Follow our 2018 FloXC Countdown, where FloTrack ranks the top cross country teams in the NCAA this season, which will be LIVE on FloTrack. The No. 10 women’s spot in DII goes to Simon Fraser, and here's why:

Probable Top Five:

SO Olivia Willett (9:58 3K; 66th at ’17 NCAA XC)

SR Addy Townsend (4:22 1500; 68th at ’16 NCAA XC)

SR Chelsea Ribeiro (10:58 3K SC; 136th at ’17 NCAA XC)

SR Sophie Dodd (2:08 800; 148th at ’17 NCAA XC)

SO Calli Charlton (215th at ’17 NCAA XC)

Impact Freshmen/Transfers:

N/A

Analysis:

Despite losing two All-Americans to graduation, Canada’s NCAA team does not have a completely bare cupboard in 2018. SFU retains two athletes with strong All-American potential— sophomore Olivia Willett and senior Addy Townsend— who could lead this team to their third straight top-10 finish if everything goes according to plan.

Willett was 66th as a freshman last season, and a big jump forward seems possible after getting her feet wet in 2017. She was third on the team at NCAAs, and will battle for the top spot this year with senior Addy Townsend, who missed the national meet last November due to injury. When healthy, she was 68th two years back at NCAAs. After placing runner-up in the NCAA 1500m back in May, expect Townsend to return to the grass with a vengeance.

There’s no doubt that Simon Fraser will need more out of their 3-4-5 runners than what they produced in 2017. Chelsea Ribeiro slots in at the No. 3 spot, and the hope will be top-100 after the steepler took 136th last year. The good news is that she has already improved a lot from 187th back in 2016; a similar jump this year would be huge. Sophie Dodd and Calli Charlton also have NCAA experience to draw from as they go for big improvements as well in 2018.

The Canadians don’t have the star power they had a year ago, but they do have a recent track record of excelling at the national meet and five veterans returning. Those two factors keep them in the top-10 heading into another season. 

FULL RANKINGS HERE