TSR's 2024 D1 XC Top 25 Team Rankings (Women): Update #2

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NOTE: These rankings are based on how a team fared 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).

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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.

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25. Lipscomb Bison (-8 / 17)

It was truthfully another tough outing for the Lipscomb women this past weekend, fading to 16th place at Pre-Nationals. And just like their Nuttycombe Invite performance, the scoring structure of this lineup left us wanting more firepower.

Colbi Borland (58th) and Mackenzie Barnett (69th) were solid while Harley Kletz (99th) had a fairly respectable day. However, the backend of this lineup wasn't nearly as compact as we thought it would be at the beginning of the season. No longer have All-American low-stick Lydia Miller isn't ideal and a few recent newcomers haven't been as strong as we thought they would/could be.

Truthfully, we expected to drop the Bison from our rankings during this update. However, as we look around the rest of the NCAA, we don't see a 25th team with a better resume or argument than Lipscomb.

24. Syracuse Orange (Unranked)

A 15th place run at Pre-Nationals was decent enough for a Syracuse team that was already flirting with this range of our rankings during the preseason.

Savannah Roark (25th) looks really solid and Emma Eastman (54th) probably had one of the best races of her career. We also think that Rylie Lusk (103rd) can bem better moving forward.

On paper, this team is good enough to qualify for this year's national meet and defeat a handful of decent distance programs. However, the postseason has not been too kind to the Orange in recent years, leaving us cautiously optimistic about their chances for success at the upcoming ACC XC Championships and NCAA XC Championships.

23. Penn State Nittany Lions (-2 / 21)

We hate that we're dropping the Penn State women two spots in our rankings, but are also moving North Carolina into our top-15. After all, the former only lost to the latter by eight points this past Friday.

That, however, is just how the natural flow of our rankings work.

At the Princeton Fall Classic, we saw the Nittany Lions place 4th overall, finishing behind a trio of top-ranked teams. Florence Caron (3rd) was unsurprisingly an elite low-stick, but Penn State didn't have any firepower after her.

Thankfully, the women of Happy Valley did have an impressive contingent of stability scorers who crowded the finish line. Hayley Kitching (27th), Madaline Ullom (31st), Sophia Toti (32nd) and Leah Hatcher (35th) collectively closed out the scoring for Penn State relatively quickly.

Yes, we did think that Kitching and Toti would have better performances. If that happened, then the Nittany Lions almost certainly defeat UNC. However, we'll try to get a better gauge of this team at the BIG 10 XC Championships where they'll face a large number of powerhouse programs.

22. Minnesota Golden Gophers (+1 / 23)

It was yet another successful weekend for the Minnesota women who secured a clutch 13th place finish at Pre-Nationals.

The emergence of Ali Weimer (11th) as a national-caliber low-stick is exactly what this team needed while Emma Atkinson (76th) and Izzy Roemer (92nd) held their own. The Golden Gophers didn't have any other women cross the finish line in the top-105 spots, but the fact that they still finished as highly as they did without more scoring support is fairly impressive.

In the grand scheme of things, we didn't learn anything new about Minnesota, but seeing them validate the early-season momentum that they have built up was awesome.

21. Oklahoma State Cowgirls (+1 / 22)

Snagging a 12th place finish at Pre-Nationals was a fairly solid result for an Oklahoma State squad that was hit hard with departures from last year's podium team. Not only that, but the Cowgirls still didn't have Billah Jepkirui who may be out for this season.

Sivan Auerbach (39th) had a quietly great day while Josphine Mwaura (75th) had surprisingly good effort. Victoria Lagat (88th) could have been better, but Colleen Stegmann (91st) was fairly solid.

The Cowgirls' final scorer faded to 121st place, but given how much Stanford was ahead by, that largely didn't matter. Keep an eye on this team moving forward as someone like Lagat can be a low-stick on the right day. Don't be surprised if she cracks the top-10 at the BIG 12 XC Championships in the coming weeks.

20. Furman Paladins (-6 / 14)

Yes, I know that both Oklahoma State and Minnesota defeated Furman at Pre-Nationals this past weekend. Even so, this is the same Furman team that secured a massive 6th place finish at the Nuttycombe Invite earlier this season. For that reason, it felt challenging to drop the Paladins any further than this.

