TSR's 2024 D1 XC Top 25 Team Rankings (Women): Update #1

Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Oct 7, 2024
15 min read

Updated: Oct 7, 2024

NOTE: These rankings are based on how a team fares throughout the entirety of a season, not just how they ran at a singular meet or (eventually) at the 2024 NCAA XC Championships. Click here to learn more about our ranking criteria (which was published in 2023).

KEY

(Unranked):

Was not ranked in our last update.

(#/#):

First number indicates how much the team has moved in the rankings.

The second number indicates where the team was ranked in our last update.

25. Liberty Flames (Unranked)

A 4th place finish at the Joe Piane Invite was an extremely encouraging result for the Liberty women. The introduction of Allie Zealand (who placed 16th) is huge while fellow teammates Ava Gordon and Adelyn Fairley also cracked the top-30.

Admittedly, the drop-off after those three women is significant. In a larger field, that backend gap will (theoretically) inflate Liberty's team score to a point that their firepower may not be able to entirely counter it.

Regardless, the Flames look strong enough and that's all that we can ask for.

24. Arkansas Razorbacks (-8 / 16)

Seeing Paityn Noe and Mia Cochran go 1-2 at the Chile Pepper XC Festival was awesome, but also expected. Of course, the bigger point of emphasis was the fact that the Arkansas women had substantial gaps spread throughout the rest of their lineup. That, in turn, led the Razorbacks to placing an underwhelming 3rd behind Texas and LSU.

It should be noted that this team did not have Sydney Thorvaldson, someone who could be argued as a top-10 runner in the country. However, even if she had run, then Arkansas still falls to Texas.

We don't want to overreact to one race, but the limited depth of Arkansas' roster is seemingly going to hold more weight than we initially expected.

23. Minnesota Golden Gophers (Unranked)

You have to give major props to the Minnesota women who have been one of the more pleasant early-season surprises. The Golden Gophers secured a clutch win at the Roy Griak Invite against a then-ranked Utah Valley team that did not have Morgan Nokes.

That was a promising win, but it was Minnesota's 3rd place finish at the Loyola Lakefront Invite which truly validated that early-season win. Ali Weimer looks like she's a real low-stick and Emma Atkinson is seemingly a great secondary scorer. Erin Reidy has provided sneaky-good stability while Nadia Phillips and Izzy Roemer have been quietly solid backend support pieces.

I am a firm believer that this team can make further improvements this fall, especially if 9:54 steeplechaser Zoie Dundon is able to catch fire and build on her spring-time fitness.

22. Oklahoma State Cowgirls (-1 / 21)

The absence of Billah Jepkirui further validates a rumor that she might not be racing this fall. Even so, the Cowgirls held their own at the Cowboy Jamboree, falling just six points short of the New Mexico women.

Victoria Lagat (3rd) looks like she'll be a true low-stick while Sivan Auerbach (7th) offered really nice scoring value at the second spot of Oklahoma State's lineup. With three others in the top-13, it seems like the Cowgirls may have enough scoring cohesion to remain nationally competitive this fall.

Admittedly, this team can't afford too many "off" day from their scorers and their ceiling truthfully feels limited. Even so, this lineup has a nice balance of veterans and youth-based upside. They seem to have a complete top-five.

21. Penn State Nittany Lions (+4 / 25)

The Penn State women may not have been the flashiest team at the Nuttycombe Invite, but they looked far more dangerous than last year after placing 10th overall.

Florence Caron (2nd) had the race of her life, Hayley Kitching (37th) was shockingly good for a half-miler, Sophia Toti (59th) salvaged a decent result and Madaline Ullom (63rd) offered much-needed scoring stability.

Admittedly, the Nittany Lions had a significant drop-off after their top-four, but it's hard to be critical of this team given how much they have improved. Caron looks borderline elite and Kitching wasn't too far off from being a low-stick (which is wild for a middle distance runner). Don't sleep on this team moving forward, they are not the same squad that you saw struggle last year.

