College Track & Field Women's Distance Recruiting Class Rankings - Class of 2024
Ranking the distance recruiting classes for the Class of 2024. Athletes taken into consideration include those who will enroll in either Fall 2024 or Spring 2024 with freshman eligibility. Transfer athletes, including international transfers, are not taken into consideration. Going forward, those who enrolled in Spring 2024 will not have their performances in the NCAA taken into consideration when updating these rankings. A signing class must have at least three athletes to qualify for these rankings. These rankings are not final; I will update the rankings as the season progresses.
For updated rankings, click here
Updated February 20th, 2024
Honorable Mentions: Providence, Villanova, Syracuse, Furman, Indiana, Gonzaga, Colorado, Oklahoma State
Bringing back Coach Ben Thomas to Blacksburg has seemed to rejuvenate the recruiting at Virginia Tech. The incoming class features Katie Bohlke, A Footlocker Nationals qualifier who has also run 4:45 in the mile. The Hokies only bring on four distance girls this year, but I would expect this class to move up as the season goes on.
One of the bigger recruiting classes on the list, FSU has signed eight distance girls this year. The class is headlined by Lily Guinn, who has personal bests of 4:46 and 10:02 in the mile and 2 mile respectively. The Seminoles also signed Katelyn Dollar, who was most notably the Georgia 6A XC state champion. The class brings more depth to the team, which traditionally has always been a strength for the FSU women's distance program.
Mizzou's new coaching staff has done a phenomenal job in the recruiting trail. The Tigers signed in-state talents Natalie Barnard and Abbey Brackenbury, who placed 1st and 5th at the 2023 MSHSAA Class 5 XC state championships respectively. Additionally, Mizzou has added three out-of-state distance girls Charlotte Cullen, Lily Ginsberg, and Hannah Stuart. All-in-all, it is a solid point for Coach Kyle Levermore as he and the staff look to rebuild the program.
Utah's class consists of four girls. They continue the Canadian pipeline by signing Quebec product Marika Couture. The French-Canadian has run a 9:45 3000 and 16:53 5000 and placed 38th at U20 XC World's last year. Allie Bruce was a 2022 Champs XC National qualifier and was the runner-up at the 2023 5A Idaho XC state championship. The class is rounded out by two girls from Oregon, Lauren Ayers and Josie Fale, who have run 4:25 and 4:35 in the 1500. The Utes also signed an international transfer in Soňa Kouřilová, but she is not taken into consideration with these rankings.
Northern Arizona has signed three freshman girls for this class. Payton Godsey has run 4:42 in the 1600 and 9:57 in the 3200 and was the 2022 CIF D4 XC state champion and won the RunningLane XC meet in 2022. The Lumberjacks also signed Mackenzie McRae and Kiki Vaughn for additional depth. The past two women's recruiting distance classes have been small for NAU, with a bigger emphasis on the transfer portal.
Penn State brings on two blue-chip Australian middle distance runners, Ada Rand, and Tayissa Buchanan. Both have personal bests of 2:07 or under in the 800, with Rand having extended range with her 4:22 & 9:35 1500/3000 PBs. Penn State also brings in two in-state signings, with NXN individual qualifier Eva Kynaston and 2:10 800 runner Maddie Miller.
The reigning Big Ten XC conference champions have signed nine girls in their distance class, eight of whom are in-state products. MSU's class is headlined by Rachel Forsyth, who placed 5th at NXN and 3rd at Footlocker Nationals. Additionally, the Spartans also signed Madison Osterberg, who qualified for NXN this year and boasts a 2:08 800 personal best. With the depth of this class, this class will most likely move up in rankings once their times start dropping.
San Juanita Leal is the best American in Texas A&M's distance class, being a two-time NXN qualifier and a two-time UIL track state champion. Additionally, The Aggies signed two other NXN qualifiers from the south region: Madison Peters and Staucie Lees. Respectively, the future Aggies placed 44th, 94th, and 35th at NXN. Texas A&M also brings on Debora Cherono from Kenya, who has a 4:17 1500 personal best and has run 19:54 in the 6k (XC). This is by far the best women's distance recruiting class Texas A&M has ever signed. I would expect this class to improve in rankings this track season.