A 14th place finish at Pre-Nationals certainly wasn't the result that the Furman women were looking for this past weekend. But at the same time, it wasn't necessarily a horrible showing.

Carly Wilkes (22nd) did her job as a low-stick. Kaylie Armitage (67th) could have been a bit better, but she still had a decent day while Jenna Mulhern (78th) ran relatively well. However, gaps in the latter-half of the Paladins' lineup is ultimately what held them back from being more competitive.

We've seen how dangerous the best version of this Furman team can be. But based on how this past weekend went, it doesn't seem like we always know which version of the Paladins we're getting.

19. Stanford Cardinal (-8 / 11)

While there were a handful of positives for the Cardinal women at Pre-Nationals, we still left the meet with more questions than answers after seeing them place 11th overall.

The rise of Sophia Kennedy (13th) as a true national-caliber low-stick has been a welcomed (but unsurprising) development. Meanwhile, Zofia Dudek (23rd) looks like she's returning to All-American form.

The emergence of two low-sticks that Stanford didn't have last year is a big deal for a team that has yet to field standout star Amy Bunnage. It also didn't help that Riley Stewart didn't have her best race on Saturday morning, finishing outside of the top-100 places.

If Bunnage returns and if Stewart rediscovers her top form in the postseason, then this Stanford team is much better than what they showed us at Pre-Nationals. But for now, we didn't have much of a choice but to drop them back to our TSR #19 spot.

18. Florida Gators (-6 / 12)

The Florida women ventured to Pre-Nationals this past weekend, a meet where both Hilda Olemomoi (2nd) and Allison Wilson (86) would make their season debuts. The former delivered, but the latter is almost certainly capable of more. Thankfully, Tia Wilson (43rd) looked like a fairly strong secondary scorer.

The Gators' final two scorers dropped to outside of the top-100 which, in retrospect, wasn't necessarily terrible. However, after seeing how well Caroline Wells and Bethan Morley fared at the Gans Creek Classic, we did think that they would be slightly better.

Even so, Coach Will Palmer has to be very pleased with this result. Florida placed 10th to defeat a handful of talented teams with a lineup that was crushed with the departures of top stars during the offseason. Seeing them salvage a competitive result was a good sign.

17. Florida State Seminoles (Unranked)

We'll admit, we're a bit torn on the Florida State women.

This team placed 16th at the Nuttycombe Invite a few weeks ago. And while that was a decent-ish result, it also wasn't going to be enough to crack our rankings. However, on Saturday at Pre-Nationals, the Seminoles were brilliant, taking 9th place and upsetting a handful of highly respectable teams.

Bieke Schipperen (24th) was just as great as she was in her last outing, but the return of Agnes McTighe (29th) was huge from a firepower perspective. That 1-2 punch was complemented by solid scoring stability from Elizabeth Barlow (65th) and Brooke Mullins (83rd).

Now, admittedly, their fifth scorer faded all the way back to 165th place. That, in turn, leaves the 'Noles with very little margin for error and in theory, plenty of volatility. Even so, it's hard to argue placing FSU any lower than our TSR #17 spot.

16. Virginia Cavaliers (0 / 16)

There's not much to discuss with the Virginia women. They easily cruised to a victory over Virginia Tech at their home meet, the Panorama Farms XC Invite. It doesn't appear that we'll see Margot Appleton this fall, but considering how good this team could be in 2025 if/when she returns, I don't hate that move.

15. Gonzaga Bulldogs (+5 / 20)

Yes, the Gonzaga women did earn a comfortable victory at the Arturo Barrios XC Invitational, but they did so over competition that, frankly, they should have soundly defeated anyway.

The reason why the Bulldogs move up so much in our rankings isn't necessarily because they did anything spectacular. Rather, it was because other teams in our rankings struggled this past weekend and therefore hurt their stock, allowing Gonzaga to move up.

Rosina Machu (4th) delivered a low-stick result as expected, but it was the group behind her -- Willow Collins (10th), Logan Hofstee (17th), Jessica Frydenlund (21st) and Jade Rypkema (22nd) -- who continue to show promise. That was also with Sadie Tuckwood (46th) not having her best day!

