000 meters this past spring. And when factoring in the departure of top names for this fall, she will be the second-fastest returner at that distance.
On paper, everything that we've seen from Lexi Brown as of late suggests that she'll be a top-10 talent. We’re projecting another sizable leap for her this year as she banks on her range, experience and momentum to get to another level.
