TSR's "If Everything Was Normal" D2 XC Top 10 Teams (Women): #5 U-Mary Marauders

The Marauders may have had the biggest individual loss to their team with Ida Narbuvoll finishing her eligibility (although Adams State, Grand Valley State and Alaska Anchorage may beg to differ). Luckily for them, they return five of their scorers from their 2019 national lineup. While Narbuvoll won’t be helping this team on the cross country course any longer, she left the team in good hands with Kayla Ogle and Starlynn Costa.

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Ogle, now just a sophomore, was 34th at the national meet last season. Her finishing as an All-American should have been no surprise given how well her season went. She was never worse than 9th in any race and was the runner-up at NSIC Championships and the Central Regional Championships. The program is clearly in her hands as she is now the top runner.

Meanwhile, teammate Starlynn Costa had her breakout season which saw her finish as the third scorer for U-Mary at NCAA's. She had moments of brilliance when she finished 6th at Roy Griak, but wasn't an All-American after placing 69th at NCAA's.

With the loss of a dominant low-stick, it’s up to these two women to provide a big 1-2 punch in order to help U-Mary compete whenever they return to competition. They’re more than capable of the job, and so are their teammates.

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We mentioned that the rest of the team is returning in 2020 and that group includes Taylor Hestekin (84th at NCAA's), Lacey Feist-Young (87th at NCAA's) and Kiran Green (110th at NCAA's).

Hestekin had a tough year compared to what she accomplished in 2018. The junior will look to return to form where she finished 29th as a freshman at the national meet. If she does indeed return to that level, then the Marauders may be looking at a three-headed monster instead of just a strong 1-2 punch. That would pay huge dividends in their ability to potentially place even higher than they did with Narbuvoll at the helm. Feist-Young also placed worse at the national meet than she did in 2018, but could very easily bounce back. The current senior finished her junior campaign with the fastest 6k and mile times of her career before the pandemic cut things short. She will be part of her third U-Mary NCAA team if they were to qualify whenever the national meet returns.

Last year, Feist-Young was the seventh runner for this team at meets like the MSU Moorhead Dragon Twilight meet, Roy Griak and the NSIC Championships. However, she eventually emerged as the team's fourth runner at the regional and national meets. She may not boast the same personal bests as some of her teammates, but she gets the job done when it’s necessary and she’ll continue to play an important role.

The last returner is Kiran Green. She was a freshman last season and stepped into a big role immediately. She was part of the team's scoring five at Roy Griak, the NSIC Championships and the Central Regional Championships, but was the team's seventh runner at the NCAA Championships.

Green will likely have a better race at NCAA's whenever the national meet returns and we don’t think it's unfair to assume that. Another year of collegiate racing under her belt will only help.

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The Marauders have the necessary depth and the underrated scoring potency to be a major force in the NCAA once again. While they may need to rely on a few women to be more consistent, we think there is a lot more to like about this team than dislike.