Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Jan 5, 20218 min
Updated: Jan 6, 2021
Things have been quiet as of late when it comes to racing. However, as we slowly navigate our way through the early portions of January, it seems as though the NCAA is poised to have most of their athletes toe the line for a 2021 indoor track season.
So with that, we're moving forward with our rankings for this season's Top 25 individuals, ranking the top talents in the 800 meters, mile, 3000 meters and 5000 meters. However, before we unveil our "Just Missed" and "Honorable Mention" names, we wanted to quickly address some QYMA's (Questions You May Ask)...
Unlike our preseason cross country rankings from the summer, there doesn't appear to be a plethora of conferences or teams who are pulling out from indoor track competition (at least not at this moment).
The Ivy League isn't expected to compete this winter and multiple conferences have already cancelled their respective indoor championship meets. Those championship cancellations, however, don't necessarily mean that those teams won't be competing this year.
Admittedly, things could rapidly change, even as soon as we publish these rankings.
That said, our rankings will consider any of the top distance athletes who still have indoor track eligibility remaining. These rankings will not consider any athlete in a conference that is not expected to compete this season OR any athlete who we know is simply not competing this winter.
We'll be updating these rankings as the season goes on. If it becomes apparent that one athlete is not running indoor track this year, or that a certain program is going all-in for the winter cross country season, then they'll eventually fall out of our rankings.
That could mean that only a few names will fall out of our rankings or everyone will fall out of our rankings. We have no idea what this season is going to look like, so just work with us here.
There may also be instances where an athlete runs only one or two indoor track races and then doesn't toe the line for an indoor track meet for the rest of the season. In that case, their limited number of races might play a role in terms of where that athlete is ranked, but they'll still be eligible for a Top 25 spot.
We look at a variety of different aspects when trying to rank a certain athlete. If you've read The Stride Report on a semi-regular basis, then you know that we look at more than just times. Range, consistency, experience and recent progression (or regression) play big roles in terms of how we craft these rankings.
Performances on the outdoor track and performances from the most recent cross country season will have some influence in terms of where a certain athlete is ranked. The more impressive those results are, the more influence that they will have on these indoor track rankings.
Still, the results from the past few indoor track seasons will act as the foundation for how we construct these rankings. Those results are obviously the most relevant to our Top 25.
Between injuries and the pandemic, it's been hard for Andrew Jordan to have many competitive opportunities over the past year or two. The Washington distance ace, who originally came from Iowa State, is a top distance talent who just ran 13:39 for 5000 meters at the Sound Running Track Meet back in December.
With a personal best of 7:51 (3k), it's clear that Jordan is one of the better distance talents in the NCAA, but only when's at 100%. Based on what we saw a month ago, the Washington veteran looks healthy and at the peak of his fitness.
If he can translate that kind of performance to the indoor track, then he'll be a problem for his fellow competitors this winter.
It's crazy to think that a guy who has run 13:39 (5k) and 28:22 (10k) isn't among our Top 25 names for an indoor track season, especially with that 5k personal best coming on the indoor oval last winter.
Even so, Ferro has a history when it comes to injuries and he hasn't been the most consistent distance talent either. Still, much like Andrew Jordan who we mentioned above, this Northern Arizona veteran can be a serious threat to his fellow competitors on the track when he's at his best and when he's rolling on all cylinders.
One of the biggest and best breakout stars from the altered 2020 cross country season was Mario Garcia Romo who led a 1-2-3 sweep for the Ole Miss men at the SEC XC Championships.
Garcia Romo was an absolute stud last fall and showed a clear improvement in his overall fitness. However, we're not entirely sure how this newfound fitness will translate to the indoor oval.
His personal bests of 4:03 (mile) and 8:05 (3k) are respectable, but the Ole Miss standout will need to make significant improvements upon those times if he wants to be nationally competitive on the indoor track.
One of the big recent signings to catch our attention was Yusuf Bizimana to Texas. The middle distance star from London, England owns a mind-boggling personal best of 1:46.93 for 800 meters and is set to be a major name to watch moving forward.
The newest star for the Longhorns has also showed incredible consistency at the half-mile distance, dropping times of 1:47 and 1:48 on numerous occasions. It's one thing to run fast, but to run as fast as Bizimana has on such a consistent basis is super encouraging.
Even so, this is someone who has never run faster than 1:51 for 800 meters on the indoor track, a seasonal best which came from February 2019 (according to World Athletics). While we certainly believe that Bizimana will improve upon that indoor mark, we just don't know by how much and for that reason, he's being kept in our "Just Missed" category (for now).
The Miami (Ohio) men have quietly assembled a handful of top talents over the years, although the Torpy twins have been the clear headline stars of this team.
