TSR's 2024 D2 Outdoor Top 25 Rankings (Women): Update #3

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Written by Marissa Kuik & Gavin Struve

Additional edits & commentary by Garrett Zatlin & Gavin Struve

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Click here to see our Just Missed and Honorable Mention names.

Listed eligibility takes redshirts and Covid-related extensions into consideration.

TFRRS is used as a general, but not strict, guide when determining eligibility.

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25. Sarah Koomson, Freshman, West Texas A&M (-2 / 23)

Even while racing just once since our last rankings update and doing so in a tertiary event, Sarah Koomson impressed. The star rookie produced a 1500-meter PR and a comfortable victory at her home meet with an altitude-converted 4:23 mark. The only reason she moves down is due to some significant efforts by women who moved into our rankings.

That 1500-meter result, seemingly achieved in a time-trial scenario, likely doesn't mean a ton for someone who has been better over longer distances. However, it shows that Koomson -- who has yet to race a 10k and earned her indoor All-American laurels in the 3k rather than the 5k -- has more speed than we initially gave her credit for.

24. Zoe Baker, Rs. Senior, Colorado Mines (0 / 24)

Zoe Baker's stock didn't change a whole lot after a runner-up performance over 10,000 meters at the RMAC Championships. She was probably favored to win the race, but it's hardly concerning to see her lose to teammate Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge by four-hundredths of a second.

After all, that effort came one week after Baker beat Ramsey-Rutledge for an altitude-converted seasonal best at their home meet. Baker still looks like an All-American favorite in the 10k and perhaps the 5k.

23. Leah Taylor, Sophomore, Western Colorado (-7 / 16)

Leah Taylor was one of a few women's distance stars who didn't run up to their full potential at the RMAC Championships. For this Western Colorado ace, that meant a 6th-place finish in the 1500 meters and an 8th place result in the 5k.

Consider Taylor placed 3rd in the metric mile (and 5th in the 5k) at the 2023 RMAC Outdoor Championships before matching that 1500-meter finish at the outdoor national meet. We're not going to panic over one weekend, particularly when Taylor just ran 4:26 for a PR in the RMAC 1500-meter prelims.

However, considering that she ran just one second slower than that in the RMAC finals the same weekend and wasn't in the mix for the win, Taylor will be hard-pressed to replicate her bronze medal finish from the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships. While we still view her as an All-American favorite, it may behoove Taylor to double back in the 5k (rather than focusing solely on the 1500 meters as she did last season) to maximize her chances.

22. Vienna Lahner, Rs. Freshman, Adams State (-2 / 20)

As she sat out of her primary event, Vienna Lahner was overshadowed by several of her teammates at the RMAC Outdoor Championships. While she ran a 2:11 PR over 800 meters, Lahner did not advance to the finals in that event.

However, she opened this month with an altitude-converted 4:20 metric-mile mark, outclassing strong competition en route to victory at the CSU-Pueblo Last Chance meet. So yes, Lahner moves down to make room for a pair of teammates (who recently thrived in events other than the 1500 meters), but she didn't hurt her big-picture standing in our eyes.

21. Aryelle Wright, Rs. Senior, Colorado Mines (-6 / 15)

Like Leah Taylor, Aryelle Wright didn't look her best at the top distance running conference's annual spring showcase. This Oredigger ace was squarely among the favorites to take the half-mile conference crown, but faltered to a 2:22 effort that placed her dead last in the 800-meter finals.

More likely than not, that race was a one-off and it doesn't necessarily give us pause about Wright's postseason trajectory as a proven multi-time All-American. Even so, we have little choice but to move her down a bit in our rankings after a less-than-ideal defense of the RMAC half-mile crown that she won this past winter.

20. Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge, Rs. Junior, Colorado Mines (Unranked)

A 10,000-meter victory placed Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge among the biggest winners of an RMAC conference meet filled with noisy results. She also earned bronze in the 5k, beating women like Anna Fauske, Leah Taylor, and teammates Molly Maksin, Holly Moser, Margaux Basart and Grace Strongman.

A strong postseason double appears to be in store considering Ramsey-Rutledge produced a 16:23 (5k) PR at Bryan Clay last month as well. After finishing one spot away from All-American placement at the 2024 indoor national meet, it seems unlikely Ramsey-Rutledge will be left out of those honors later this month.

19. Morgan Hykes, Junior, Adams State (-2 / 17)

Like her above-listed teammate, Vienna Lahner, Morgan Hykes did not contest her primary race at the RMAC Championships. Instead, she produced a 1500-meter PR before falling to the back of the field in the finals of that event.

