TSR's 2024 D3 XC Top 20 Individual Rankings (Women): Update #3

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Written by Conor Daly, Kevin Fischer & Gavin Struve

Edits & additional commentary via Gavin Struve & Garrett Zatlin

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NOTE: These rankings are based on how an individual 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 athlete has moved in the rankings.

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

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20. Olivia Warr, Sophomore, Washington & Lee (Unranked)

Olivia Warr's season has been an interesting one. After two 4k efforts that were difficult to use as a gauge for fitness, she made her season debut at the 6k distance at the Connecticut College Invitational and finished 3rd. 

That result was a bit of a surprise to us given that she wasn't quite as proven as some of the other women in the field, but it put her on our radar. 

Replicating that level of performance two weeks later on her way to winning the ODAC individual title was enough for us to give Warr a ranking, and she has done plenty to indicate that she is here to stay. 

19. Janie Cooper, Junior, NYU (-1 / 18)

We aren't necessarily thrilled about Janie Cooper’s 3rd-place UAA finish, but we aren't all that concerned, either. Sure, on paper she “should have” been the runner-up finisher, but she was right there, three seconds behind Emory's Liesl Scherrer.

Cooper's body of work indicates an improvement across her first three races this season, which culminated with her taking silver behind our TSR #2 runner, Audrey Maclean, at the Connecticut College Invitational. That UAA XC Championships result put a stop to that trend, but Cooper still has really solid momentum as we gear up for the cross country national meet. 

18. Liesl Scherrer, Senior, Emory (Unranked)

At the UAA XC Championships, Liesl Scherrer did everything we could have expected from her and more. On that stage, she finished runner-up behind teammate and our TSR #6 runner, Brigid Hanley.

While the Emory backend scorers had a tougher day and the Eagles fell to 4th as a team, the progress that Scherrer has made is something they can hang their hats on this postseason.

We knew she would be a key contributor, and her 12th-place finish in the Paul Short Run “White” race seemed to confirm that, but beating top-20 name Janie Cooper at their conference meet gives us confidence that Scherrer can be much more than that. A top-half All-American finish is not only in the realm of possibility for her, but it looks highly realistic at this point. 

17. Olivia Pisacano, Senior, RPI (-2 / 15)

One of the more consistent runners in the country this year, Olivia Pisacano has only lost to one opponent who currently sits outside of our top-20: Kayla Werner, who is in our “Just Missed” section and has been ranked for the majority of the season. 

Now, it wasn't the most encouraging sign that she was 40 seconds behind 2nd-place teammate Jules Bleskoski in her 3rd-place Liberty League XC Championships finish. But Pisacano hung on well enough to beat everybody who she was supposed to beat. There's something to be said for reliability and a high floor, even if her last showing didn't necessarily wow us.

16. Stephanie Ager, Junior, Wesleyan (-3 / 13)

With Wesleyan sitting out most of their top runners at the Connecticut College Invitational, there was a four-week hiatus in which we did not see Stephanie Ager race. In her return at the NESCAC XC Championships, she was solid in earning a 3rd-place finish. 

The reason we have her dropping a few spots is because it was a distant 3rd, almost 30 seconds back from the battle between Audrey Maclean (TSR #2) and Keira Rogan (TSR #8) for gold.

Still, Ager fended off everybody else to avoid dropping any further. She should be seen as a highly dangerous individual at this point in the season. 

15. Kate Sanderson, Junior, MIT (+5 / 20)

After dropping to our TSR #20 spot following a disappointing day at the Connecticut College Invitational, Kate Sanderson looked much more like herself at the NEWMAC XC Championships. She took the individual win, as MIT nearly completed a scoring sweep with only Coast Guard star Claire Semerod breaking it up. 

Despite some questions about consistency, we know what Sanderson's upside is. When firing on all cylinders, she is one of the best distance runners in Division Three and this rankings placement could be underselling that.

14. Sydney Rankin, Senior, Colorado College (+3 / 17)

The SCAC XC Championships saw Sydney Rankin take the individual conference title by three seconds over teammate Isabel Olson (TSR #7). In fact, the pack behind those two was all teammates, as the Tigers swept the top-six spots. 

We don't want to over-analyze that result. Even though Rankin beat a top-10 name, the stakes were pretty low in what essentially became a team time trial. 