20. Gonzaga Bulldogs (Unranked)

On paper, we could see the nucleus of a nationally competitive team on Gonzaga's roster. Of course, in order for this team to stand out in a national-caliber field, A LOT needed to break in their favor.

Well, sure enough, that's exactly what happened at the Nuttycombe Invite.

Rosina Machu (3rd) was unsurprisingly excellent, but it was freshman Logan Hofstee (43rd) who overcame inexperience to offer great scoring value. Jessica Frydenlund (56th) and Willow Collins (57th) were close behind, giving their team excellent stability. Although Sadie Tuckwood fell just outside of the top-100, she was strong enough to ensure that the Bulldogs placed 8th in Madison, Wisconsin.

This Gonzaga group is flat-out great. They have a true low-stick and very good stability at the middle portion of their lineup. We're also under the belief that Tuckwood will be better in the future. They don't have much room for error, but as long as they consistently execute, then that may not matter.

19. North Carolina Tar Heels (Unranked)

Despite how poorly the 2023 cross country season went for the North Carolina women, we felt confident that they were still going to be a competitive team in 2024. Sure enough, that's exactly what we saw from this group at the Nuttycombe Invite where they placed 7th overall.

Brynn Brown (10th) has returned to her low-stick ways while Fatima Alanis (15th) still looks like an All-American-caliber talent. Eva Klingbeil (49th) continues to be fairly underrated while Taryn Parks (71st) and Maddie Gardiner (90th) did enough to get by.

What leaves us truly encouraged about this team isn't necessarily their promising early-season performance. Instead, it's the fact that they ran as well as they did with Sasha Neglia and Ciara O'Shea not performing as well as we thought they could. UNC also didn't field Kelsey Harrington, a top-half All-American from the fall of 2022, in the "championship" race. She did, however, place 12th in the "B" race.

Sure, the Tar Heels probably aren't a podium team this fall, but simply returning to a nationally competitive tier is great to see.

18. Tennessee Volunteers (-5 / 13)

There is certainly no shame in losing to the Stanford women at the Gans Creek Classic, a meet where Tennessee settled for 2nd place. However, the Cardinal secured the win by almost 50 points and they did so without their top runner, Amy Bunnage.

Not only that, but if the Florida women had fielded Hilda Olemomoi, then they would have also defeated Tennessee. And for those wondering, yes, the Volunteers did field (most) of their top women in Missouri.

Ashley Jones (5th), Rachel Sutliff (9th) and Jillian Candelino (15th) put together a respectable top-three, but with the team's final two scorers faded a bit too much from that point.

There's no reason to panic about this result -- Tennessee still held their own. Even so, the group that once finished 6th at the NCAA XC Championships has some work to do if they want to replicate that magic and cover the gap left behind by the now-departed Jessie Secor.

17. Lipscomb Bison (-8 / 9)

Simply put, Lipscomb had a rough day at the Nuttycombe Invite.

The trio of Mackenzie Barnett, Harley Kletz and Colbi Borland were able to sneak just inside of the top-51 spots, but no other Bison women cracked the top-100. A large handful of Lipscomb runners did not have their best races and we also didn't see this team field All-American Lydia Miller!

A 15th place finish at the Nuttycombe Invite isn't an accurate depiction of how good this team is. We're willing to stay optimistic, but a much greater turnaround will be needed at their next outing.

16. Virginia Cavaliers (-4 / 12)

An 11th place finish at the Nuttycombe Invite is fine, but we expected a bit more from the Cavaliers, even if they didn't have star low-stick, Margot Appleton.

Jenny Schiling (20th) was great as always while sophomore Gillian Bushee (26th) showcased low-stick potential in her own right. However, with their latter three scorers settling for finishes of 82-84-92, the Cavaliers' point total ballooned.

Now, in Virginia's defense, if Margot Appleton had raced, then this team would have placed somewhere around 7th in the final standings. It's also fair to say that a number of veterans at the backend of this lineup are capable of being so much better. For that reason, we opted to drop Virginia only four spots back.

