Sam Ivanecky
Dec 30, 20205 min
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Prior to this year, the men of Notre Dame were already one of the more promising young teams in the country. However, with this recruiting class, they have somehow become a whole lot better.
Going all the way back to the pre-COVID era of November 2019, the Fighting Irish had just placed 8th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, finishing 58 points off of the podium. That varsity lineup consisted of exactly zero seniors which means that in the post-COVID era, all seven runners are eligible to compete again this winter (although Kevin Salvano will not be coming back next fall).
Let’s examine their national meet finish a bit closer in comparison to other top teams.
Here are the finishes of the top seven runners on the top eight teams from last year's NCAA Championship. All of the seniors are highlighted in blue as they have since exhausted their eligibility for future NCAA cross country competitions. Any runners who transferred out of the program are listed in red.
Why is this significant? Well, Notre Dame is the only team in this group to not lose a single runner. While transfers both to and from certain programs will certainly play a role in how these lineups ultimately look in the future, it is clear that Notre Dame can be a true podium threat when racing once again resumes.
Headlined by the 2019 Foot Locker national champion Josh Methner and the runner-up in Cater Solomon, the Fighting Irish are getting two runners who could make an immediate impact during their freshman years at Notre Dame. As a result, the Fighting Irish may be able to finally secure themselves a spot on the podium after years of building up to this moment.
Along with those two talents, Notre Dame also brings in the Maine cross country state champion in Lisandro Berry-Gaviria as well as the New Balance Outdoor Nationals 5k winner in Robbie Cozean. When you tack on middle distance specialist Tommy Walters, you get an eyebrow-raising group of five.
This collective group of rookies, coupled with a plethora of redshirt freshmen and sophomores, sets up the Fighting Irish for both immediate and future success. It's a rare balance that few teams ever get to experience.
Outside of Nico Young, one could argue that Josh Methner was the nation's top cross country recruit in the Class of 2020. Not only was he the 2019 Foot Locker champion, but he also finished runner-up at the NXN Championships during that same season, finishing behind none other than Nico Young. He also ran a blistering time of 13:49 for three miles to break the Detweiler course record, previously held by US Olympian, Craig Virgin.
On the track, Methner also holds solid personal bests, having run 4:13 for 1600 meters and 9:02 for 3200 meters. Based on his cross country performances, he figures to be a factor in an event like the 5000 meters come indoor track and outdoor track. However, the fall months is when he is expected to be at his best.
In fact, the young star already finished 11th at the ACC Championships this past cross country season, emerging as Notre Dame's fourth scorer and giving them the backend lineup support that allowed the Irish to win with relative ease.
Methner is the rare recruit who, as we have already seen, can make an immediate impact on a national-caliber team from the minute that he steps foot on campus. He has already proven his ability to throw down stellar times on the grass and his national meet experience is a huge bonus as he moves to the NCAA level.
In many ways, he feels like the next Drew Bosley.
Ironically, referring to Methner as a “rare” talent doesn't necessarily apply at Notre Dame given that they are bringing in another recruit who could have a similar impact during his freshman year. Finishing right behind Methner at the 2019 Foot Locker National Championship was his future teammate, Carter Solomon.
Similar to Methner, Solomon has the national meet experience and accolades that would allow him to have a legitimate role at Notre Dame this year. The Michigan state cross country champion has run 14:42 for 5000 meters on the grass and could compete for a varsity spot as soon as this winter if he isn't redshirted.
Solomon also boasts modest personal bests on the track, having run 4:16 for 1600 meters and 9:08 for 3200 meters. Neither he nor Methner are likely to be immediate contenders on the track, but they could each (eventually) develop as top talents in events like the 5k or 10k.
Of course, given the objectives that Notre Dame likely has for cross country, track times are a bit negligible when it comes to these recruits. Performances on the grass are what currently matter the most.
Although Methner and Solomon look like two of the biggest recruiting wins from the Class of 2020, Notre Dame didn't stop there. Coach Sean Carlson further bolstered his roster by adding Robbie Cozean and Lisandro Berry-Gaviria to this freshmen class.
Cozean was the 2019 New Balance Outdoor 5k champion. He has run 4:15 for the mile and 14:26 for 5000 meters on the track. While he may not be the same elite talent that Methner and Solomon have proven to be on the cross country course, his 5k personal best indicates that he has a ton of raw talent.
If there is any potential for him to translate that 5k success from the track to the grass, then Cozean could end up being just as dangerous as Methner and Solomon. Combined with a personal best of 8:54 for 3200 meters, one could argue that Cozean has the most raw talent out of anyone in Notre Dame's recruiting class.
We then come to Berry-Gaviria who, admittedly, doesn't have the same jaw-dropping times of Cozean or the top-tier national meet finishes that Methner or Solomon do.
However, what he does have is extensive championship experience and plenty of consistency. This is a guy who was the Maine state champion and the 4th place finisher at the New England XC Championships. Not only that, but he was a two-time NXN qualifier, finishing 46 in 2018 and then 34th in 2019.
Berry-Gaviria may be a long-term developmental piece, but when you're supposed fourth-best recruit is a state champion who was a two-time national qualifier who has also placed in the top-50 on two separate occasions...well, that's a nice luxury to have.
Finally, let's talk about Thomas Walters. Unlike the other four men that we've mentioned, Walters is a middle distance specialist who is at his best when he's running the 800 meters. The Cincinnati, Ohio native dropped a personal best of 1:53 during his junior year.
Walters will join this Notre Dame program at a perfect time. Sam Voelz, the 2020 ACC indoor 800 meter champion, is now an experienced upperclassmen who can mentor Walters before giving him the reigns to future relay and point-scoring duties. There won't be any immediate pressure for Walters to emerge as a scorer while he continues to develop, but will eventually be relied upon as a contributor to this Fighting Irish roster in a few years time.
When factoring in the current roster and the state of the program, Notre Dame’s recruiting class has a strong argument to be ranked at the top spot. A young team with a mix of underclassmen is now adding two of the best cross country recruits in the nation, solidifying the Irish's status as podium contenders.
Although the conversation of national champion has typically centered around Northern Arizona and BYU over the last few years, Notre Dame could now be in the "dark horse" category depending on how Methner and Solomon develop before competition resumes.
Years of elite-level recruiting classes have made Notre Dame the distance juggernaut that we view them as today. Could this be the recruiting class that puts them over the top? I guess we'll have to wait and see.