If she can repeat a similar feat at the West Regional XC Championships with names like Riley Buese and Kenzie Seymour in the mix, we'll have to start thinking about her as a serious top-10 threat nationally. 

13. Paige Anderson, Senior, Kalamazoo (+3 / 16)

We figured that Paige Anderson would be able to take home her conference title, but to see that prediction become a reality was reassuring for Kalamazoo’s breakout senior star.

Although her conference isn’t necessarily known for distance running dominance, Anderson took care of a strong Calvin duo, one of whom resides in our "Just Missed" category and one of whom resides in our "Honorable Mentions" category.

At her regional meet, Anderson should place 2nd (behind only Faith Duncan) as a formality before truly testing herself on the national stage.

12. Riley Buese, Senior, Lewis & Clark (+2 / 14)

Seeing this Lewis & Clark standout take home the title at the NWC XC Championship was hardly a surprise. Riley Buese's race schedule hasn’t allowed her to take on many competitive fields outside of D3 Pre-Nationals, which her ranking is largely based on. She was in very good company when she placed 6th there.

Frankly, Buese’s upcoming West regional meet may be her toughest test yet. The women who she’ll race there are anything but a pushover, even for a talent like herself.

11. Deyanneira Colon Maldonado, Senior, Aurora (+1 / 12)

This two-time All-American unsurprisingly cruised to an NACC individual title by a healthy margin of over 30 seconds. Her top-five finishes at D3 Pre-Nationals and the Augustana Interregional Invitational are sufficient to maintain a spot well within our rankings.

Deyanneira Colon Maldonado should enter the national meet on a two-race win streak unless we see Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel of U. of Chicago return in strong form for the Midwest Regional XC Championships.

10. Kenzie Seymour, Sophomore, UC Santa Cruz (+1 / 11)

Has not competed since our last rankings update.

9. Haley Schoenegge, Sophomore, Vassar (+10 / 19)

This Vassar star broke the tape at the Liberty League XC Championships ahead of Paul Short “White” race champion Jules Bleskoski. A confidence boost like that was just what Haley Schoenegge needed following a 4th-place finish at the Connecticut College Invitational that left a bit to be desired. 

Schoenegge has been all over our top-20, but for now, this feels like an appropriate spot for her. With eight of our top-20 names in this rankings update hailing from the Northeast, she has gone up against really strong competition and has fared quite well overall.

8. Keira Rogan, Freshman, Hamilton (+2 / 10)

Keira Rogan is not supposed to be this good this early on in her career. This is her first cross country season ever, collegiately or at the prep level, so get used to seeing her in our rankings.

She was already having a spectacular season, but her performance at the NESCAC XC Championships was her best run yet. A runner-up finish under two seconds behind Audrey Maclean (TSR #2) is hands down incredible.

We only keep Rogan further back in our rankings from Maclean since she was slightly less excellent (but still placed 7th) in a large Paul Short Run field. That effort makes us wary of how the upcoming national meet field could impact this still-inexperienced rookie.

7. Isabel Olson, Senior, Colorado College (0 / 7)

Colorado College has several key components (and All-American candidates) on their breakout TSR #2 team. But Isabel Olson has been the most consistently impressive of the Tigers.

She was their lead scorer in their breakout John McNichols Invitational effort, beating every Division Three woman aside from Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel. She then bolstered her big-meet resume further by winning the Augustana Interregional Invitational last month before most recently finishing as the conference runner-up behind a teammate.

Sure, that silver medal ties Olson's "worst" effort against D3 competition this fall, but she lost to another top-half All-American favorite in what may not have been an all-out effort as her team cruised to victory. Olson neither helped nor hurt her top-10 standing in our rankings with that result. Thus, she stays put at TSR #7.

6. Brigid Hanley, Senior, Emory (+3 / 9)

She may have been the highest-ranked woman competing, but Brigid Hanley deserves commendation for winning the UAA individual title. She controlled a deep field devoid of a superstar counterpart en route to a second win in a row.

Hanley has looked quite sharp since a 6th-place finish in the Paul Short Run "White" race that seemed just a couple of spots behind where she could have been at her best. If her 8th-place finish at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships during her first year at the Division Three level was her starting point, what might she be capable of later this month?

