TSR's 2024 Preseason NAIA XC Top 25 Individual Rankings (Women)

Marissa Kuik
Aug 6, 2024
7 min read

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to our preseason NAIA individual cross country rankings! Like we mentioned in our rankings rubric from earlier this summer, we're making a go at offering NAIA content this year (and ideally beyond). Of course, our team is still very small, fairly new and one writer is also contributing to our D2 crew.

While these rankings won't be quite as in-depth as you would see for our D1, D2 or D3 lists, we still wanted to put together preseason orders and offer some analysis along the way. And for the sake of editing time / sticking to our content schedule, I asked our writers to adopt our "two sentences or less" rule for analysis.

Let's dive in, shall we?

NOTE: TSR has done extensive research, checked for updated rosters, counted seasons on TFRRS and even reached out to a large handful of coaches. While we put forth our best efforts, it is possible that certain athletes may return or not return this fall despite some evidence suggesting otherwise.

25. Hannah Brown, Senior, Milligan

Brown truthfully had a tough year on the track, but she still made a huge jump in the fall by finishing 20th at the cross country national meet. That, in turn, leaves us feeling confident that she will come back stronger than ever in the next few months.

24. Rebekah Niednagel, Junior, The Master’s

After making a huge jump to 23rd place at last year’s national meet, Rebekah Niednagel's momentum could theoretically carry over to this fall. If that happens, then we could see an even more complete cross country season from The Master's standout.

23. Audrey Brinkruff, Senior, Taylor

There is definitely a lot of experience behind Audrey Brinkruff who has finished as an All-American before, including a 14th place finish at the 2022 cross country national meet. Following a great track season, Brinkruff should be right there with the best of the NAIA as she works to build back to her peak fall form.

22. Elke Wijkmans, Senior, Cumberlands (KY)

Making her debut for Cumberlands (KY) on the track, Elke Wijkmans made a splash, running personal best times of 17:17 in the 5k and 36:34 in the 10k. History suggests that someone with those times will ride that wave of momentum onto the cross country course.

21. Heather Durrant, Sophomore, Cumberlands (KY)

Even though she focuses on the race walk during the track seasons, Heather Durrant knows how to run well on the grass. That, of course, is backed up by her 30th place finish at the cross country national meet and a promising 17:49 (5k) PR.

20. Maddy Walter-Sherretts, Rs. Senior, SCAD Savannah

Transferring to SCAD Savannah from St. Mary (KS), Maddy Walter-Sherretts will look to improve upon her 32nd placement at the cross country national meet. Thankfully, after a very strong 7th place finish in the steeplechase at the outdoor national meet, her still-high (and maybe more refined) fitness leads us to believe that she will do exactly that.

19. Kate Madsen, Senior, St. Mary (KS)

Despite running a big-time PR of 35:38 in the 10k this past spring, Kate Madsen had a tough go around at the outdoor national meet. Even so, we’re not worried about Madsen who was very reliable throughout the entirety of last fall and finished 22nd at last year’s cross country national meet.

18. Emma Timmermans, Senior, Hope International

After this past track season, Emma Timmermans showed a lot of range, running respectable PRs of 2:21 (800), 4:35 (1500) and 17:14 (5k). After a season where she was quietly consistent, we feel like this Hope International veteran has all of the tools to build on her 19th place finish from the cross country national meet.

17. Ahna Neideck, Rs. Senior, Taylor

She may have finished only 70th at the cross country national meet, but that finish does not represent the talent that Ahna Neideck brings to the table. After her exceptional runner-up finish in the steeplechase at the outdoor national meet and proven success in larger meets during the 2023 regular season, we're confident in what this Taylor ace can do in 2024.

16. Noel VanderWall, Junior, Taylor

Noel VanderWall finished 3rd at the indoor national meet (mile), 6th at the outdoor national meet (1500) and her range allowed her to finish in 31st place finish at the cross country national meet. But believe it or not, her regular season throughout last fall suggested that she is actually much better than that latter result would imply.

15. Hasnae Goulamzi, Sophomore, N/A

*NOTE: Hasnae Goulamzi is not expected to return to Texas Wesleyan this fall, although it is possible that she has transferred and will race elsewhere. Her status for this fall remains unclear.

Though Hasnae Goulamzi didn't have the best showing at the indoor or outdoor national meets, but she does have a personal best time of 17:05 over 5000 meters. This is also someone who got better as the 2023 cross country season progressed, peaking in the postseason en route to an 18th place finish at the NAIA XC Championships.