Sure, this team isn't perfect, but we don't see too many flaws in their lineup.

14. North Carolina Tar Heels (+5 / 19)

We'll admit, this ranking seems aggressively generous for the North Carolina women.

Yes, they did place 3rd overall at the Princeton Fall Classic behind two top-10 teams, but the only other nationally competitive squads who they took down were Penn State and Villanova.

Oh, and their margin of victory over the Nittany Lions? Eight points.

And yet, the Tar Heels 7th place run from the Nuttycombe Invite makes it difficult to put certain teams any higher than UNC.

Brynn Brown and Fatima Alanis both held their own on Friday with top-15 finishes while Taryn Parks (23rd) had a solid day as well. Three other women went 37-40-42, leaving North Carolina with a gap to address in the postseason.

We didn't necessarily learn anything new about UNC this past weekend, but given the madness that happened elsewhere, that didn't seem to matter in order for them to move up in our rankings.

13. Oregon Ducks (+2 / 15)

The return of Maddy Elmore at the Bill Dellinger Invite was great to see, especially considering that she took home a comfortable victory and looks like she's still an All-American star.

However, the Ducks took a fairly convincing loss to Utah, although they didn't have Mia Barnett or Silan Ayyildiz for their latest race. We're not too worried about the former name given that she already ran at the Nuttycombe Invite this season and fared relatively well. Had Barnett raced, then Oregon likely would have been more competitive with Utah.

Even so, the ongoing absence of Ayyildiz continues to limit the ceiling of the Ducks as we venture in the postseason. If she returns for championship racing and is healthy, then that will be a big boost. But until then, we're opting to be more careful with placing Oregon in our rankings.

12. Wisconsin Badgers (+1 / 13)

An 8th place effort at Pre-Nationals, a meet that was hosted on Wisconsin's home course, was one of the least surprising results of the weekend.

The combination of Shea Ruhly, Leane Willemse, Annika Cutforth, Lindsay Cunningham and Bella Jacobsen continued to pack together by going 52-60-72-77-87, respectively. Structurally, that isn't too different of a lineup from the Badgers' performance at the Nuttycombe Invite a few weeks ago.

Sure, greater firepower would be nice as we venture into the postseason. Even so, this is a high-floor team that makes up for their limited low-stick presence with gap-less depth and reliable scoring. And on the national stage, that lineup structure should, in theory, help Wisconsin avoid a poor outing.

11. NC State Wolfpack (-5 / 6)

Seeing NC State secure a 7th place finish at Pre-Nationals wasn't necessarily surprising, but it did feel the slightest bit underwhelming. Of course, that's only because the Wolfpack have won the last three NCAA team titles.

Grace Hartman (6th) delivered a big-time performance as expected and the rise of Hannah Gapes (8th) as a top-tier low-stick is huge. The challenge, however, is that a significant gap opened up after those two women. And while there weren't necessarily any truly poor performances, there were still a handful of instances where we thought certain members of this team could have been better.

The ongoing absence of Leah Stephens hurts quite a bit for a team looking to return to the podium. NC State very clearly needs her low-stick presence to make up for a backend group that simply isn't as strong as it has been in the past.

NC State does take a tumble in our rankings, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we're taking them out of the podium conversation.

10. Providence Friars (-1 / 9)

The Providence women should be fairly happy with their runner-up result at the Princeton Fall Classic. At that meet, they took down two nationally ranked teams in North Carolina and Penn State. However, maybe more importantly, they were just six points off of a Georgetown team who they'll have to battle once again at the BIG East XC Championships in the coming weeks.

Kimberley May (1st) looks even stronger than last year, Alex Millard (5th) defeated a handful of top-tier women and Shannon Flockhart (10th) has kept herself in the All-American conversation. Niamh O'Mahony (20th) had a sneaky-good day and Laura Mooney (29th) did enough to give the Lady Friars a fairly complete top-five.

Providence is a highly talented team with a lethal front three. Of course, the continued absences of both Jane Buckley and Kenzie Doyle has not allowed the Friars to realize their full potential. It's possible that one (or both) of those women return in the postseason, but for right now, the identity of this team is centered around May, Millard and Flockhart.

