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TSR's 2023 Preseason D3 XC Top 20 Rankings: #5-1 (Women)
- Andrew Muskevitsch
- Jul 31, 2023
- 6 min read
Written by Andrew Muskevitch, additional edits and commentary Gavin Struve & Garrett Zatlin
5. Olivia Rosenstein, Junior, MIT
With perhaps the smallest sample size of results for anyone in our preseason top-five, rising junior Olivia Rosenstein looks to build upon her experience as a cross country All-American from both 2021 and 2022.
She'll also aim to help MIT’s returning core threaten the top teams in Division Three.
We'll admit, we have not seen a result from Rosenstein since January of 2023. Naturally, that's a bit concerning when it comes to our preseason rankings. But even without any recent marks, we can use her history on the grass to project another significant jump for the 2023 cross country season.
Rosenstein has made an immediate impact at the NCAA level over the last two years, showing incredible consistency throughout her debut fall campaign. The MIT ace ended the 2021 cross country season as a backend All-American with a 38th place finish at the national meet.
But truthfully, her lead up to that race suggested that she would post a result that would be far better than that.
But when the fall of 2022 came around, we weren't sure if we were even going to see Rosenstein compete at all! However, after recording a decent 13th place finish at the NEWMAC XC Championships, this Engineer distance star truly shined.
On the national stage, the former underclassman produced an outstanding 12th place result at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships, a finish that felt more in line with how complete her 2021 campaign was (five consecutive top-seven performances).
Rosenstein has proven herself to be a reliable threat at the national meet. She overcame youth and inexperience two years ago and then quickly shook off her rust last fall.
Sure, a jump from the top-15 to the top-five is never easy, but it feels like a fool’s errand to discount the sample of tangible progression that Rosenstein has offered us. If you pair her 2021 regular season with her 2022 national meet performance, then a TSR #5 ranking seems to be plenty reasonable.
4. Hannah Preisser, Sophomore, Carleton
Our pick for our TSR #4 spot has potentially flown under the radar following an impressive first season for Carleton on the grass.
Hannah Preisser’s freshman year started with an impressive tear of top-five finishes in the fall months. The Carleton star ripped through strong fields at St. Olaf, the MIAC XC Championships and the North Regional XC Championships.
Not only that, but she was also the 4th place finisher at the often-competitive Rowan Interregional Border Battle, a massive result for someone who was just a freshman at the time.
All of that culminated in a 15th place finish at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships, the top result of any freshman in Division Three. Finishing just 1.5 seconds behind our pick for TSR #2 runner, Preisser offered an impressive finish for a Carleton squad that is seemingly loaded entering 2023.
This isn't just an upside-centric ranking. It's results-based as well.
If you are under the impression that the track seasons were disappointing for Preisser, you may want to look again from a different vantage point.
Stepping into new distances, Preisser was able to set impressive marks in the 1500 meters (4:42), 3000 meters (9:58), 5000 meters (17:05) and 10,000 meters (35:52). The former rookie managed to qualify for both the indoor and outdoor national meets and left the season more experienced in championship racing.
As she moves into her second season of NCAA cross country, we expect a major jump from the Knights’ new low-stick given how well she performed before she amassed a wealth of national meet experience and confidence.
3. Sara Stephenson, Senior, Johns Hopkins
In a month of May full of championship racing, Sara Stephenson demonstrated impressive range and durability, traits that are imperative for a top-five name in our preseason rankings.
Even though the Johns Hopkins veteran just missed All-American status on the outdoor oval, she still impressed us, racing both the 5k and the steeplechase at the national meet just weeks after setting new PRs for those distances (and the 1500 meters).
However, more importantly, Stephenson is the highest returner from the 2022 NCAA XC Championships at this point in our rankings (although not necessarily from our entire list). Her cross country campaign last fall ended with a 9th place finish at the national meet after she opened her 2022 season with some loaded Division One fields. The Blue Jay veteran later tapered her fall campaign with top-four results on her conference and regional stages.
