2019 D1 XC Top 50 Men (10-6)

Note: Keep in mind that what our writers value for the men's rankings varies from the criteria that we use to rank the women.

The senior from Virginia Tech had a very solid and consistent junior year that saw him earn PR's and numerous All-American finishes. After a decent indoor season, the Hokie low-stick ran 13:51 to PR in the 5k and would go on to finish 12th at Nationals.

However, it was on the cross country course where Seufer showed off his consistency. After the Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational, he finished either 1st or 2nd in every meet leading up to Nationals, taking home the title at the ACC Championships and finishing runner-up at the Southeast Regional Championships.

The only runner Seufer lost to during this streak was someone else in our Top 10 - James Sugira from Eastern Kentucky. The Virginia Tech star entered NCAA's with confidence and momentum that was matched by only a handful of others around the country. Seufer’s poise paid off with an All-American 16th place finish at Nationals.

It was encouraging to see Seufer improve during his first season under new coach Eric Johannigmeir. In a deep ACC and Southeast region, Seufer has shown that he can consistently come out on top and we have nothing that suggests that he can't do the same in 2019.

The biggest surprise from last year’s National Championships was Isai Rodriguez bursting onto the scene to finish 4th overall. It was shocking to see the redshirt freshman perform so well in his first-ever national meet.

Looking back – and hindsight is always 20/20 – maybe his finish shouldn’t have been so unexpected. The Cowboy had an outstanding cross country season which saw him finish 2nd in every meet leading up to Nationals. At the Arturo Barrios Invitational, he crossed the finish line alongside teammate Ashenafi Hatte. At the BIG 12 Championships and the Midwest Regional Championships, Rodriguez finished behind Edwin Kurgat. Maybe it was because he wasn’t winning any races, but there weren’t very high expectations for the Cowboy ace going into Nationals.

That will certainly not be the case this year despite an underwhelming track season. He ran a quick 3k during indoors (7:54), but didn’t do much else in that winter season before redshirting outdoors. Even if he doesn’t finish as high as he did last year, an All-American finish would do a lot to validate Rodriguez as more than just a one-race wonder. If his cross season is anything like it was last year, then he will have no problem proving the doubters wrong.

One of the most underrated distance runners in the country finished 13th at NCAA's last fall and was barely talked about because of his superstar Stanford teammates. Throughout the season, the focus was on Grant Fisher as he looked to win his first NCAA cross country title. However, even when the spotlight was put on the Cardinal team, people talked about Alek Parsons’ breakout season or if Steven Fahy was healthy.

Yet, lurking in the background was Ostberg, who was putting together a fantastic season. He finished 8th in a loaded Pre-Nats Cardinal race before settling for a 3rd place finish at the PAC-12 Championships. The entire Cardinal squad took it easy at regionals (maybe a little too easy), but it paid off for Ostberg who earned his second consecutive top 20 finish at Nationals.

While Ostberg’s cross country credentials speak for themselves, it is worth mentioning that he is also coming off of what was (by far) the most successful track season of his career. The Cardinal standout qualified for Indoor Nationals for the first time ever and earned a 5th place finish in the 3000 meters while also helping Stanford finish runner-up in the DMR. During outdoors, Ostberg ran PR's in the 5k and 10k and missed qualifying for Nationals in the 5k by only one spot.

For the first time in his Stanford career, Ostberg will be leading the charge for a Stanford team that has podium aspirations. Between Parsons, Fahy, Ratcliffe, and Ostberg; Stanford will have one of the most, if the not the most, potent top four scorers in the country. It will be up to Ostberg as one of the senior leaders and prospective low-stick to help lead Stanford to a top four finish (or better) at Nationals.

Lost in BYU’s team dominance throughout last year was the rise of Conner Mantz. The sophomore made a big leap after a very good freshman campaign. While Clayton Young picked up most of the headlines during the track season, Mantz had a very similar level of success on the track – just without a national title.

The Cougar qualified for Indoor Nationals in both the 3k and 5k placing 7th and 10th, respectively. At Outdoor Nationals, Mantz improved on his indoor championship meet to finish 4th in the 10k and 7th in the 5k. For someone whose "weakness" is his foot-speed (and I say that lightly), it is impressive to see him finish so well in championship races that can often become tactical.

Success for Mantz on the track should mean big things when it comes to cross country season, which should play more to his strengths based on what we saw last year. In 2018, he proved to be a tough competitor who was unafraid to run with the front of the pack. At Pre-Nationals (White), Mantz put himself out front for the majority of the race, and even though he wasn’t able to hold onto the lead, he was still able to earn a 4th place finish overall.

But what really established Mantz as an NCAA elite was his 10th place finish at the National Championships. His aggressive front-running tactics got him out of trouble early and put him in the lead pack for the second half of the race. In a team that was filled with depth, Mantz gave them scoring potency at the front of their lineup.

Mantz’s fearlessness and consistency was a major reason why BYU was so successful last season. After all, he finished in the top six of every race he toed the line for before Nationals.

For the Cougars to replicate last year’s accomplishments, they will need Mantz to lead the pack once again and to provide similar results to what we saw at Nationals. While Mantz isn’t necessarily one of the favorites to win an individual title (yet), the field looks more open than it has in past years.

Who knows? Maybe it could be the BYU superstar who is the first American to win the individual cross country title since Galen Rupp.

One of the biggest surprises of last year’s cross country season was James Sugira committing to Eastern Kentucky and then proceeding to dominate his competition. The Rwandan was coming off of a 7th place finish in the 5k at the Commonwealth Games which could have landed him a professional contract (maybe). Instead, he headed to Richmond, Kentucky to vault the Colonels back into the national qualifying picture.

In his debut race, Sugira proved why he was the best new runner in the NCAA by cruising to an easy victory. He didn’t stop winning for the rest of the season.

Before Nationals, his only loss was at Nuttycombe where he secured an incredible 4th place overall, validating his win from the Commodore Classic and letting the rest of the NCAA know that he was going to be a major problem in the future.

Entering the national meet, Sugira was on the short list of athletes who could compete with McDonald and Fisher. Unfortunately for the Colonel, he didn’t have his best day, but still finished 14th overall. Whether it was the weather or just simply an off day, it would be unwise to conclude that Sugira was the 14th best cross country runner in the country. On another day, he could have earned a top five finish.

The question mark with Sugira is his health. After running well during indoors, he suffered an injury during the 5k at Indoor Nationals and redshirted outdoors because of it. If he is back to full health, then there is a very good chance that he wins his first NCAA title this year. In a 2019 season with a plethora of wild cards, James Sugira might be the one with the most upside.