9. New Mexico Lobos (+1 / 10)

Pamela Kosgei's individual title at Pre-Nationals was great validation of the talent that we figured she had. Of course, it was the scoring value from the rest of this team that gave the Lobos a strong 6th place finish on Saturday.

Natalie Bitetti (37th) and Mercy Kirarei (38th) were awesome, giving New Mexico a potent scoring punch in the middle portion of their lineup. Those were two highly impactful efforts which were then complemented by a pair of stable-enough backend performances from Klara Dess (62nd) and Sophia McDonnell (100th).

This team isn't perfect, but they are very much in the podium conversation. Their front three is quietly really good and Dess offers great value as well. Sure, there was a bit of a drop-off to McDonnell, but she still ran fairly well all things considered.

8. West Virginia Mountaineers (Unranked)

Wow...where do we even start? We'll admit, we did not think that the West Virginia women were capable of cracking the top-five at Pre-Nationals...at all. And yet, on Saturday morning, they did just that, securing a massive 4th place team finish! We knew that Ceili McCabe (4th) was going to be a superstar low-stick and we figured that at least one of the Mountaineers newest additions, in this case Joy Naukot (10th), would provide a low-stick result as well.

However, what we didn't expect was for the backend scoring trio of Emily Bryce (50th), Madison Trippett (61st) and Sarah Tait (82nd) to beat expectations by as much as they did! Those three women were fantastic at Pre-Nationals, offering highly valuable scoring to a team that we figured would be top-heavy and then experience a drop-off.

The craziest part, however, is that those five women were the only runners who finished the race for WVU this past weekend! Both Tecla Lokrale and Alexis Lamb, the former of whom has low-stick credentials, recorded DNF results, leaving the Mountaineers with quite literally zero margin for error.

This group finished 4th overall on Saturday, but we're opting to be slightly more conservative with their ranking. We want to see them replicate a result like that in the postseason and we also don't love that they only had five women cross the line this past weekend.

And yet, if Lokrale does return to this lineup in top form, then West Virginia is absolutely a podium contender -- and maybe even a podium favorite.

7. Utah Utes (+1 / 8)

A convincing win over a limited Oregon team at the Bill Dellinger Invite didn't necessarily tell us anything new about Utah. Even so, putting five women in the top-nine and having Lindsey Peters return to racing theoretically raises the floor of this team as we venture into the postseason.

Utah's next test, the BIG 12 XC Championships, will likely be a dog fight between them, BYU, West Virginia and Oklahoma State. That is likely the meet where we'll get another good look at just how dangerous this team could be come the NCAA XC Championships.

6. Georgetown Hoyas (+1 / 7)

For the most part, the Princeton Fall Classic should be viewed as a success for the Georgetown women. Not only did they pull away from a top-ranked conference rival in Providence by six points, but they also brought back superstar ace Chloe Scrimgeour.

The return of Scrimgeour (2nd) was huge, but it's been Lucy Jenks (4th) who has been a far more potent low-stick than she ever has been. Melissa Riggins (8th) didn't finish quite as high up as we thought she could, but we're still confident that she's an All-American favorite.

With Providence also having a formidable top-three, this race was going to come down the final two scorers for both BIG East powers. Thankfully for the Hoyas, Almi Nerurkar (19th) and Barrett Justema (26th) were just the slightest bit better than Providence's final two scorers.

Admittedly, we did think that Georgetown's depth and backend scoring group would be slightly better, but eight women in the top-45 without Charlotte Tomkinson isn't bad at all.

In the grand scheme of things, our opinion on Georgetown hasn't really changed, but having Scrimgeour back does keep them in the podium hunt.

5. Alabama Crimson Tide (0 / 5)

There's not a whole lot to talk about here with Alabama. They easily cruised to the win at their home meet, the Crimson Classic, over a still-rising Missouri squad without the scoring services of Joy Gill or Pheline Cheruto. The SEC XC Championships is likely when we'll learn the most about the Crimson Tide.

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

A 5th place finish at Pre-Nationals is by no means a bad result for Notre Dame, but it does feel like that result doesn't accurately portray how strong the Fighting Irish were on Saturday.