Perhaps more concerningly, Hykes recorded a "DNF" in her secondary event, the 5k. All things considered, her conference meet showing was hardly catastrophic. Plus, any potential bad taste in her mouth should have been washed out by a 10:06 steeplechase effort this past Saturday, placing her at NCAA #4 this season behind a troika of teammates.

18. Katie Heck (née Fankhouser), Senior, Fort Lewis (-9 / 9)

Katie Heck represents the last of a group of women who received slight demotions in our rankings after faltering a bit at the RMAC Outdoor Championships. The same Fort Lewis star who won the conference title in the 1500 meters last spring (before finishing 2nd on the national stage) just placed 5th in an ultra-competitive 2024 RMAC metric mile final.

The Fort Lewis veteran didn't fare much better over 800 meters either, finishing 6th after emerging as the half-mile runner-up finisher at the 2024 RMAC Indoor Championships a couple of months ago.

Heck has some of the best middle distance chops in the country, but we're not entirely sure what to expect from her later this month after faltering at the 2024 indoor national meet and producing these latest results.

17. Jessica Simon, Senior, Adams State (+8 / 25)

Jessica Simon didn't win the RMAC 800-meter title, but she did produce the fastest time at the meet with a 2:07.16 PR in the prelims (all at altitude). The Grizzly veteran went on to produce a strong 2:08 effort in the half-mile finals to finish as the conference meet runner-up finisher behind a teammate.

Simon has contested the half-mile on the national stage four different times, including at the past three NCAA Championships, and has yet to reach the finals. Doing so, and securing her first All-American honors, seems less and less like an "if" than a "when" after her recent triumphs.

16. Lieke Hoogsteen, Sophomore, Adams State (Unranked)

It was Lieke Hoogsteen -- not Jessica Simon, Katie Heck or Aryelle Wright -- who emerged victorious in the RMAC 800-meter final. Hoogsteen rode her momentum to a 2:08.28 PR (before conversions) to earn conference gold, mirroring the 2:08.42 effort she produced in the preliminaries. That kind of consistency between rounds against top-flight competition bodes well entering the postseason for this underclassman who has been quietly excellent this year.

After becoming a first-time All-American with a 7th-place effort at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships, Hoogsteen only seems to be gaining momentum with each passing month of this calendar year. And with prior experience already under her belt, we're feeling increasingly more confident about what kind of noise she could make later this month.

15. Ava O'Connor, Junior, Adams State (Unranked)

While her aforementioned teammate (Morgan Hykes) enjoyed a strong personal-best steeplechase effort at the Portland Twilight meet, Ava O'Connor was even more impressive in that setting as she dipped under 10:00 for the first time.

That marked a pretty strong two-week stretch for this Ireland native who also earned top-five finishes in the 800 meters and the metric mile at the RMAC Championships. She now has top-four national marks this season in both the 1500 meters and the 3000-meter steeplechase, providing some postseason optionality.

14. Elizabeth Acheson, Rs. Junior, U-Mary (+5 / 19)

Nothing we saw from Elizabeth Acheson over the past couple of weeks dramatically helped or hurt her stock. Yes, she ran PRs in both the 400 meters and the 1500 meters in that span, but we know by now that Acheson makes her hay in the 800 meters.

And while others impressed more than her since our last rankings update, we didn't think fellow 800-meter specialists like Lieke Hoogsteen and Jessica Simon should surpass Acheson after she was better than both (and everyone save for Alaysia Brooks) in that event at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships.

Let's not forget she's been racing at this level (off and on) for three years.

13. Marissa D'Atri, Senior, Chico State (+5 / 18)

While the 3000-meter steeplechase scene looks less wide open (behind Gracie Hyde) after the recent exploits of the Adams State women, Marissa D'Atri appears primed to return to the All-American form that she displayed throughout the 2022 calendar year.

No, she didn't produce a sub-10:00 steeplechase effort like some of her star contemporaries, but D'atri won double gold between the steeplechase and the 5000 meters at her conference meet. She seems likely to attempt the same double on the national stage (as she did last spring) after recently running a respectable 16:26 seasonal best in the 5k at the Payton Jordan Invitational.

Not only that, but with prior experience on her side and zero concerning developments on her seasonal resume, there is way more to like about D'Atri than not.

12. Natalie Graber, Junior, Grand Valley State (0 / 12)

Has not competed since our last rankings update. 

