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TSR's 2024 Preseason D3 XC Top 10 Team Rankings (Women): Just Missed & Honorable Mentions
- Conor Daly
- Sep 3, 2024
- 10 min read
Written by Conor Daly, edits & additional commentary via Gavin Struve & Garrett Zatlin
NOTE: Earlier this summer, The Stride Report reached out to nearly every team that was considered for a possible ranking this summer. While we did receive numerous responses and great clarity, we did not get a 100% response rate. On certain occasions, we are referencing TFFRS in order to talk about returners and athletes who are out of eligibility.
Just Missed (in no particular order)
George Fox Bruins
In 2023, the George Fox women placed 5th at D3 Pre-Nationals, far behind powerhouses like Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, MIT and Williams, but ahead of numerous other competitive programs. The Bruins continued a solid string of results at their conference and regional meets before going on to finish 19th at the NCAA XC Championships.
With such a strong group of women returning, including the Bruins’ top four runners from the national meet, it’s easy to project this group to be much better this year.
Leading the charge once again is Kayla Aalpoel, who sits at TSR #13 in our preseason individual rankings. The then-sophomore placed 9th at D3 Pre-Nationals, 5th at the West Regional XC Championships and 25th at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships. That run on the national stage marked Aalpoel's second All-American finish on the grass, a feat that not many returners can boast.
It was concerning that we only saw Aalpoel race on the track once this year, as her availability is paramount to the team’s success. That being said, her past two cross country seasons were simply too good to brush aside, and we anticipate that she'll be healthy this fall.
Next in line on this team is one of Division Three’s premier middle distance talents, Ellie Rising, who has run fantastic marks of 2:09 (800) and 4:26 (1500). But don’t let her speed distract you from the fact that she is a very strong cross country runner as well.
Rising's fall 2023 season featured runs of 29th at D3 Pre-Nationals, 11th at the West Regional XC Championships and 76th at the NCAA XC Championships. She, too, could be an All-American come November.
There’s also Breanna Schmitt, another name who we feel confident about. She was the team’s third runner at the national meet, placing 150th, just one week after finishing 14th at the West Regional XC Championships, which was arguably a better performance.
Sarah Pullen and Jessie Bailey project to close out the scoring. The former finished right with Schmitt early in the season, placing 43rd at D3 Pre-Nationals and 6th at the Northwest Conference XC Championships before ending her cross country season early.
Bailey, 29th at the West Regional XC Championships and 188th at the NCAA XC Championships, has also had some inconsistencies of her own, as she has not raced on the track in 2024. But both she and Pullen have a solid baseline to build from.
If all of the women who we just named were to be at their best, this would certainly be a top-10 team. Even so, given some of the uncertainties and a lack of depth beyond these five individuals, we must tread lightly when projecting this team too favorably.
Middlebury Panthers
It was thrilling to watch Middlebury’s star, Audrey Maclean, break onto the Division Three scene last year as only a freshman. She was phenomenal, taking home numerous top-three finishes in some of Division Three’s best fields before concluding her season with a 10th-place run at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships.
Maclean proceeded to be just as good on the track, running 10:30 (steeple) and 16:52 (5k). In the end, she was an easy choice for our TSR #3 individual ranking entering the season.
Fortunately for the Panthers, Maclean figures to be around for many more years and is the perfect name to build a program around.
It also works out that this team returns their top six scorers from last year’s cross country national meet. Yes, the Middlebury women did place 21st there (which left something to be desired), but with so much talent returning, it looks probable that they will improve upon that finish by a good margin.
Following Maclean was the underappreciated Bea Parr. Between her 7th-place finish at the Mideast Regional XC Championships and 75th-place finish at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships, Parr has posted a number of strong results. She's in a position to end up with All-American honors in November if things go her way this fall.
After that duo, though, things get a bit more foggy for this Middlebury program.
The rest of the Panthers’ varsity returners were outside of the top-180 at the national meet. And while that’s not overly encouraging, there are other signs that suggest they are better than what they showed that day.
Kate Ratcliffe placed 21st at the 2023 NESCAC XC Championships, and Victoria Fawcett is a sub-18:00 (5k) runner who got a late start last cross country season, seemingly due to injury. Both of those women will likely be much better by this November.