14. Mercy Chebet, Junior, Goshen

Making a name for herself in the distance events is Mercy Chebet who placed 3rd at the indoor national meet in the 5k and then 5th at the outdoor national meet in the same race. We feel confident that the overall fitness of this Goshen star has advanced past her 34th placement from the 2023 cross country national meet and was briefly reflected in a few other results from last fall.

13. Sanae Hasnaoui, Freshman, Cumberlands (KY)

Although this Moroccan distance talent does not have many results on the grass, she does have personal best times of 2:07 over 800 meters and 4:23 for 1500 meters. On paper, those marks (specifically the latter) make her a very good bet to also be fast on the grass even if she has to move up in distance.

12. Ellen-Mary Kearney, Junior, Milligan

Part of one of the most competitive teams in the NAIA, Ellen-Mary Kearney will making her bid for another top-25 finish on the national stage later this fall. Remember, this is someone who finished as high as 8th at the national meet in 2022, meaning that her ceiling likely extends beyond our TSR #12 spot.

11. Suzie Johnson, Junior, The Master’s

What makes Suzie Johnson’s 13th placement at last year’s cross country national meet so impressive is that it was her first time racing on that stage. But even more so, Johnson is at her best racing the 800 meters, effectively giving her some of the best range in the entire country among NAIA talents.

10. Jayne Halterman, Freshman, Taylor

Even though she is a true freshman, Jayne Halterman is in the top-10 of our rankings (and this may be underselling her) because of her borderline elite high school resume. Not only did she run times of 10:44 (3200) and 17:01 (5k XC), but she was also the 7th place finisher at the Foot Locker XC National Championships!

9. Alauna Carstens, Junior, Evergreen State

Finishing 14th at last year’s cross country national meet, Alauna Carstens also improved on her track season, running a time of 17:11 (5k) and finishing 7th in that event at the outdoor national meet. The Evergreen State junior was super consistent throughout last fall and even thrived during her first collegiate season at major D2 meets when she ran for Saint Martin's.

8. Anna Martin, Senior, N/A*

*NOTE: Anna Martin is not expected to return to Huntington this fall, although it is possible that she has transferred and will race elsewhere. Her status for this fall remains unclear.

Though we didn't see Anna Martin on the track in 2024, she still managed a 9:55 (3k) time in December after coming off of an 11th place finish at the cross country national meet. Her lack of racing is a bit concerning, but it's hard to forget that Martin was also the 2023 Crossroads League cross country individual champion after beating Mollie Gamble.

7. Riley Hiebert, Senior, St. Mary (KS)

Even though Riley Hiebert finished in "only" 24th place at the 2023 cross country national meet, she had an incredible spring campaign, finishing 4th place in the steeplechase at the outdoor national meet. With tons of experience and outstanding regular season results (i.e. Cowboy Jamboree and Blazing Tiger) last fall, we feel plenty comfortable ranking the Spire ace at this spot.

6. Alyssa Bearzi, Rs. Junior, Milligan

The return of Alyssa Bearzi is not only exciting after we missed her last year, but for those who need a reminder of her fantastic resume, she has also won two individual national titles, including one on the grass. Of course, all of this assumes that she will even return to competition at all, a cautionary aspect that had us place her at TSR #6.

5. Kahea Figueira, Senior, College of Idaho

Coming in with tons of range is Kahea Figueira who usually thrives in the middle distance events, but is also coming off of a 7th place finish at the cross country national meet. That was definitely the best result of her 2023 fall campaign, but the rest of her resume from that season was good enough to justify her being a top-five name going into the fall of 2024.

4. Sage Martin, Senior, College of Idaho

It feels like Sage Martin should be the clear favorite for the individual cross country title after a 3rd place finish at last year's national meet. However, there are some unanswered questions for Martin given her lack of racing on the track this past season.

3. Reagan Hiebert, Senior, St. Mary (KS)

Ongoing improvements was the biggest thing that we saw out of Reagan Hiebert this past track season as she ran personal bests in every event. Expect her to replicate the entire brilliance of her 2023 fall campaign which featured top finishes at major meets, including the NAIA XC Championships where she took 6th place.

2. Hannah Fredericks, Senior, The Master’s

After a top-10 performance at the 2023 cross country national meet, Hannah Fredericks ran one of the best 10,000-meter times in all of the NAIA (34:09). Pairing those accolades with four individual wins last fall makes this Mustang star plenty deserving of our TSR #2 spot.

1. Alina Boshchuk, Sophomore, Cumberlands (KY)

After running one of the fastest 5k times during the indoor track season (16:58) and now emerging as the reigning 10k national champion, it is hard to bet against Alina Boshchuk for the national individual title this fall. She is riding the most momentum out of anyone on this list and we don't see why that would stop going into September, October and November.