PARKER VALBY has left the building. After dominating collegiate distance running during the 2023–24 school year, the Florida star has foregone her remaining eligibility and turned pro. Also gone is her predecessor as NCAA XC champion, NC State’s Katelyn Tuohy, who ran through illness to help the Wolfpack win a third-straight team title last fall.
Those are some big spikes to fill for this year’s harrier season, but a pair of Kenyans appear more than ready to step up. As teammates, Doris Lemngole and Hilda Olemomoi led Alabama to a 7th-place finish a year ago, and they are the top returning individual finishers. But in a sign of the transfer portal’s increasing impact on college sports, Olemomoi is now running for Florida.
Three others return from the ’23 Top 10, while several highly decorated runners are on the comeback trail from injury. And the portal brought the reigning Division II and III champions into the mix as well (Lindsay Cunningham from Winona to Wisconsin and Fiona Smith from St. Benedict to NC State).
Few of the top contenders showed their cards in the early season, and new names are sure to emerge in the coming weeks, so predicting the leaderboard is certainly a challenge.
1. Doris Lemngole (Alabama)
After finishing a strong 2nd last year as a newcomer, Lemngole further established herself as one of the top collegiate distance runners during the rest of the school year, finishing 3rd and 4th, respectively, in the NCAA Indoor 3000 and 5000, then winning the steeplechase title in CR time (9:15.24) in June. She also stands as No. 4 all-time collegian in the 5000, thanks to the 15:04.71 she clocked at BU in December.
2. Hilda Olemomoi (Florida)
The season’s biggest transfer move, Olemomoi has left Tuscaloosa and reunited with coaches Will and Samantha Palmer, who guided her to a 6th-place finish in ’22 when they were at Alabama. Last year Olemomoi moved up to 4th, then was the NCAA outdoor runner-up in both the 5000 and 10,000, the latter in 31:51.89 to move to No. 9 on the all-time collegiate list. She sports a 15:06.42 PR in the 5000 and will help keep the Gators in the team conversation in the post-Valby era.
3. Kimberley May (Providence)
The Kiwi had a disappointing showing last fall (116th), but that performance was clearly an outlier following runner-up finishes at the Big East and Northeast Regional. During the track season May was 3rd in the NCAA Indoor mile, 2nd in the outdoor 1500 and won the Big East 5000 in 15:26.60.
4. Billah Jepkirui (Oklahoma State)
Last year’s Midwest Region champ went on to place 7th at the big dance in Charlottesville. She followed that up with a runner-up finish in the mile at NCAA indoors (in 4:27.14) and then ran 4:08.93 outdoors. The Kenyan has the speed to occasionally chip in on the Cowgirls’ 4×4, but also scored an impressive 3000 PR last December with an 8:49.08.
5. Chloe Scrimgeour (Georgetown)
The defending Big East champion finished 8th at the ’23 NCAA, moving up from 59th in ’22. She went on to finish 7th in both the 3000 and 5000 at the NCAA Indoor, 5th in the 10,000 at the outdoor championships and qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 5000. She boasts PRs of 8:50.97, 15:21.80 and 32:29.44.
6. Elise Stearns (Northern Arizona)
After going MIA during the track season, Stearns — who has a track 5000 PR of 15:33.74 — is expected to be back in the lineup, a key player in the Lumberjacks’ team aspirations. The 2-time defending Big Sky champion was 20th at NCAAs after placing 4th the previous year.
7. Lexy Halladay-Lowry (BYU)
A 103rd-place finish last year was an aberration for Halladay-Lowry, who had been 4th at the Big 12 (and was 34th at the ’22 NCAA). During the indoor season she finished 4th in the 3000 and 5th in the 5000 at the NCAA. Running unattached during the outdoor campaign, she took 9th in the Olympic Trials steeple (9:22.77 PR) and ran 15:02.89 PR over 5000.
8. Judy Kosgei (Clemson)
After a splashy debut season at South Carolina — topped by a 19th-place finish at nationals — Kosgei has transferred to intrastate rival Clemson. The Kenyan won her first two races this fall, continuing the momentum from a track season in which she clocked PRs in the 800 (2:01.66) and 1500 (4:07.65).
9. Maddy Elmore (Oregon)
Not long after setting a Ducks program record in the 5000 (15:15.79) last spring, an injured Elmore called it a season. If healthy, she’ll be eager to improve on last year’s 52nd-place finish in Charlottesville. During the indoor season she took 8th in the NCAA 3000 and clocked 8:50.43.
10. Amina Maatoug (Washington)
Now part of Washington’s powerhouse team, the Dutch star finished 9th last year for Duke (after runner-up showings at the ACC and Southeast Region meets) and 28th in ’22. Indoors she clocked 8:46.89 for 3000 and won the ACC mile title, but only raced once outdoors (15:37.38 PR in the 5000).
Others To Watch:
Margot Appleton (Virginia), Molly Born (Oklahoma State), Judy Chepkoech (Arizona State), Lindsay Cunningham (Wisconsin), Sophia Kennedy (Stanford), Ceili McCabe (West Virginia), Fiona Smith (NC State), Sydney Thorvaldson (Arkansas), Allie Zealand (Liberty). ◻︎