Siona Chisholm (12th) and Emily Covert (15th) continue to be an outstanding 1-2 punch. However, it was the scoring stability offered by Arianne Olson (55th), Isabel Allori (66th), Mary Bonner Dalton (68th) and Gretchen Farley (73rd) that really impressed us.

Remember, each of those latter four women all hold underclassman eligibility. Not only that, but Notre Dame didn't have key veteran Erin Strzelecki, either. The fact that Notre Dame ran that well without her is impressive.

Strzelecki is someone who usually peaks perfectly for the postseason, so as long as she returns for championship racing, then we still see Notre Dame being podium favorites going into November.

3. Washington Huskies (+1 / 4)

2. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (-1 / 1)

It feels like we need to talk about both of these teams at the same time, mainly because Washington defeated Northern Arizona this past weekend at Pre-Nationals, but remains one spot behind them in our rankings.

Part of that is because NAU didn't have their top-two scorers in Elise Stearns or Karrie Baloga. The other reason why is because the Lumberjacks already defeated (somewhat soundly) the BYU women earlier this season at the Joe Piane Invite.

Even so, the Huskies were excellent in Madison, Wisconsin. We're becoming bigger and bigger fans of Chloe Foerster (16th) while the rest of her supporting cast -- India Weir (28th), Maeve Stiles (30th), Julia David-Smith (41st), Sophie O'Sullivan (42nd) and Amina Maatoug (53rd) -- also offered excellent scoring value zero gaps.

NAU, meanwhile, was led by Ali Upshaw in 19th place. She essentially validated her performance from last year's Nuttycombe Invite. The rest of the Lumberjacks' top-five -- Alex Carlson (26th), Keira Moore (31st), Maggi Congdon (33rd) and Nikita Moore (57th) -- all held their own, but you could argue that each of those women (with exception of Carlson) were capable of running the slightest bit better. That's especially true for Alyson Churchill (63rd), the team's sixth runner.

There are still multiple ways for Northern Arizona to improve, both by reintroducing certain women back into their lineup and by simply having better performances. For those reasons, we've opted to keep NAU ahead of Washington...for now.

1. BYU Cougars (+1 / 2)

The BYU women secured a monumental win at Pre-Nationals on Saturday, comfortably defeating runner-up Washington by a comfortable 52-point margin.

Lexy Halladay-Lowry (9th), Carmen Alder (14th) and Jenna Hutchins (20th) were each fantastic, although the former and latter likely could have finished a couple of spots higher. However, it was the rest of this lineup that truly blew us away.

Riley Chamberlain (27th) produced a fantastic result, emerging as a fringe low-stick despite having a far less exciting race at the Joe Piane Invite. Meanwhile, freshman Nelah Roberts (35th) was brilliant, easily surpassing expectations in a massive way to be the best fifth scorer in the field by a significant margin.

Not only that, but Taylor Rohatinsky (40th) and Taylor Lovell (46th) provided tremendous depth and insurance! Relative to expectations, those latter two women may have been the most impressive runners on BYU's team this past weekend.

The firepower of this team is undeniably great, but it's their newfound depth that makes them a complete team. Make no mistake, Northern Arizona will be better in the future, and the Cougars are by no means locks to win NCAA gold. Even so, it's hard to find a flaw in their lineup right now.

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ADDED

Syracuse Orange

Florida State Seminoles

West Virginia Mountaineers

KICKED OFF

Liberty Flames

Arkansas Razorbacks

Tennessee Volunteers

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Liberty Flames

Tennessee Volunteers

Michigan State Spartans

Texas Longhorns

LSU Tigers

Toledo Rockets

Villanova Wildcats

Boise State Broncos

Boston College Golden Eagles

Harvard Crimson

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)

Arkansas Razorbacks

Utah Valley Wolverines

Louisville Cardinals

Colorado State Rams

Northwestern Wildcats

Connecticut Huskies

Tulane Green Wave

Clemson Tigers

Iowa State Cyclones

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Notes

- Arkansas and Tennessee both fell outside of the top-20 at Pre-Nationals with the former beating the latter by two spots. However, we've opted to keep Tennessee in our "Just Missed" section due to their incredible postseason peak from last fall and for the fact that they were missing at least two key scorers on Saturday.