The Lancers bring on a full class of international talent, something they have done very well at in recent years. This year's class features athletes from Lithuania, Brazil, Turkey, Finland, and Mexico. Sini-Sofia Rajaniemi has run a 2:08 800 and a 4:27 1500. The Finnish athlete has also gone 10:35.21 in the 3000 steeplechase, an event Cal Baptist has shown great success in.
The Badgers bring in a promising class with a lot of HS XC national championship experience. Sara Mlodik placed 15th at 2022 Champs XC Nationals. Nora Gremban was the WIAA D2 XC state champion and NXN qualifier. Emma Kruse, a standout with a 2:07 800 personal best, also has extensive range in cross country ability, as evident in her 4th place finish at the U20 South African XC National Championships, covering a 6k distance. Liv Phillips was a Footlocker National qualifier, where she placed 36th. Completing this lineup is in-state product Eva Kuehn, who has run 4:55 in the 1600. Best way for this class to move up is to run faster on the track and win big-time races against national competition.
Wake Forest has five distance girls in this year's class. Two girls are sub 4:50 in the 1600 (Mia Prok and Aiden Harrand both at 4:49) and Amy Weybrecht is just over at 4:52. For cross country, their best performance came from Mia Prok and her 49th placement at NXN. Overall, the class did not have as many flashy cross country performances compared to the signing classes ahead of them on this list, but with a strong showing in track, they will for sure move up in rankings.
The Blue Devil's class is headlined by Anna Callahan. The Washington product is a two-time NXN All-American, placing 11th and 9th in 2024 and 2023 respectively. Duke also signed top 800m prospect Peyton Hollis, who has a 2:06 personal best. The class rounds out with NXN qualifier Caroline Hood and California product Grace Geyer. This class is smaller compared to most classes on the list, but its quality justifies it being in the top 15.
Iowa State's women's distance class this season is probably their best recruiting class in program history. The class consists of seven girls, six from the Midwest and one from Australia. Strong middle distance depth, with two sub 2:10 girls (Becca Heitzig and Keelee Leitzen) and fast milers in Josie Baker, Becca Heitzig, and Ruby Hughes. A very under-discussed recruiting class. This class would easily be a top 10 recruiting class any other year.
The Crimson Tide secured high-value prospects both domestically and internationally. Addison Dorenkamp, placed 17th at Footlocker Nationals. Franziska Drexler of Germany placed 9th at the U20 European Cross Country Championships. Additionally, Kenyan athlete Brenda Tuwei arrived this spring with a 31:20 road 10k personal best. Tuwei will have an immediate impact on the program this fall with instant All-American potential. Alabama also signed a solid 800 pairing in Jordan Bray and Gabriella Hernandez.
Florida brings on a good combination of in-state and out-of-state talent, with six distance girls in the class. The Gators also signed top Australian distance prospect Gabby Schmidt. Reagan Gilmore is the top American of the class, having placed 30th at NXN. Overall, it is a very strong class headed into year two of the Palmer era in Florida.
Last year, Tennessee signed 20 distance/mid-distance freshman girls. The Lady Vols bring on 6 girls for this class. Similar to how NXN qualifiers Caroline Lyerly and Jessie Secor from last year's class brought an immediate impact that led to a 6th place team finish at NCAA's, This class has even more instant impact potential for the cross country team. Rebecca O'Keefe, Tula Fawbush, and Zoie Lamanna, all have the potential to start immediately for Tennessee.
Nelah Roberts, despite not having the flashiest track times (altitude), is probably the most XC-ready prospect of the class. She is four time Idaho 4A XC state champion, and placed 16th at NXN. Avalon Mecham went on to place 25th at NXN, just four places off All-American status. Addie Meldrum, Tessa Buswell, and Eliza White all have personal best 1600 marks that are 4:50 or under. Bria Anderson is a solid in-state middle-distance pick-up for the Cougars.