On the track, we also saw Stephenson run personal bests over 1500 meters (4:40), 3000 meters (9:40), steeplechase (10:37) and 5000 meters (16:57).
Stephenson's resume and notoriety within NCAA circles are furthered backed by her track performances and her role in Johns Hopkins’ team aspirations. We’re moving forward under the assumption that she is fit enough to move into the top-five names, nationally, after the graduation of many women who finished ahead of her at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships.
Her history in high-stakes meets makes her one of the surest bets to be ready on the starting line in November. Stephenson has consistently shown up in the most important meets and has demonstrated her battle-tested ability to put herself in advantageous positions in the later stages of races.
2. Aubrie Fisher, Senior, Wartburg
Our TSR #2 name looks to make a considerable jump from her 14th place finish at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships -- and we believe that she’s more than capable of breaking the top-five this fall.
For someone who has exhibited competitive talent from the half-mile up to 6000 meters on the grass, it was fitting that a dominant performance in the steeplechase from this past spring (and many other seasons) caught our attention.
The 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships featured many things, but among the most impressive was Aubrie Fisher’s dominance of the 3000 meter steeplechase field. While margins were thin by the end of the race, Fisher seemed in control for the entirety of the 10-minute-and-15-second event.
With a combination of strength and technique, Fisher proved herself to be on a different plane than the other runners in the field, breaking any remaining contenders over the final water barrier en route to NCAA gold.
Of course, this Wartburg star had more than just one great race this past spring. Fisher also finished in the top-four at the Drake Relays in the steeplechase and was runner-up at the Washington U. Distance Carnival behind D1 All-American, Pauline Meyer.
And even though her 2023 track seasons culminated in three All-American honors, it was her last cross country season that was just as solid.
Through six races leading up to the national meet, Fisher finished no worse than runner-up. That included highly competitive meets such as the Augustana Interregional Invitational and the American Rivers Conference XC Championships. In fact, one could potentially argue that Fisher's 14th place national meet performance was one of her “lesser” results.
After all, this is someone who finished an incredible 6th place at the NCAA XC Championships back in the fall of 2021 with a similarly-dominant lead up. And given the names who have since departed the Division Three scene, we're not sure who else would be more than deserving than Fisher (other than our top-ranked runner) for our TSR #2 spot.
As someone so accustomed to running from and in the front, we expect Fisher to be much closer to the lead at the "Big Dance" in 2023.
1. Fiona Smith, Junior, St. Benedict
At long last, we unveil our TSR #1 runner in our Division Three women’s preseason rankings: Fiona Smith.
After Kassie Parker’s graduation, there was no clearer choice to take the top spot in our summer list than the St. Benedict veteran who has amassed three silver medals and two gold medals across NCAA Championship meets this past academic year.
Most recently, throughout her indoor and outdoor track campaigns, Smith demonstrated immense range from the 800 meters up to the 10k, running 2:19 and 33:05, respectively. She scored 60 points across her two conference meets and ran some of the most strategically-sound NCAA championship races possible, claiming four All-American honors over the span of three months.
Even in defeat (finishing runner-up in the 5k and the 10k at the outdoor national meet), Smith made smart and strong moves that broke nearly every runner in the field other than Parker. Those moves were more prosperous at the indoor national meet where Smith won both the 3k and the 5k with Parker having no eligibility.
Last fall, Smith was undefeated at all but three meets — the Griak Invitational (Maroon race), the D3 National Preview and the 2022 NCAA XC Championships — finishing runner-up in all three instances. Kassie Parker and Division Two superstar Lindsay Cunningham were the only women to beat her in those races.
If she wasn't racing behind some all-time elite stars, then Smith would be getting far more acclaim and credit than she already has.
Smith has demonstrated strength as well as speed, two prerequisites to taking home an elusive first cross country national title. The 11-time All-American, who was 5th at the 2021 NCAA XC Championships, is set to repeat and build upon a great 2022 cross country season and add to a growing resume of wins.