There’s also incoming freshman Mary Cestaro, who has ran 10:18 (3k). It’s not unreasonable to suggest that she could be ready to jump into this lineup and score for the Panthers even as they return so much.
Ultimately, Middlebury will only be able to jump into our top-10 if they can develop more scoring stability to assist Maclean and Parr. An experienced returning core gives them a chance to do so.
Central College Dutch
The Dutch had one of their best years in program history last fall when they placed 9th at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships. That was thrilling to watch, especially with potent low-sticks Caroline McMartin and Megan Johnson leading the way.
That duo was incredible last fall, finishing in the front of some of Division Three’s best fields on a regular basis. McMartin concluded her 2023 season on the grass with a 12th-place finish at the national meet while Johnson was also an All-American in 30th place.
So it was tough news to hear that both of those stars will be absent from the Dutch’s lineup this fall (Johnson is transferring to Oklahoma and McMartin has graduated). The days of relying on those two to give the rest of the lineup some room for error are over.
That’s a harsh reality for this program to deal with.
But that does not mean that the Central College women will not be competitive this year. In fact, they have many pieces that suggest that they could be almost as strong in 2024 as they were in 2023 when they finished in the top-10.
Addy Parrott, who was a cross country All-American last fall, returns to lead this group. She continued a strong junior season on the track, placing 7th in the 3000-meter steeplechase at the outdoor national meet. Her consistency last fall and progress thereafter earned her “Just Missed” credentials in our preseason individual rankings.
Kira Hooper and Leah Bontrager also return from last year’s varsity lineup. The former was the 87th-place finisher at the 2023 cross country national meet, and her long distance marks on the track have only been improving. The latter was a backend contributor in 2023 and will look to make a leap in her fitness to raise the floor of this lineup.
Let’s not forget about rising star Peyton Steffen, either. Although she was not a part of this team’s postseason lineup last fall, she’s made some significant improvements on the track, running 2:12 (800) and 4:29 (1500). And while that fitness is not guaranteed to carry over to the cross country course, her 17:26 (5k) makes us feel better about the chances that it will.
There’s also Teah Miller, a transfer from Luther, who raced in many of the same races as Central College last fall. She tended to finish around Parrott and Hooper, which makes her a huge addition as a probable top-three name for this group.
All of those names make for an encouraging outlook for a new-look Central College team entering this season. That being said, the middle distance-centric nature of many of these women (and the firepower that the Dutch lost) made us hesitant to give them a spot in our top-10 team rankings.
Johns Hopkins Blue Jays
It’s not all that often that you see a team lose their top four runners and enter the next year in a position to fare just as well as they did the year before. Well, that’s exactly the case with the Johns Hopkins women.
Yes, it will hurt that the Blue Jays lose Sara Stephenson, who was an absolute superstar for them the last few years. Stephenson was twice a top-10 finisher at the cross country national meet and was in contention for the win at just about every other race that she ran.
This team will also be without stable second runner and cross country All-American Sarah Conant. That’s not to mention the next two women in line, a pair of 10:15 (3k) runners, Katharine Priu and Jenna Lange, have also graduated.
But there’s no need to lose sleep over what's lost because even amidst these departures, there is hope for this program to match (or even better) their 12th-place finish at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships.
A large part of that is due to two transfers who should have an instant impact on this program.
Fabianna Szorenyi was very strong during her time at Penn, becoming a regular in their cross country varsity lineup by the end of her tenure and scoring at the Ivy League Championships on the track. She holds a newly minted 17:06 (5k) best on the track, which suggests that she could be a potential low-stick for her new team.
The second name is Emma Puetz, formerly of Missouri S&T. On the grass, she placed as high as 13th at the Division Two Midwest Regional XC Championships. On the track, she’s arguably best over the metric mile, holding a 4:36 mark in that event to nicely accompany her 17:27 (5k) credentials.
When it comes to returners, Cooper Brotherton is a true cross country specialist, serving as this group’s steady fifth runner in 2023 and looking to continue working her way up now. Triya Roy, who also competed at the 2023 cross country national meet, should continue to be a contributing factor.
