.png)
TSR's 2026 Preseason D1 XC Top 50 Rankings: Just Missed & Honorable Mentions (Women)
Here we go. Our 2026 men's and women's preseason individual cross country rankings. Let's start with our "Just Missed" and "Honorable Mention" names. As a reminder, our "Just Missed" section and "Honorable Mentions" section only include 10 names, each.
As a reminder, you can find our ranking rubric here. This week will feature our D1 rankings while next week will be our D2 and D3 rankings. Let's begin...
JUST MISSED (in no particular order)
Erin Vringer, Senior, Utah
We will admit, this was a very challenging name to leave out of our rankings.
Throughout the fall of 2024 and parts of 2025, Erin Vringer found her way in and out of our top-50 lists. The Utah veteran wasn't always in star form, but when she was at her peak, she was incredibly difficult to take down.
Take, for instance, last year's Nuttycombe Invite. In the most competitive cross country race of the season (outside of the NCAA XC Championships), Vringer put together an incredible 12th place result. That low-stick performance suggested that she was an All-American favorite.
Not only that, but Vringer also took 59th place at the cross country national meet last fall. Sure, that's not an All-American finish, but based on returners, it would be reasonable to suggest that she is a top-50 name going into this fall. That's especially true given that she ripped off a brilliant 8:48 (3k) PR on the indoor oval this past winter!
The challenge, however, is that Vringer's other performances left us wanting more. A 32nd place finish at the Gans Creek Classic wasn't bad, but it wasn't great, either. It's a similar story for her 20th place finish at the BIG 12 XC Championships which simply had the potential to be better.
At her absolute best, Vringer is definitively a top-50 runner, but it's impossible to overlook her other not-so-great results when considering the entirety of her resume. For now, she'll reside in our "Just Missed" section...but we may end up regretting that.
Desma Chepkoech, Sophomore, Florida
There is a very, very strong argument to be had that Florida's Desma Chepkoech deserves to be listed in our preseason top-50 rankings. Part of that is because she was fantastic in her first real test against NCAA competition last fall at the Gans Creek Classic where she secured a brilliant 10th place finish.
However, that potent low-stick performance would only take her so far. A 10th place finish at the SEC XC Championships was also strong, but it wasn't quite as impressive as what she had shown earlier in the season. And at the NCAA XC Championships, Chepkoech struggled a ton, fading back to 184th place overall.
Like Vringer, the very best version of Chepkoech is incredibly dangerous. The Gator sophomore holds star-caliber fitness and she proved herself on more than just one occasion last fall. However, with limited results, a poor national meet outing and an uneventful year on the oval, it's hard to justify ranking her over more established women.
Of course, if these rankings were purely about raw talent and nothing else, than Chepkoech would almost certainly be listed as a top-50 runner.
Judy Rono, Sophomore, New Mexico
One of the single-most underrated distance runners in the NCAA, both middle and long, is New Mexico's Judy Rono. Despite being an 800-meter and 1500-meter runner on the oval, the rising Lobo sophomore has proven to be incredibly strong on the grass as well.
Sure, a 37th place finish at last year's Nuttycombe Invite doesn't necessarily scream "top-50 runner in the NCAA." It did, however, spark a subtle hot streak for the remainder of Rono's 2025 fall campaign.
The New Mexico talent went on to take bronze at the Mountain West XC Championships before taking 5th place at the Mountain Regional XC Championships. And when the cross country national meet came around, Rono had her best race of the season, snagging a 49th place effort (just nine spots out from All-American honors).
We can admit that Rono's resume is a bit limited when it comes to performances that deserve a top-50 preseason ranking. Even so, it's not like this dynamic Lobo truly struggled last year. Plus, she very clearly peaked in the postseason -- and that should matter.
We still need to see more complete efforts and performances from Rono before she can be ranked. Even so, she is someone who should be on your radar going into these fall months.
Keira Moore, Senior, Northern Arizona
We'll admit, Keira Moore was probably one of the toughest names to gauge and analyze when it came to our "Just Missed" and "Honorable Mentions" section. And no, it's not like we don't believe in her talent -- we very much do -- but we also don't always know what we're going to get out of her.
Last fall, for instance, she took 116th place at the Nuttycombe Invite and 22nd place at the Mountain Regional XC Championships. Put simply, those performances just aren't good...at all. And if you look at her results on the track, her efforts are all over the place as well.