11. Emily Schoellkopf, Junior, Adams State (+11 / 22)

As always, the RMAC Championships were an incredibly competitive affair. However, what made the meet even more challenging this year was Adams State racing more of their athletes there than usual. 

That decision by Coach Damon Martin made earning an RMAC individual title in the distance events that much more special. On that stage, Emily Schoellkopf further proved that she can hold her own with the best women in Division Two, taking home a conference title in the 5k and a 2nd-place finish in the 3000-meter steeplechase. 

While her times may not be as fast as some of the other top women on this list, we value the way this Grizzly veteran competed in that championship setting and in other recent postseason affairs.

10. Taryn Chapko, Junior, Grand Valley State (+1 / 11)

The half-mile distance is pretty saturated this year with a plethora of 2:08 to 2:09 times, making Taryn Chapko’s 2:08.98 performance from a few weeks ago feel lost in the crowd. 

Nonetheless, Chapko has always been a name to rely on in the 800 meters come time for the national meet. She has experience, tactical savvy and a penchant for navigating the rounds of a postseason meet. By and large, we know what to expect from her at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in a few weeks' time.

9. Tristian Spence, Rs. Freshman, Adams State (+4 / 13)

For someone considered more of a long distance runner (with a PR of 15:58 in the 5k this season), Tristian Spence is proving that she can compete just as well when she drops down in distance.

Spence came away with a runner-up result over 1500- meters at the RMAC Championships, beating out names like Leah Taylor, Katie Heck and Riley McGrath who have shown more of an affinity for (and boast more experience in) the middle distance events. 

With top-four national marks in both races this season, Spence is a legitimate name to watch for in the 5k and the 1500 meters. Her recent conference silver medal was encouraging in that it showed that she is adaptable, suited for the postseason in spite of her youth, and has better anaerobic reserves than we expected.

8. Elena Carey, Junior, Adams State (+2 / 10)

The growth of Elena Carey has been one of our favorite subplots to follow in 2024. She has gone from someone who ran decent times, but lacked postseason experience, to becoming an All-American in the mile and running ridiculously fast times in the 1500 meters...and now the steeplechase. 

First, Carey beat out stiff competition to win the RMAC title in the metric mile. Then, the following weekend, she ran an incredible time of 9:54 in the steeplechase to beat her teammates at the Portland Twilight meet.

Not only does Carey boast fast times, but she also knows how to win, setting her up to be exceedingly dangerous at the national meet in whatever race or combination of races she chooses.

7. Allison Beasley, Sophomore, Western Colorado (+1 / 8)

Allison Beasley flip-flopped with Emily Schoellkopf at the RMAC Championships, winning the individual title in the steeplechase and finishing runner-up in the 5k. And just like Schoellkopf, she may not have the fastest times out of all of the women atop our rankings, but she has emerged as a reliably elite postseason name.

Beasley was the 2023 outdoor national meet runner-up in the steeplechase, running a slower seasonal best in that setting than what she's produced this spring. She'll have to fight off a strong horde of competitors to match or improve upon that finish this year, but it seems more likely than not that she's on pace for top finishes in both that event and the 5k.

6. Klaudia O'Malley, Senior, Grand Valley State (+1 / 7)

After some big marks at Bryan Clay in the 1500 meters and the 5k, Klaudia O’Malley backed both of those performances up over the past couple of weekends. 

First, she ran 4:21 in the metric mile at the GVSU Extra Weekend Meet. The time was only one second off of her Bryan Clay mark and it looks even more competitive given it came in a lower-stimulus environment.

Then, she went on to win two GLIAC titles between the 800 meters and the 5k, running an impressive time of 2:09 in the former event. O'Malley, who could be argued as Division Two's most versatile distance star this side of Gracie Hyde, appears to be in store for her best postseason finish yet in what could be her collegiate send-off.

5. Florance Uwajeneza, Senior, West Texas A&M (0 / 5)

While a "DNF" result in the 1500 meters this past weekend was not ideal (perhaps she was pacing), Florence Uwajeneza maintains her spot from our past rankings update despite that being her only result since then.

It's hard to compete with her 32:52 (10k) mark or the 16:00 (5k) mark that she produced earlier this season, let alone both. The reigning 5k indoor national champion is very much a threat to win a national title in consecutive seasons and may be favored to do so over 10,000 meters for the first time.  

4. Alaysia Brooks, Junior, Ursuline (OH) (+2 / 6)

As expected, Alaysia Brooks is peaking at just the right time for the championship meets. At the G-MAC Championships, she crossed the finish line in 1st place over 800 meters, running a PR of 2:05 to top the 2:06 effort that she put forth in the preliminary rounds. 