There’s also Izzy Nobili, who enters the season with a 36:00 (10k) performance to her name, and Adriana Catalano who has 17:10 (5k) strength. These track results lead us to believe that both of these women are primed to break out on the cross country course.
To fill out the backend of the lineup, look for middle distance talents Mackenzie Setton or Harrinee Senthilkumar to translate their 4:30 and 4:31 (1500) chops, respectively, to the grass. The 'Jays also have four incoming freshmen with sub-11:10 (3200 meters) marks to their name and the potential to be future stars for this program.
There’s no Sara Stephenson-type low-stick on this team in 2024, but there are definitely some high-end talents. Yes, many of those talents are unproven at the national level on the grass, but that makes their potential upside that much more exciting. This team has perhaps the highest ceiling in our "Just Missed" section.
While this group will look quite different from last year’s, there’s a lot to like about the new look that the Blue Jays will bring this fall.
UW-La Crosse Eagles
Oftentimes overshadowed by the success of their men’s program, the UW-La Crosse women deserve praise of their own.
In 2023, the Eagles won the competitive WIAC XC Championships, placed 3rd at the North Regional XC Championships and 10th at the NCAA XC Championships. Their performance at the "Big Dance," specifically, was an improvement by five places compared to the year prior.
Returning five of their top-seven from last year’s group, this is one of the more stable teams in this section of our rankings. And with many other athletes stepping up on the track, Coach Derek Stanley has a number of strong options this year.
Losing Maddie Hannan and Maddy Vantassel definitely takes away much of the firepower that this team had last year, but Katelyn Chadwick looks up to the task of recouping much of that lost scoring value.
Chadwick was an underrated low-stick last fall, placing 3rd at the WIAC XC Championships, 11th at the North Regional XC Championships and 57th at the NCAA XC Championships. Add in the progress she’s made by running 10:46 in the 3000-meter steeplechase this spring, and she’s favored to be an All-American.
Long distance specialist Madelynn McIntyre looks to follow closely behind Chadwick. The rising senior was a large part of this team’s successes last fall, ending her 2023 season with an 84th-place finish at the NCAA XC Championships. On the track, McIntyre has run 17:33 (5k) and 35:49 (10k), the latter mark showing aerobic capabilities that should shine on the grass.
Kylie Trousil was UW-La Crosse’s fifth runner at the cross country national meet in 133rd place, but she seemingly struggled on the track this year. She’s a crucial part of the lineup, and the Eagles need her to be firing on all cylinders this season.
Close behind her last fall were a pair of middle distance names: Gwen Hinz and Sierra Rabe, who were the 13th and 14th-place finishers at the WIAC XC Championships, respectively. Hinz has run a quick 2:13 (800) while also flexing some nice range with 17:40 (5k) credentials. Rabe, too, has run sub-18:00 (5k) while focusing her efforts towards her 4:35 metric mile chops.
Also part of the sub-18:00 (5k) club are rising sophomores Mallory Reiser and Brooklyn Luebke. Reiser, in particular, is an exciting name considering that she ran 36:19 (10k) after not racing on the track until April. Not only is it impressive to rebound like that after a long stretch without racing, but that level of aerobic fitness is rare to find in a rookie.
If any incoming freshmen have anything to say about the composition of the varsity lineup, it’ll be Kaleigh Burns or Madison Twarling. Burns is a 4:59 (1600) runner while Twarling has run 17:57 over a three-mile cross country course.
With nine names that we listed (and there were others that were difficult to leave out) who we could feasibly see contributing to a successful UW-La Crosse program, depth will not be an issue for this program.
We do wonder whether the Eagles will have enough firepower up front to compete with some of their peers. It’s very plausible that Chadwick or McIntyre steps up to the task as true low-sticks or that the back end of this lineup is much better than expected. In that case, this squad could be a problem for teams outside the state of Wisconsin.
Honorable Mentions (in no particular order)
Calvin Knights
Vassar Brewers
Wartburg Knights
Coast Guard Bears
DePauw Tigers
RPI Engineers
Williams Ephs
