TSR's "If Everything Was Normal" D2 Top 25 XC Rankings: #15-11 (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.

15. Taryn Christy, Junior, Illinois-Springfield

Christy is not a name that many people know as she doesn’t attend a Division 2 powerhouse program which often holds some of the top individual talents in the country. That, however, doesn’t mean that she can’t compete with the best of them.

In fact, I bet a lot of people would be surprised to know that she finished just a couple places back of GVSU star Allie Ludge at the Michigan State Spartan Invitational in September of last year.

But Christy continued to show her value in the postseason as she was 3rd at the GLVC Championships right behind Elysia Burgos and Lauren Bailey, two of the best distance runners in the country over the past year.

She had a solid showing at the Midwest regional meet (placing 5th overall) which featured top talents from Grand Valley State, Southwest Baptist and Michigan Tech. She even capped the season off by earning her first cross country All-American finish in 36th place

Christy is a name that should be on everyone’s radar moving forward. When an All-American finish is arguably your "worst" result of the season, that is a very good problem to have.

14. Klaudia O’Malley, Sophomore, Grand Valley State

The top finishing freshman from the 2019 national meet, O’Malley helped lead the Lakers to a runner-up finish at the national meet in Sacramento. She garnered All-American status in the process by finishing 24th overall and being the fourth GVSU Laker to cross the line.

O’Malley didn’t have much of a cross country season as she raced sparingly due to the Lakers incredible depth. However, when she did race, she showed that she belonged in the lineup. The youngster was 3rd at the GLIAC Championships, 10th at the Midwest regional meet and later 24th at the aforementioned national meet.

Now a sophomore, O’Malley will give the women of Grand Valley State yet another true low-stick who still has a massive amount of untapped talent and limited experience. There may not be a runner at D2 level who has a higher ceiling than her.

13. Jennifer Comastri, Senior, Southern Indiana

Comastri was the definition of consistent throughout the 2019 cross country season. She was a runner-up at the quietly competitive Trevecca Nazarene meet and later finished a very respectable 5th at the Lewis Crossover meet against the likes of Grand Valley State, MSU Denver, Augustana (S.D.), and Michigan Tech.

The start of the championship season was even better for Comastri. She finished 5th at the GLVC Championships, a conference that is more competitive than people give it credit for. She later finished 13th at the Midwest regional meet and ended her season on a high note at the National Championships, crossing the line in 23rd place, just one spot ahead of TSR #14 Klaudia O’Malley.

The USI senior has plenty of championship experience and almost never has a bad race. She knows how to compete against top-tier competition and it feels like she still has some untapped potential. Don't overlook the Southern Indiana front-runner whenever she next races.

12. Dania Holmberg, Senior, Seattle Pacific

Holmberg is a someone who has just gotten better each and every year. I would not overlook the Falcon senior whenever she does return to competition.

The Seattle Pacific senior finished 24th at a very competitive Capital Cross Country Invitational last fall which included teams from the RMAC, GNAC and CCAA. She later finished 5th at the Western Washington Invitational against a field which consisted of Chico State, Western Washington and Alaska Anchorage.

However, her best race of the 2019 season had to be in Sacramento when she finished 21st overall to earn her first All-American honors. Holmberg followed up her successful cross country season with a couple of very impressive performances on the indoor track. She qualified for both the 3000 meters and 5000 meters this past winter, running new personal bests of 9:39 (3k) and 16:49 (5k).

It's unclear if/when she'll race next, but Holmberg boasts a resume that is hard to ignore when it comes to the best Division II distance runners in the country.

11. Hope Pietrocarlo, Rs. Senior, Edinboro

Pietrocarlo made a name for herself at NCAA's last fall by beating her teammate (who we'll get to later on in these rankings) for the first time all year. Both Edinboro runners finished as All-Americans, but Pietrocarlo pulled ahead with a huge 15th place finish of her own.

Besides Paul Short, Pietrocarlo had a solid 2019 cross country season, often being a part of Edinboro’s lethal 1-2 punch. She was the runner-up finisher at the PSAC Championships as well as at the Atlantic Regional Championships. Those two races led to her eventual breakout performance at Nationals where she set a new 6k personal best in the process.

The Edinboro runner sometimes gets overlooked due to the success of her teammate, but Pietrocarlo has put together an outstanding resume and has a history of great results (beyond 2019) to back it up.