5. Jules Bleskoski, Sophomore, RPI (0 / 5)

While we expected Jules Bleskosi to win the Liberty League individual title earlier this month, we're exercising some patience in keeping her at TSR #5.

She lost to an uber-talented individual, Haley Schoenegge, who's now also in our top-10, but has been less consistent. Bleskoski still finished as the Liberty League runner-up a year after finishing 13th at the same meet last year, helping her team to a conference title.

Since shocking the nation by winning the Paul Short Run "White" race over several top-10 names, Bleskosi has lost only to Schoenegge and Penelope Greene (both of whom she beat at the Paul Short Run).

If Bleskoski carries that still-stellar form into the national meet, then a top-10 finish seems likely. And if she can replicate the star power that she flashed at the Paul Short Run, then the ceiling for what she can achieve feels limitless.

4. Hannah Preisser, Junior, Carleton (+2 / 6)

We still haven't seen Hannah Preisser compete against top-flight Division Three competition, but we don't have any reason to question her status as a top name.

After all, she was the lead scorer for the NCAA team champions last fall and has looked even sharper this season in winning four of the five races that she's run and not yet losing to any D3 women.

Most recently, that meant winning her first MIAC title by outdueling St. Olaf's All-American candidates, Alison Bode and Lauren Walda, for the third time this season. Among the women in our top-10, Preisser feels like one of the safest bets to finish in this range at the NCAA XC Championships.

3. Penelope Greene, Senior, SUNY Geneseo (0 / 3)

In her two races since she placed 4th in the Paul Short Run "White" race, Penelope Greene has looked more like the runner who we pegged as our preseason TSR #1.

The bigger statement was winning the Mike Woods Invitational on her home course. Of course, winning the Empire 8 individual title (and helping her team to a perfect score) this month during her first year in the conference was a nice way to begin her final postseason on the grass.

2. Audrey Maclean, Sophomore, Middlebury (0 / 2)

Audrey Maclean did what was expected of her at the NESCAC XC Championships, winning a second nationally competitive meet in a row after taking gold at the Connecticut College Invitational last month.

Maclean narrowly fended off NESCAC runner-up Keira Rogan to maintain her status as the nation's top underclassman and beat another ranked name in Stephanie Ager in order to obtain her conference crown.

After cementing herself as a national title threat with a 2nd-place finish at the Paul Short Run, Maclean has won two relatively loaded races by varying margins, which may bode well for her prospects of winning an unpredictable individual race at the cross country national meet.

1. Faith Duncan, Junior, Wilmington (OH) (0 / 1)

Faith Duncan has continued to largely fly under the radar since her statement win at D3 Pre-Nationals. She remains unbeaten through six races in her first Division Three cross country season after winning the OAC XC Championships.

Duncan won her conference title by over a minute and a half and is the de facto favorite (perhaps even the favorite over the field?) to win NCAA gold on the grass six months after shocking the nation by winning the 5k national title.

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ADDED

Liesl Scherrer (Emory)

Olivia Warr (Washington & Lee)

KICKED OFF

Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel (U. of Chicago)

Kayla Werner (Lynchburg)

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel (U. of Chicago)

Kayla Werner (Lynchburg)

Riley Capuano (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps)

Lexi Fernandez (MIT)

Flora Biro (Amherst)

Rachel Brennan (Gordon)

Allison Dell (Lynchburg)

Carter Brotherton (Johns Hopkins)

Peyton Steffen (Central College)

Sophie Bull (Calvin)

Lily Monnett (DePauw)

Claire Semerod (Coast Guard)

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)

Elisabeth Camic (U. of Chicago)

Lilly Fowler-Conner (SUNY Geneseo)

Lauren Walda (St. Olaf)

Breanna Schmitt (George Fox)

Emma Odle (Augustana (Ill.))

Jenna Allman (Calvin)

Alison Mueller-Hickler (Colorado College)

Sarah Scarborough (Otterbein)

Lauren Iagnemma (Case Western)

Tamar Byl-Brann (Williams)

Sophie McManus (Carleton)

Adriana Catalano (Johns Hopkins)

Amelia Lehman (UW-Oshkosh)

Addy Parrott (Central College)

Christina Crow (MIT)

Gillian Roeder (MIT)

Notes

- N/A