TSR's "If Everything Was Normal" D2 Top 25 XC Rankings: #20-16 (Women)

As mentioned in our rankings rubric article, we are aware that certain conferences and universities will not be competing this fall due to ongoing concerns surrounding COVID-19. However, for the sake of content, we have constructed these rankings as if a regular cross country season will happen.

20. Alexia Thiros, Senior, Western Colorado

Alexia Thiros -- who joined the Mountaineers last summer after spending time with San Francisco State University -- had a very solid 2019 cross country season which ended with her placing 39th at the national meet to just barely earn All-American honors.

However, one could argue that her performance at the National Championships wasn't even the best result of her 2019 cross country season. The Western Colorado ace placed 11th at the RMAC Championships and went on to finish an even more impressive 6th place at the South Central Regional Championships.

Her performance at the Chile Pepper Festival (25th) could have been a little bit better and her indoor track season was relatively quiet as well. Still, her success from last season speaks for itself and is a major reason why we have her ranked at TSR #20.

19. Kayla Ogle, Sophomore, U-Mary

Ogle was one of the top freshmen in the nation last fall and we were expecting her to continue her improvements in 2020 after finishing 34th at the NCAA Championships last year.

The U-Mary ace had a 2019 season that was highlighted by a very respectable 9th place finish at Roy Griak along with a pair of runner-up performances at both the NSIC Championships and the Central Regional Championships. Those performances led to the rising sophomore securing All-American honors in Sacramento.

Admittedly, her indoor season was a bit underwhelming as she only ran shorter distances such as the 800 meters and mile. Still, this is a up-and-coming talent who has already proven herself on championships stages as a freshman.

Ogle's high ceiling is why we had her at TSR #19 in our preseason rankings.

18. Zoe Jarvis, Senior, Tampa

The Tampa front-runner finished in 245th place at the 2018 National Championships, but she stunned the nation last fall when she seemingly came out of nowhere and improved all the way to 28th place at the national meet, a jump that is almost unheard of.

Jarvis was having a decent cross country season last year, finishing 5th in the quietly competitive Mountain Dew Invitational and later 6th at the FSU Invitational. At both of those meets, Jarvis faced many of the University of Florida's top scorers and beat them. A Sunshine State conference title and a 4th place finish at the South Regional Championships eventually vaulted the Tampa ace into All-American honors.

Jarvis only competed twice on the track last winter, but she did record a respectable new PR of 17:07 in the 5000 meters.

Jarvis would have returned this fall fall with an extensive amount of experience and plenty of momentum. She proved that she could hang with experienced veterans in championship races, but 2020 was going to be a season where we saw just how high her ceiling really was.

17. Natalie Graber, Sophomore, Grand Valley State

One thing that you have to credit Graber and her GVSU teammates with is their consistency. Rarely do they falter in any race they toe the line for which is why we have this rising sophomore at TSR #19.

Last fall, Graber secured a 13th place finish at the Lewis Crossover, a 10th place finish at the GLIAC Championships and a 12th place finish at the NCAA Midwest Region Championships. She ended her season with a 32nd place at the national meet, a result that was right on par with what we saw from her during the regular season.

However, what really gives Graber's resume a boost is her results on the track. The GVSU runner posted solid times on the indoor oval last winter, running 4:53 (mile), 9:40 (3k) and 16:51 (5k). Those performances suggested that Graber could have emerged as a true low-stick later this fall had their been a season.

16. Tessa Valdivia, Sophomore, Southwest Baptist

Tessa Valdivia had a fantastic freshman season, emerging as a reliable #2 scoring option behind her star teammate (who we will get to later on in these rankings).

Her 2019 season highlights included a 3rd place finish at the Southern Stampede meet along with a 14th place finish in the Louisville Classic Gold race, a field that was top-heavy with D1 talent. The Southwest Baptist youngster eventually finished 5th at Midwest Regional Championships before ending her season with All-American honors in 34th place at Nationals.

Valdivia was expected to go into the upcoming cross country season with valuable experience and new personal bests of 9:59 (3k) and 17:24 (5k). Some of her 2019 performances were better than others, but she always produced no matter the stage.