And yet, it's impossible to ignore the fact that Moore has been a two-time top-60 finisher at the last two NCAA XC Championships! The NAU runner took 57th at that meet last fall and was the 60th place finisher the year before. All of that leads us to an important question: Who cares about her consistency (or lack thereof) as long as she delivers on the national stage?
Moore has not yet proven that she can be an All-American. She also needs to put together a way more complete season to be considered as a top-50 cross country runner in the NCAA. Even so, this Lumberjack veteran shows up when it matters the most, and that has to mean something as we craft these rankings.
Anna McNatt, Senior, Princeton
We are very big fans of Anna McNatt at The Stride Report. We think she is super consistent and often holds her against major competition. Sure, she didn't always face the most elite names in the NCAA, but it's not like she was able to cruise through her schedule, either.
Last fall, McNatt took 39th place at the Gans Creen Classic. And while that was a solid result, it didn't necessarily signal what she would do later in the season. From there, the Princeton product earned an outstanding runner-up finish behind All-American Morgan Nokes at the sneaky-good Princeton Fall Classic before earning individual gold at the Ivy League XC Championships!
McNatt would end her season with a 67th place effort at the NCAA XC Championships. It was a strong result, maybe even a "great" result, but we also knew that she held greater upside than that. Regardless, her ability to consistently hold her own on a variety of different stages while taking home a conference win (even during a weak year for the Ivy League) deserves recognition.
We're still waiting for McNatt to truly take that next step before we can call her an All-American favorite -- a status that she's probably not ready to assume...yet. That, of course, could very easily change in the coming months.
Mildred Rono, Junior, Alabama
I'll just be blunt: We don't really know where to put (or how to rank) Mildred Rono. That is mainly because Mildred Rono has never competed in the NCAA before...but she could be incredible when her time as a collegian concludes.
That is because Rono has joined Alabama from Hutchinson CC where she earned individual gold at the NJCAA XC Championships last fall! And while her track times of 9:26 (3k) and 16:41 (5k) don't necessarily support her being a top-50 name in the country, that may not matter -- her prowess on the grass is far too great to overlook.
Here's the thing: Some individual NJCAA cross country champions end up being NCAA superstars (or at the very least, All-Americans). Women such as Hilda Olemomoi, Everlyn Kemboi and Adva Cohen are just a few examples. Of course, for each of those future Division One standouts, there are others who simply never translate their success to the NCAA.
That is ultimately why we're putting Mildred Rono in our "Just Missed" section. She could be elite as soon as this fall, or she could be a non-factor when it comes to individual All-American contention. Only time will tell which is the case.
Rose Mburu, Sophomore, Southern Methodist
When talking about underrated cross country runners, Rose Mburu feels like a great name to highlight. Maybe it's because she was brand new to the NCAA last year. Maybe it's because Southern Methodist just recently joined a Power Conference. Maybe it's because her regular season races weren't exactly stacked.
But whatever the reason is, Mburu deserves a nod of respect, especially as we try to craft which names deserve to be mentioned in this series of articles.
Last fall, Mburu first caught our attention by placing 6th at the Cowboy Jamboree. Sure, that was far from being a loaded meet, but taking down names such as Billah Jepkirui, Jacey Farmer, Lexi Goff, Doricah Minsari Isoe, Nelah Roberts, Taylor Lovell and more demanded massive respect. The same could be said for her 4th place run at the Arturo Barrios Invite where she fell only to Elizabeth Khatevi, Angelina Perez and Jadyn Keeler.
The ACC XC Championships, however, was the first hiccup of Mburu's season as she faded to 24th place. It was a result that tempered our expectations for the Mustang rookie going into the remainder of the postseason.
And maybe that is why her 6th place finish at the South Central Regional XC Championships and her 63rd place result at the NCAA XC Championships felt so strong. It also helped that she was only a freshman last fall.
Mburu clearly proved last fall that she could hold her own and be a nationally competitive name. She was very good as a freshman and should only get better in 2026 with a year of experience under her belt. And yet, at the same time, Mburu faltered at the ACC XC Championships -- her first BIG test of last fall -- didn't necessarily take down any highly notable names.
Trying to reconcile all of that meant putting this SMU sophomore in the "Just Missed" section of our rankings.