15. Oregon Ducks (0 / 15)

It would be irresponsible for us at The Stride Report to look at the lineup that the Oregon women fielded at the Nuttycombe Invite and use that result as a gauge of how strong this team is. That's because the Ducks did not run a handful of their top women, including their two All-American candidates in Maddy Elmore and Silan Ayyildiz.

Mia Barnett (18th) looks like a low-stick in her own right which is awesome. Wilma Nielsen (35th) was also WAY better than we thought she would be. Her result offered sneaky-good firepower. Anika Thompson (62nd) and Charlotte Sinke (68th) had fine outings while Ali Ince (81st) had a subtly great day for a freshman middle distance runner. Even so, that collective effort wasn't enough for Oregon to surpass a 9th place team finish.

We had plenty of questions about Oregon coming into this season, mainly about the health and availability of Elmore, Ayyildiz and Dalia Frias. After not seeing any of those three women race at the Nuttycombe Invite, we're willing to remain patient and wait for their return. For that reason, they'll stay put at the same spot in our rankings.

14. Furman Paladins (+4 / 18)

We knew that the Furman women could be competitive without Bethany Graham, something they proved last fall. However, placing 6th at the Nuttycombe Invite without her is massive.

Carly Wilkes (9th) looks like a true national-caliber low-stick while Kaylie Armitage (24th) offered excellent firepower as well. Sierra Bower and Jenna Mulhern just snuck inside the top-50 to stabilize this lineup in a major way while Nicole Matysik (89th) did enough to admirably close out the scoring.

The Paladins seem to boast far more scoring potency this year than they did last year -- and they haven't even brought Graham back into their lineup (yet). If she does return in top form, then you can guarantee that Furman will be a top-10 squad later this fall.

13. Wisconsin Badgers (+6 / 19)

The Wisconsin women were very impressive on their home course at the Nuttycombe Invite. We thought Lindsay Cunningham and Leane Willemse would give this team a top-heavy scoring identity, but the latter faded to outside of the top-80 while the former fell just short of the top-30.

And yet, the scoring value throughout this team's top-five was still excellent. Shea Ruhly (30th) returned to be a fringe low-stick who was one place ahead of Cunningham. Carolyn Shult (36th) had a strong outing, Annika Cutforth (38th) had a breakout race and Fiona McLoughlin (47th) did exactly what she was recruited to do.

Seeing Leane Willemse struggle at the Nuttycombe Invite was, at the time, viewed as a flukey result. However, a recent 18th place finish at the Loyola Lakefront Invite (where the Badgers did not run many of their top women) left us wanting a little bit more.

Regardless of Willemse, this team has everything that you could ask for and they don't seem to have too many weaknesses.

12. Florida Gators (+11 / 23)

Yes, the Florida women did falter to 4th place at the Gans Creek Classic behind Stanford, Tennessee and Ole Miss. So how is it that the Gators took a huge 11-spot leap in these rankings?

Well, if you look at the final results, you'll see that Bethan Morley, Tia Wilson, Caroline Wells and Reagan Gilmore went 6-11-12-13, respectively. On paper, that was a fairly potent quartet. Yes, their final scorer faded to 98th place, but it's important to note that Florida didn't field Hilda Olemomoi! If Olemomoi had toed the line for Florida at the Gans Creek Classic, then she likely would have secured the individual title, chopping off a MASSIVE amount of points and narrowly defeating Stanford in the process. Of course, with Stanford not fielding Amy Bunnage, we opted to keep the Cardinal ahead of the Gators in this rankings update.

We'll admit, Florida seems to have very little margin for error -- almost none, in fact. That, however, shouldn't hold this team back from being listed in our top-15.

11. Stanford Cardinal (+3 / 14)

The Stanford women were incredibly impressive at the Gans Creek Classic. They took down a number of top-ranked teams while a handful of runners stepped up in a massive way.

At her best, we know how dangerous Zofia Dudek can be, but we had not seen her in top form for quite some time. Thankfully, she secured a runner-up finish two weekends ago to act as a crucial low-stick ace. She was followed by Sophia Kennedy (3rd) who also produced an encouraging low-stick effort.

