.png)
TSR's 2025 Preseason D2 XC Top 10 Team Rankings (Women): #5 Western Colorado Mountaineers
Written by Brianna Robles, edits & additional commentary via Gavin Struve
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.
Throughout the years, Western Colorado has consistently maintained a formidable presence in Division Two distance running. And when it comes to the 2025 cross country season, we should expect the Mountaineers to continue their proud tradition of excellence.
This roster is full of varsity runners with national-level experience who provide both firepower and stability to the Mountaineers’ lineup. History and pedigree are both on their side and all signs pointing towards notable improvements for this team compared to last fall.
That continuity, aided by the reintroduction of a focal star, makes the Mountaineers well-positioned to continue their upward trajectory and offset the loss of three scorers -- including their lead scorer -- from 2024. Western Colorado has the talent, depth, and drive to challenge for even greater success this season.
* * *
The Western Colorado Mountaineers commenced their 2024 cross country season with a resounding victory at the Mountaineer/Cowboy Open, showcasing their readiness for competition. However, they didn't unveil their full varsity lineup until the Chile Pepper XC Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas where they faced Division One competition.
Their strong performance in that setting was set up by both standout individual finishes and impressive pack-running. Leah Taylor led the Mountaineers with a commendable top-five finish, followed closely by Lauren Willson, who secured 17th place, further establishing the team's star potential and sneaky-good firepower.
They may have liked Peyton Weiss (64th) to be closer to those two, but the Mountaineers' depth looked half-decent with Haley Wood (73rd) and Emma Kjellsen (83rd) closing out the scoring.
All of that added up to a 6th-place finish for the women from Gunnison, Colorado. The only Division Two team to defeat the Mountaineers at the Chile Pepper XC Festival was RMAC rival CSU-Pueblo (4th place), but Western Colorado finished well ahead of a respectable Dallas Baptist team.
The full varsity contingent didn't race again until the 2024 RMAC XC Championships. Although, in the interim, Weiss put forth an impressive 3rd-place run at the 2024 Colorado Springs XC Open.
That proved to be a bit of foreshadowing as Weiss came through in a major way with an RMAC XC Championship runner-up result. Taylor finished 7th, offering supplemental low-stick scoring in a loaded field, and Willson wasn't far behind in 14th place. However, the final two scoring spots -- filled by Wood (38th) and Lacey Kunz (41st) -- held the Mountaineers back a bit, even if those two women ran decently relative to expectations.
The Mountaineers had two other women in the top 50 in Kjellsen and Gretchen Slattum. However, they needed one of those women to bridge the gap to their lead scorers if they hoped to finish higher than 4th, five points behind UC-Colorado Springs and 12 points behind CSU-Pueblo.
On the bright side, Western Colorado came out of that conference meet with three All-American candidates and a high placement in the deepest conference in Division Two. The Mountaineers were also closer to CSU-Pueblo than they were one meet earlier.
The Mountaineers notched another 4th-place finish at the South Central Regional XC Championships. There, they finished behind RMAC rivals Adams State, Colorado Mines (which didn't field a varsity lineup at the RMAC XC Championships) and UC-Colorado Springs. They defeated West Texas A&M and CSU-Pueblo.
Finally, it was time for the Western Colorado women to take to the course in Sacramento, California, for the 2024 NCAA XC Championships. On a dreary, sloppy day, the Mountaineers produced a mixed bag of results.
Taylor fully established herself as a leading talent in Division Two by earning a top-15 All-American finish. Meanwhile, Willson (27th) also secured an All-American accolade. The remaining scorers, however, saw a fairly significant gap open up ahead of them as Weiss (135th), Kjellsen (136th) and Jayda Nix (137th) packed together.
The pack-running those final three women prevented the team score from ballooning, but it was fair for Mountaineer fans to fantasize about how much higher they'd have finished (somewhere in the backend of the top 10) if Weiss had recorded a result closer to her RMAC XC Championship finish.
In the end, Western Colorado settled for a 12th place team performance. It was a fine result, but also one that had the potential to be so much better.
* * *
Let's cut to the chase: Western Colorado is without Leah Taylor in 2025. Despite the presence of three other All-American favorites on this roster, Taylor would be the top returner and the most sure thing in the lineup had she returned.
That said, Coach Jennifer Michel's crew already got a taste of life without Taylor when she transferred to Florida State at the start of the new year. That doesn't make things easier, but this team has been prepared for that new reality.
The Mountaineers also lost Lacey Kunz, their sixth and seventh runners from their 2024 cross country national meet lineup. Haley Wood and Gretchen Slattum, two other key names, are seemingly being redshirted this fall, per TFRRS. Their collective absence means that this team lost some depth and backend scoring insurance.
Losing a veteran low-stick scorer, along with multiple other varsity contributors, would pose as a massive challenge for most programs. For the Mountaineers, however, the presence of four key returners and a standout addition means that they could actually be even better than when we last saw them.
For starters, Peyton Weiss is a major force who is far better than what her 2024 national meet result suggests. Our TSR #16 runner in our preseason individual rankings has already been a top-30 All-American in previous seasons. Plus, her RMAC XC Championship runner-up result indicated that she could be capable of even more than that.
Admittedly, Weiss has been a bit volatile, struggling at the 2024 NCAA XC Championships. She also wasn't as incredible throughout the 2023 cross country season as she was at the national meet that year. Even so, she won't be counted on to lead this team on her own, even though she'll more than likely finish as the first Mountaineer across the line on more than one occasion this fall.
Lauren Willson (TSR #22) is another key returner. She was steady throughout last fall, peaked in the postseason, and then ran a slew of personal bests on the track. All of that leads us to believe that she'll become another lead scoring candidate for this team in 2025 -- and maybe become even better than she was last year.
The most significant addition to this team is a familiar face: our TSR #5 runner, Allison Beasley. The senior's reintroduction to the roster is huge in terms of offsetting Taylor's absence. Beasley sat out last fall, but looked to be in fine form earlier this year, earning a top-five All-American finish in the 3000-meter steeplechase.
Beasley brings a remarkable pedigree, having earned top-30 cross country All-American honors three times (2021, 2022 and 2023). She looked like she hadn't missed a beat in winning a four-kilometer rust buster on September 5th.
Emma Kjellsen and Jayda Nix were top-140 finishers and backend scorers at the 2024 cross country national meet. There's also reason to think that both women could be better. The former was a top-100 finisher at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships who was fit enough to qualify for the 2025 indoor national meet individually, and the latter was just a sophomore last cross country season.
Division One transfers Natalie Kessler (via Michigan State) and Ella Smart (via Tarleton State) add depth, while redshirt freshman Annaka Rudolph was quietly competitive in the Mountaineers' rust-buster earlier this month.
* * *
It may seem like a tall task for the 2025 Mountaineers to exceed their impressive 12th-place finish from the 2024 cross country national meet without their lead scorer from that setting. However, they are undeniably equipped with the firepower and continuity to not only contend for a top position in the RMAC, but also to make a significant leap on the national stage.
Assuming that Beasley and Weiss can be at their best after the former missed last season and the latter has experienced some cross country volatility, they'll give Western Colorado virtually unmatched star power alongside Willson.
The Mountaineers will need solid backend scoring as well as insurance options behind their fourth and fifth runners. However, Nix and Kjellsen are solid returning candidates and Kessler was already their fourth scorer in her Western Colorado debut a week ago.
The Mountaineers' likely scoring potency and potential depth make them a prime podium contender in 2025.
