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TSR's "If Everything Was Normal" D3 Top 20 XC Rankings: #20-16 (Women)

  • Writer: Hannah Thorn
    Hannah Thorn
  • Aug 20, 2020
  • 4 min read

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.

Just Missed (in no particular order)

  • Ariel Keklak (Johns Hopkins)

  • Tierney Winter (Gustavus Adolphus)

  • Mica Hanish (Allegheny)

  • Sarah Tully (Williams)

  • Meredith Cronin (Connecticut College)

  • Cassidy Kearney (Middlebury)

  • Emma Becker (Kenyon)

20. Hannah Rieders, Junior, Mount Holyoke

19. Madeline Rieders, Junior, Mount Holyoke

The Reider twins had a breakout track season this past winter. They ran identical times of 17:11.60 in the 5000 meters which tied to be ranked at NCAA #6 for event. They also have identical 3k personal bests of 10:22. However, they do lack experience at a national championship meet as this indoor season was the first national meet that they have ever qualified for.

Last fall, Hannah finished 4th while Madeline placed 5th at the NEWMAC Championships behind a trio of strong MIT runners. It was a pair of performances that truly put the twins in a highly-competitive bracket of returners for the new defunct 2020 cross country season.


Two weeks later at the New England Regional Championships, Madeline finished 17th while Hannah finished 19th, both just missing out on being individual national qualifiers.

Despite not qualifying for the national meet last fall, the Rieder twins have flashes of exciting potential. They had a couple of decent performances during the regular season, but more importantly, they improved as the season went on and carried that momentum to the indoor oval.


If they can translate their fast 5k times from this past indoor season to the grass (whenever that may be), then we feel great about seeing them in the upper-echelon of the NCAA ranks.

18. Anastasia Tucker, Sophomore, Hope

Tucker had a strong debut season for the Flying Dutch. She made her presence known by winning the Wheaton Gil Dodds Invitational over runners from perennial powers such as Wash. U. and U. of Chicago.


Tucker later went on to finish 9th at the competitive KollegeTown Invitational, 2nd at the MIAAC Championships, and then 5th at the Great Lakes Regional Championships. She didn’t let the pressure of her first national meet phase her as she went on to finish 24th at the NCAA Championships, making her the second-fastest freshman of the meet.

The Hope College low-stick followed up her outstanding cross country with a successful series of races on the indoor track, running 5:07 in the mile and 9:54 in the 3k.


That 3k time ranked Tucker at NCAA #9 in Division III and put her in the running for another All-American honor before the national meet was cancelled. With another year of training and growth, Tucker was expected to be a top-ranked name coming into the 2020 cross country season.

17. Eva Borton, Sophomore, Williams

One of the first teams to cancel their cross country season this summer was Williams. Unfortunately, this immediately knocked out the fastest freshmen from last year’s national meet. In a normal year, Eva Borton would have been coming back for her sophomore cross country season, trying to improve upon her 22nd placing from last year's National Championships.

Borton had a great freshman year, never finishing outside of the top 10 in any race other than Nationals. She ever and securing a 21:39 personal best for 6000 meters at the New England regional meet (where she finished 8th) but was arguably even better two weeks prior at the NESCAC Championships where she finished 4th overall.


While Borton’s indoor track season wasn’t quite as strong as her cross country season, she was still consistently a top runner at the Division III level. She ran personal bests of 10:17 in the 3k and a flat-track converted 17:22 for 5000 meters. That 5k time had her ranked at NCAA #13 heading into the eventually cancelled national meet.

With training partners like Sarah Tulley and Brianna Bourne and a super valuable year of national meet experience, Borton was likely going to take another major step forward this fall.

16. Therese Olshanski, Senior, Johns Hopkins

Now that an incredible senior class has graduated, the women of Johns Hopkins will be looking for a new low-stick to step up and add some scoring potency back into the top portion of their lineup.


Luckily for them, Therese Olshanki is on their team.

Her 123rd place finish at the 2019 National Championships is deceiving as she may have been injured or just not at 100%. She did not run at the Mideast regional meet and was absent from competition during the indoor track season.


Despite a difficult ending to her 2019 cross country season, Olshanki is someone who still has a resume worthy of a ranking. The Johns Hopkins veteran has a 6k PR of 21:09 and is a two-time All-American in cross country. She's also a perennial national qualifier for the 1500/mile on the track, giving the speed to catch her competitors in the final straights of a 6k race.


In a year where everything is normal, we expected Olshanki to come into the 2020 cross country season at 100%, using her championship experience to her benefit in her final year of eligibility.

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