Julia Flynn (7th) had what was easily the best race of her career while Riley Stewart (10th) was a reliable scorer as usual. There was a small-ish gap between that above-mentioned quartet and Audrey Dadamio (22nd), but considering that Stanford was without Amy Bunnage, we didn't mind that at all.

10. New Mexico Lobos (+1 / 11)

A solid win over a respectable Oklahoma State team at the Cowboy Jamboree was a nice start to the season for the New Mexico women.

Pamela Kosgei (1st) is truly elite, Natalie Bitetti (4th) was surprisingly great despite being brand new to the D1 level, Klara Dess (6th) had what may have been the best cross country race of her career and Mercy Kirarei (8th) showed signs of being a highly effective scorer.

The biggest catch in all of this is that the Lobos didn't have their All-American from last fall at that meet, Nicola Jansen. If she returns, then you're looking at a VERY top-heavy lineup. She'll also be integral to New Mexico's success this year given the drop-off that we saw after the Lobos' top-four.

9. Providence Friars (-1 / 8)

Yes, Providence is dropping one spot in our rankings, but that's mostly based on how other teams performed rather than anything that they've done.

The Nuttycombe Invite was where the Providence women flexed outstanding firepower with Kimberley May placing 5th, Shannon Flockhart placing 13th and Alex Millard placing 19th. That 1-2-3 punch was insanely potent and it gave the Friars a shot at competing for the win. The challenge, however, is that we didn't see Kenzie Doyle or Jane Buckley at that meet.

Those two women are projected to be high-impact scorers who would have stabilized this lineup in a big way. Laura Mooney (58th) was still able to offer some strong value, but an 85th place finish from their final scorer was too far out to keep the Friars in contention for the win. Instead, they took 4th place.

We're hoping to see Providence bring back at least one of those two aforementioned absentees this season. Doing so could potential bring a new team into the podium conversation.

8. Utah Utes (+2 / 10)

The Utah women were flat-out awesome at the Nuttycombe Invite, snagging a huge runner-up effort.

Erin Vringer (6th) had a monumental breakout race and was followed by Mckaylie Caesar in 21st place as well as Katarzyna Nowakowska in 25th place. With Morgan Jensen offering great scoring value in 33rd and Annastasia Peters closing out the scoring in 54th place, the Utes had fielded a complete lineup with tons of great firepower.

However, the best part about this team is that we think that they can be better, specifically Jensen and Peters. After all, the latter is an All-American. They may "only" move up two spots in our rankings, but if someone wanted to list this team one or two positions higher, then we wouldn't argue...too much.

7. Georgetown Hoyas (-1 / 6)

I know what you're probably thinking. "Wait, Utah beat Georgetown at the Nuttycombe Invite! How are the Hoyas listed ahead of the Utes?" Allow me to explain...

The Georgetown women looked fantastic two weekends ago as Melissa Riggins (7th) and Lucy Jenks (14th) gave their team a crucial injection of low-stick scoring. However, more importantly, the supporting cast of Charlotte Tomkinson, Barrett Justema and Almi Nerurkar went 32-44-48, respectively, keeping excessive scoring at a minimum.

The depth on this team is fantastic. Their floor hasn't been this high in quite some time and the scoring reinforcements are exactly what they needed last fall. However, it should be noted that superstar low-stick Chloe Scrimgeour did not run two weekends ago. If she returns this season (and we're assuming she will), then Georgetown will be noticeably better than they were in Madison, Wisconsin. For that reason, they narrowly stay ahead of Utah.

6. NC State Wolfpack (-3 / 3)

A somewhat convincing loss to the Alabama women this past weekend at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational wasn't ideal for NC State, but it wasn't the end of the world, either.

Grace Hartman (4th) and Hannah Gapes (6th) were excellent and Fiona Smith (14th) was fairly solid as well. Angelina Napoleon (19th) had a decent effort while rookie Ellie Shea (28th) did a respectable job of closing out the scoring despite her youth.

The overall firepower of Alabama was far too extensive for the Wolfpack women to overcome. Thankfully, NC State still has Leah Stephens, Brooke Rauber, Gionna Quarzo and Jenna Schulz who they can field at future meets. Stephens is the name who this team very much needs to return if they want to return to the podium this fall.