Remember, Brooks employed the same strategy at the indoor national meet two months ago, running hard from the gun in both rounds en route to gold. All of that serves as an indication that she should be the heavy favorite to repeat as the half-mile national champion.

3. Brianna Robles, Senior, Adams State (+1 / 4)

By this point of the season, Brianna Robles usually has a top mark in the 10k to her name. However, we were beginning to think that she was prioritizing other events this year until she dropped a 33:03 effort at the Payton Jordan Invitational for what's comfortably the NCAA #2 effort this season. 

In doing so, Robles reaffirmed her status as one of the names who everyone has to go through in order to win one of the true long distance events. Robles' year-over-year and race-over-race consistency is virtually unmatched. And even if she doesn't emerge with one of the titles she has put herself in the mix for, she's a near-lock to finish toward the front of any race she contests.

2. Kaylee Beyer, Senior, Winona State (+1 / 3)

The past couple of weekends, Kaylee Beyer replicated her exact times from the beginning of the season, running 16:09 for the 5k and 4:19 over 1500 meters. Talk about consistency.

Maybe some would look at those results as sub-optimal because she has seemingly not improved from the earlier portions of the season. However, we see it as representative of high-level consistency, something that we put a lot of value in for our rankings. 

With the 1500 meters and the 5000 meters looking as competitive as ever, Beyer will have her hands full trying to earn her first NCAA title. However, she often performs at her best on the national stage, so we anticipate more resonant results in the weeks to come.

1. Gracie Hyde, Rs. Senior, Adams State (0 / 1)

There really is no distance event in which Gracie Hyde can't thrive in. 

Each weekend she has toed the line this spring, Hyde has competed in a different event. And with each performance, she has further solidified her status as one of the best runners in the nation regardless of divisions. 

Most recently, Hyde crossed the finish line at the Payton Jordan Invitational in 15:43 over 5000 meters, and the only surprising thing about that result was that it was not another NCAA record. She now holds the season's fastest D2 mark in the 800 meters, the 1500 meters, the 3000-meter steeplechase and the 5000 meters.

Deciding which combination of events to race at the national meet may be harder than any challenge that awaits her once she arrives at that postseason setting. 

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ADDED

Lieke Hoogsteen (Adams State)

Ava O'Connor (Adams State)

Jenna Ramsey-Rutledge (Colorado Mines)

KICKED OFF

Stephanie Cotter (Adams State)

Precious Robinson (Adams State)

Ana Tucker (Grand Valley State)

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Stephanie Cotter (Adams State)

Precious Robinson (Adams State)

Megan Roxby (Simon Fraser)

Katherine Marsh (Adelphi)

MaKenna Thurston (Minnesota State)

Anna Fauske (UC-Colorado Springs)

Kate Hedlund (UC-Colorado Springs)

Kate Dawson (Pittsburg State)

Kaylee Harp (NW Missouri)

Marian Ledesma (Western Washington)

Molly Maksin (Colorado Mines)

Riley McGrath (Colorado Mines)

Maggie McCleskey (Adams State)

Mckenna Cavanaugh (Lee (Tenn.))

Margaux Basart (Colorado Mines)

Holly Moser (Colorado Mines)

Maria Mitchell (Grand Valley State)

Kylie Anicic (Edinboro)

Annika Esvelt (Seattle Pacific)

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)

Kayce Rypma (Grand Valley State)

Ines Macadam (Tiffin)

Najwa Chouati (Stanislaus State)

Erin Dorn (Davenport)

Taylor Stone (Flagler)

Emma Kjellsen (Western Colorado)

Isabel Marsh (Adelphi)

Shannon King (Colorado Christian)

Elizabeth Wamsley (Hillsdale)

Khot Juac (Sioux Falls)

Caroline Fuehren (Lenoir-Rhyne)

Alexa Keiser (Saginaw Valley State)

Lina Hanich (Academy of Art)

Abby VanderKooi (Grand Valley State)

Bailey Blake (NW Missouri)

Maggie Williams (Biola)

Aria Hawkins (Lee (Tenn.))

Nicole Lawrence (Adams State)

Ila Davis (Western Washington)

Margot Thomas (CSU-Pueblo)

Ellie Frye (Dallas Baptist)

Betty Bajika (West Texas A&M)

Hannah Hartwell (Fort Lewis)

Madison Clay (Catawba)

Notes

- Ana Tucker has yet to race this season despite being listed on Grand Valley State's roster. As such, she has been removed from our rankings.