Sean Torpy is a respectable, all-around distance runner who can hold his own in the mile (4:01), 3000 meters (8:13) and 5000 meters (14:01). However, his best event is the 800 meters where he ran an NCAA #12 mark of 1:48.53 (800) last winter.
Although his resume may not jump off the page like a few others, Torpy is extremely consistent and is a multiple-time national qualifier. Don't sleep on the RedHawks ace this winter.
One of the more underrated names in the NCAA distance scene is Charlie O'Donovan, an Irish miler from Villanova. He has made steady and consistent progress over the past few years and has given the Wildcats a nationally-relevant star to lean on following the departure of Casey Comber.
During the 2019 indoor track season, O'Donovan ran a personal best of 4:03. Fast forward one year later, and his first mile race of the season resulted in a new personal best time of 4:02. Two weeks later, he ran an extremely impressive time of 3:58.
Although he didn't qualify for the NCAA Championships, O'Donovan has been a consistent miler who has only gotten better over time. There's a lot of upside for this Villanova runner moving forward.
One of the more underrated and underappreciated distance runners in the NCAA is Jack O'Leary a guy who ran 7:53 (3k) and 13:44 (5k) last winter. Despite not earning a national qualifying spot in either event, the Iona runner entered a new tier of fitness and became a true threat in more just one event.
On paper, he's a top returner and is one of the numerous Iona runners who have made significant jumps in fitness over the past year. Few teams have more momentum than the Gaels do.
It may be my Virginia Tech bias, but I don't think Movasel-Lo gets enough credit for what he has accomplished during his time with the Hokies.
This guy was the ACC 800 meter champion during the 2019 outdoor track season and is a three-time national qualifier on the track. He also owns personal bests of 1:48 (800), 2:23 (1k) and 4:01 (mile). However, when factoring in a flat-track conversion from the 2019 indoor track season, Mosavel-Lo has run 1:47.92.
Between his consistency, championship experience, exceptional range and proven ability to win, it's hard to bet against someone like Mosavel-Lo.
The 2020 indoor track season wasn't his best compared to his 2019 indoor track season, but don't be surprised if this Virginia Tech runner makes some noise this year in what seems to be a wide-open NCAA 800 meter field.
The Aggies of Texas A&M may get all of the attention for developing top-tier 800 runners, but Texas Tech isn't far behind. They've produced a handful of high-level half-milers over the years and Cepus is one of them.
As a freshman, Cepus ran an altitude-converted 1:48.69 during the 2019 indoor track season. He came back the next year running a near-identical 1:48.73 (altitude-converted) which actually helped him qualify for the NCAA Championships despite his 2020 mark being slightly slower.
Cepus is consistent and has had success since he was a rookie. However, he hasn't actually run under 1:49 without a conversion and his postseason results haven't been great. Even so, that can likely be chalked up to inexperience, something that should hopefully not be an issue for the current junior in 2021.
The middle distance specialist from Oklahoma State is another BIG 12 runner who has caught our attention when it comes to the 800 meters. Diego Castro boasts a personal best of 1:48.87 from last winter, but also has a strong mile PR of 4:00 and a respectable 1000 meter time of 2:24.
Not only that, but Deigo Castro has proven that he can stay competitive when it comes to BIG 12 Championship races. He finished 4th in the 800 meters at the 2019 BIG 12 Indoor Championships and came back one year later to finish 3rd in the same event at the 2020 BIG 12 Indoor Championships.
This Oklahoma State ace has a lot going for him between his range, strong times and great championship performances. If he is able to improve upon his personal best by even a little bit, then he'll be a difficult name to take down.
The BYU star is back in action after taking an extensive amount of time off for a mission trip. However, it hasn't taken Clinger all that long to return to his top form. He had an excellent cross country season this past fall and recently ran a new personal best of 13:41 for 5000 meters at the Sound Running Track Meet in December.
That's a very strong and very impressive time, but that PR was run on an outdoor track and 13:41 wasn't even enough to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships last winter. That's probably the only reason why we have Clinger ranked outside of our Top 25.
Other than that, BYU's next great star is rebounding incredibly well after an extensive period of time off. We imagine that he'll likely be at the top of the NCAA ranks sooner rather than later.
With the Ivy League not expected to officially compete this winter, we were forced to remove the 3:57 miler from our rankings. If Princeton had been able to compete, Ellis would have earned a Top 25 ranking.
The Texas star fractured his tibia last year in a scary fall at the 2020 Husky Classic last February. It's unclear to us how long his recovery will take or when he'll return to competition. Still, we wanted to make a note about the 3:57 miler who is a force to be reckoned with when he's at 100%.