NXN runner-up, Bethany Michalak, is the headliner for NC State's recruiting class this season. Bethany also has one of the boasts personal bests of 4:35 & 9:57 in the 1600 and 3200 respectively. NC State also adds Xela Martinez, a multiple-time U18 Spanish national champion, who placed 22nd at the 2022 U20 XC World Championships. Xela is also one of the most promising steeplechase prospects of this year's class, having run 6:30 in the 2000SC in 2022. Additionally, NC State adds on three in-state signees, Justine Presiano, Ashlei Summers, and Chandler Welsh.
The Wolverines have signed nine distance girls this year. The Canadian pipeline to Ann Arbor continues with Emily Cescon and Steph Bertram headlining this year's class. Both Toronto natives are 2:09/4:25 or faster in the 800/1500. Furthermore, Bella Harsanyi and her 2:10 800 adds a third name of elite 800 runners. Anjali Hocker Singh is Michigan's lone NXN individual qualifier, but the Wolverines pick up five talented in-state distance runners, including Clara James-Heer, an elite triathlete who has run a 16:52 5000 on the track.
A coaching change in Albuquerque resulted in New Mexico losing most of their 2022 cross country runner-up squad. Coach Darren Gauson of Bradley Univerisity was hired to replace his former coach, Joe Franklin. With him, Gauson brought along Bradley athletes through the transfer portal to help rebuild UNM. At Bradley, Gauson had shown success on the recruiting trail in bringing in talented international athletes. Traditionally, UNM is known for having a very international-heavy roster, so this hire was a match made in heaven. This class continues the trend of signing international talent to UNM but also picks up solid domestic talent to supplement the class. The Lobos signed a total of thirteen distance girls for this year's class. Mercy Kirarei and Gabriella Szabó have enrolled this spring, and both should provide an immediate impact this track season.
Notre Dame had the best average finishes at XC national championships. Isabel Allori finished 4th at NXN. At Footlocker Nationals, Mary Bonner Dalton, Addison Knoblauch, and Nicki Southerland placed 4th, 5th and 27th respectively. The Fighting Irish also adds Nevada 5A XC state champion Amaya Aramini for additional depth. It is looking like the Fighting Irish have put together back-to-back top 5 recruiting classes.
An elite group of out-of-state talent, with four girls under 4:50. Stella Kermes' 4:41.10 was last season's US #5 for class of 2024, and NXN individual qualifier Ella Woehlcke's 2:07.70 was US #7 last season for the class. UVA has the 3rd best mile PR average, just behind Boston College and Oregon.
UNC signed a premier group of American talent. Three Footlocker qualifiers, two of whom also qualified for NXN. With four girls under 4:50, with the other two just slightly above, UNC has a group of girls who have both proven cross country ability and track leg speed. This group will have an immediate impact for a team that had an injury-ridden cross country season this past year.
Boston College has signed one of the best middle-distance classes in the NCAA. BC brings on Annie Mann, the 2022 European U18 1500m champion, and Abby Lewis, the 2023 Canadian U18 1500m & 3000m national champion. Marie Bilo enrolled this Spring and has run 2:06 and 4:15 in the 800 & 1500 respectively. Based on times, this could be the best group of milers for this year's class. I converted their 1500m PBs to 1600m times below for those who do not understand 1500 times.
| Name | 1500 PB | Converted 1600 |
|---|---|---|
| Marie Bilo | 4:15.53 | 4:34.36 |
| Claire Crowley | 4:33.81 | 4:53.99 |
| Hanna Hollins | 4:27.22 | 4:46.91 |
| Abby Lewis | 4:25.13 | 4:44.67 |
| Annie Mann | 4:16.77 | 4:35.69 |
Undeniably, the #1 distance recruiting class title belongs to Oregon. The Eugene-bound group has the best mix of middle-distance as well as cross country ability bundled into one. Oregon has 4 girls who are 2:07 or faster in the 800, with Ali Ince being the #1 US 800 prospect for this year's class. The three Texans (Isabel Conde de Frankenberg, Sam Humphries, and Nicole Humphries) were All-Americans at NXN in 2022. The mile marks for this group might be the most impressive feat of this class. 5 girls are 4:45 or faster in the 1600 (if you convert Charlotte's 1500). Charlotte Sinke of Calgary, AB, Canada was last year's Nike Outdoor Nationals 2-mile runner-up and was a Pan-American U20 silver medalist in the 3000m.