Safarina Kibet, Freshman, Oklahoma
When it comes to these rankings, Safarina Kibet is a major wild card for us. Put simply, we have no idea what to expect from the incoming Oklahoma freshman. Of course, we said the same thing about fellow Sooners Domtila Cheruto and Leah Jeruto, and they have turned out to be pretty darn good.
Kibet owns a head-turning 32:18 mark that she recorded over 10,000 meters. Although, truthfully, we're not sure if that is a conversion or an actual raw time. That said, she also took 21st place at the Kenyan XC Championships back in October of 2025, just four spots out from Clemson ace, Nancy Cherop.
Those two results suggest that Kibet could be roughly as good as Domtila Cheruto, a 10,000-meter national qualifier from this past spring. And with that kind of raw, immense talent under her legs, one has to view her as a top All-American threat for later this fall...right?
That may be true, and we may end up regretting putting her here. But until we learn more and get a greater understanding of her resume, it feels safer to put this Oklahoma freshman in our "Just Missed" section.
Jacey Farmer, Senior, Duke
Sure, Jacey Farmer had moments of promise on the grass during her time with the BYU women. Last fall, she took 8th at the Cowboy Jamboree and 7th at Pre-Nationals -- two very solid results that hinted at top-50 ranking potential.
But more importantly, Farmer was simply brilliant on the indoor oval this past winter. In what was a massive breakout season, Farmer clocked monster times of 8:52 (3k) and 15:24 (5k), elevating her fitness to an entirely new level.
Based on all of that, one would have to believe that she was a top-50 cross country runner going into the 2026 season...right?
Well, the catch is that Farmer dropped to 19th place at the BIG 12 XC Championships, faded even further to 42nd place at the Mountain Regional XC Championships and didn't even compete at the NCAA XC Championships. We also need to recognize that she competed once on the outdoor oval this past spring before being shut down for the season.
When you realize that Farmer has never competed at the cross country national meet, struggled in the fall postseason and didn't race this past spring, you can begin to see why we're a bit more hesitant to place her in our top-50 rankings for the preseason.
Tatum David, Rs. Junior, Virginia
Once a high school superstar who previously dealt with bouts of bad injury luck, Tatum David is seemingly on a hot streak right now. And in the fall of 2026, she could take another step towards earning her first All-American honor.
The fall of 2025 was when we began to see David's pedigree fully translate to the NCAA. Her 15th place finish at the loaded Gans Creek Classic was incredibly encouraging, especially given the talent that was in that field. The challenge, however, is that her 31st place finish at the Panorama Farms Invitational led to far greater concerns.
Funny enough, David's 17th place finish at the ACC XC Championships was the perfect "in between" result of her two regular season efforts. It wasn't great, but it was hardly poor. Thankfully for the UVA ace, David ended her fall campaign with a strong and solid 61st place effort on the national stage.
Admittedly, those kinds of performances likely put David closer to our "Honorable Mentions" section rather than our "Just Missed" category. Of course, we still have to consider the fact that David made massive strides on the oval this past winter and spring, clocking blistering-fast times of 4:06 (1500), 4:28 (mile) and 15:49 (5k).
David is very clearly more fit than she was this time last year, but...exactly how much more fit? She's proven she can hold her own on crowded stages, but other cross country left us wanting more before we can put her among the top-50 names in the nation for later this fall.
HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)
Mia Cochran, Rs. Senior, Washington
Gillian Bushee, Senior, Virginia
Bieke Schipperen, Senior, Florida State
Fancy Chepkoech, Freshman, Penn State
Abbey Nechanicky, Junior, Colorado
Edna Chepkemoi, Junior, LSU
Jessie Secor, Senior, Colorado
Brighter Jepchumba, Sophomore, Eastern Kentucky
Annastasia Peters, Senior, Utah
Rose Coats, Senior, Maryland
Quick Notes & Key Omissions
While Duke's Stephanie Moss has competed in four NCAA cross country seasons, one of those seasons (2020) did not count towards her eligibility. And yet, despite theoretically having one season of eligibility remaining, Moss is not listed on the Blue Devils' 2026 roster.
While Boise State's Kaiya Robertson was listed as a sophomore in last year's TFFRS results, her profile suggests that she has competed in four different cross country championship seasons. As such, we are led to believe that she has expired her eligibility and is not competing this fall.