They may have fallen outside of our top-five, but we don't necessarily view this team any differently than we did in the preseason (for now).

5. Alabama Crimson Tide (+2 / 7)

The trio of low-sticks that the Alabama women flexed this past weekend was super impressive. We knew that Doris Lemngole (1st) was as elite as they come, but seeing both Brenda Tuwei (3rd) and Pheline Cherutl (5th) look like All-American candidates changes the complexion of this lineup.

That overwhelming firepower ultimately gave the Crimson Tide women a minor upset win over NC State. Yes, Addison Dorenkamp (23rd) and Franziska Drexler (25th) were a bit further back, but they still offered some of the better backend support that Alabama has had in a while.

Remember, Alabama did all of that without Joy Gill, someone who was in the conversation to potentially crack our individual rankings this past summer. If she returns, then the Crimson Tide could very easily emerge as podium favorites.

4. Washington Huskies (+1 / 5)

There was so much good that came out of Washington's collective team effort at the Nuttycombe Invite, a meet which they won.

Maeve Stiles (8th) had a monster breakout race (despite already showing tons of promise beforehand) while Julia David-Smith (12th) put together what may have been the best race of her career. That firepower was complemented by Amina Maatoug (27th), Chloe Foerster (29th) and India Weir (34th), a trio of backend results that some teams would view as lead scoring efforts.

We know that Maatoug can be better and it's important to note that the Huskies didn't field Sophie O'Sullivan or Samantha Tran for that meet. If the Washington women were able to secure such a crucial win without those two runners, then what can they do when they're at full strength?

3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+1 / 4)

On paper, there wasn't necessarily anything surprising about Notre Dame's collective team performance at the Joe Piane Invite (hosted on their home course). And yet, it was hard not to be impressed with how they ran against two national title contenders.

Siona Chisholm (5th) and Emily Covert (8th) were potent low-sticks who are seemingly at/near their peak levels of fitness. Erin Strzelecki (14th) continues to be an underrated impact scorer for a podium team while younger talents Gretchen Farley (21st) and Arianne Olson (22nd) had promising starts to their seasons. Sophie Novak (43rd) didn't have a great race, but we're fairly confident that she can be better in the future.

There's a lot to like about the Fighting Irish's lineup. They have multiple low-stick talents, plenty of experience, youth-based upside, respectable depth and minimal gaps. What more could you ask for?

2. BYU Cougars (0 / 2)

To no one's surprise, the BYU women looked awesome at the Joe Piane Invite as Lexy Halladay-Lowry (1st), Jenna Hutchins (4th) and Carmen Alder (10th) emerged as great low-stick talents. There was a noticeable gap which opened up after those three women, but Taylor Rohatinsky (25th) held her own and Riley Chamberlain (29th) still had a decent day even if we think she can be better.

All of that led to a runner-up finish behind Northern Arizona and five points ahead of Notre Dame.

We didn't necessarily learn anything new about BYU after their outing in South Bend, Indiana. If anything, our initial thoughts on this team during the summer have been (mostly) validated.

1. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (0 / 1)

Despite not having Elise Stearns or Ali Upshaw, the NAU women overwhelmed an elite, top-heavy field at the Joe Piane Invite with ridiculous depth. In fact, they did that with Keira Moore in the "Open" race and Alyson Churchill not even finishing the meet as a scorer.

Karrie Baloga (7th) looks like she's ready to take that next step as a focal star low-stick while Maggi Congdon (9th) was as strong as we thought she'd be. Nikita Moore (11th) and Ava Mitchell (13th) both had huge breakout races while Alex Carlson (12th) almost certainly had the best cross country race of her career.

And Alyson Churchill? She took 17th place for good measure.

Defeating BYU by 13 points despite having numerous ways to be even more potent is extremely impressive. We'll admit, the ongoing absence of Stearns is a bit concerning. She'll be a much-needed piece in order for NAU to secure the national title this fall. Even so, it's hard to find a single flaw in the Lumberjacks' lineup right now.