TSR Collaboration
Mar 17, 202113 min
Any athlete who competed on the indoor oval at least once this winter, regardless of whether or not they competed at the indoor national meet, was eligible to be listed in these rankings. Theses rankings are based on how an athlete fared throughout the entirety of a season, not just how they ran at the indoor national meet.
Was not ranked in our last update.
First number indicates how much the individual has moved in the rankings.
The second number indicates where they were ranked in our last update.
The Washington State senior admittedly had a very rough national meet. He was the last finisher in the men's 5k and came back to finish an unexciting 10th place in the men's 3k. On paper, that would usually justify getting booted out of our rankings.
However, Johnsen was just too versatile this year. He ran 3:57 (mile), 7:52 (3k) and 13:43 (5k). Those mile and 5k times came on the same weekend. Yes, his national meet weekend didn't go at all like we thought it would, but it's hard to ignore what he did for the entirety of this season.
After seeing his breakout performances on the track this past fall and how he was performing on the grass, it wasn't a total surprise to see Foster qualify for the indoor national meet. However, even in one of the fastest 5k races in meet history, the future Oklahoma State Cowboy stepped up and ran a new personal best of 13:32.
Foster can do no wrong right now. We hardly even talked about his 4:03/8:00/13:40 triple at his conference meet a few weeks ago...and he wasn't even challenged in any of those races! A 6th place All-American finish is plenty deserving for a guy who continues to prove that he belongs in the upper-echelon of NCAA distance running.
No one had a better tactical weekend than Adam Fogg. In fact, after this weekend, I'm convinced that he may be the best tactical miler in the NCAA.
The Drake junior perfectly navigated the second heat of the men's mile prelims. No one in that race really looked like they knew what they were doing with the exception of Fogg. He didn't make any excessive moves and often hung out the outside of lane one, ready to make a surge with limited traffic in front of him.
Not only did Fogg get out of that super tactical prelim, but he also handled the fast mile final incredibly well. He slowly moved up the field as the race unfolded and took advantage of the openings late in the race. The Aussie standout was eventually rewarded with a new 3:57 personal best and a 4th place finish.
With a fast time, a top finish and a brilliant display of tactical racing, it's hard to dislike anything that Fogg did this past weekend.
He may be falling in our rankings, but that's only because so many men had so many outstanding performances this season and at the national meet.
Bienenfeld was posting some seriously fast times on the outdoor track this past summer as he competed overseas. However, we weren't entirely sure if that success would translate to the indoor oval.
But shocker, it did.
The Cincy star, who will be attending Oregon next fall, ran times of 7:50 for 3000 meters and 13:31 for 5000 meters (converted) coming into the national meet. Sure enough, that raw fitness was a nice asset to have as many of the best runners in the nation had to post some of the fastest times of their careers at the NCAA Indoor Championships in order to secure a new personal best.
Although that 5k race did play into Bienenfeld's strengths, his 5th place All-American performance validated all of our suspicions of him being a high-caliber national-level talent. He'll continue to be a problem for his competitors in future races.
In only his third indoor track race ever, Wildschutt ran a personal best of 13:30 for 5000 meters and finished 4th overall at the national meet.
Ever since transferring from Coastal Carolina, Wildschutt has looked like a new runner. He is far more consistent than he once was and his aggressive pacing hasn't come back to hurt him like it has in the past.
Sure, Wildschutt wasn't able to hang with Kiptoo this past weekend, but that fast pace could've really hurt Wildschutt over the course of the race...but it didn't. For his third indoor race ever in such a high pressure situation, the Seminole star hung tough and was rewarded with a top All-American honor.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers will be losing their men's indoor track team after this season, but Alec Basten made sure to make a statement before this winter ended. Coming into the national meet, the veteran had been running solid times all season long, earning marks of 4:03 (mile), 7:56 (3k) and 13:45 (5k).
However, few athletes peaked more perfectly than Basten did. He found himself being carried to a lethal 5k personal best of 13:32 to finish 7th overall in one of the fastest 5k national races ever. Basten then came back to run in the 3000 meters, perfectly positioning himself for a fast finish where he placed 5th overall.
In the end, few athletes ran better than Basten did. He wasn't intimidated by the elite competition or the fast times. He earned two All-American honors and perfectly analyzed each race, figuring out exactly how he was going to navigate each field. Kudos to him for one heck of a breakout season.
Clinger and Garnica ran 13:28 and 13:29, respectively, earlier in the year. However, they didn't compete at the indoor national meet. Naturally, they had to fall in our rankings, but that doesn't make them any less talented.
This was the season where Voelz rounded out his resume with a fast time and an All-American finish that we knew he was capable of. Coming into this season, Voelz had already won an ACC title, but in terms of his performances, they seemed to lack a spark compared to a few other top names in this men's 800 meter field.
However, Voelz quickly adjusted his resume to earn a new personal best of 1:47. He nearly defended his ACC title, qualified for the 800 meter finals out of the prelims and took down a top-ranked name in Jason Gomez to earn a clutch 4th place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships, once again running a time of 1:47.
Truthfully, it wasn't a great indoor track season for the Michigan State senior. He started his season with an unexciting 4:11 mile, later ran a 5k in an unexciting time of 14:02 and was absent from racing (even at the BIG 10 XC Championships) until the BIG 10 Indoor Championships.
Luckily, that was the meet where Beadlescomb got back on track, no pun intended.
He barely lost to Ben Veatch in the 5000 meters, posting a time of 13:42 and ended up qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Beadlescomb followed the momentum of a wicked fast pace that Kiptoo had established and ended up finishing 3rd overall at the national meet, securing an incredibly exciting personal best of 13:29.
We knew that this Michigan State senior was talented and had the potential to be amongst the best in the country. However, after his slow start to the season, we weren't sure if he was really going to make any noise this year. Luckily, he peaked at the right time and delivered on expectations when it mattered the most.
The men's 5000 meters was a tough race for Kemboi. The Arkansas ace decided to follow Kiptoo in the early portion of that effort, but the pace was much too strong and Kemboi ultimately paid the price for trying to hang on, dropping to 13th place overall.
Luckily, Kemboi was able to rebound in the 3000 meters. The overall pace wasn't quite as aggressive, but positioning and some minor tactics did play a role. Still, when the Oregon men and Mario Garcia Romo began to make their move, Kemboi was at least able to respond and utilize enough finishing speed to earn a 4th place result in a time of 7:50.
Tactical decisions and positioning have sometimes hurt Kemboi in competitive races. That was evident in the 3000 meters at the SEC Indoor Championships this year as well as the 5000 meters at this national meet this past weekend.
Still, he was able to rebound and at least run a smart-enough race to earn a top All-American, so we didn't feel like it was appropriate to completely crash his ranking.
The men's 800 meter final probably didn't end the way that Gomez was probably expecting it to. The breakout Iowa State star briefly put himself in the lead, but the rest of the field let him do the work before navigating around him while Gomez faded.
The Cyclone standout still posted a very solid 5th place finish, but it wasn't exactly the result that Gomez probably wanted when you consider that he was a title favorite for a few people.
Despite that national meet performance, the redshirt sophomore still had an outstanding season. He ran 2:19 for 1000 meters, 1:47 for 800 meters, won a BIG 12 title, took down Cole Hocker on the 1200 leg of an early-season DMR and was took home wins over some of his elite middle distance teammates such as Festus Lagat and Roshon Roomes.
At the end of day, Gomez still had an outstanding season and did everything you could ask for. He drops in our rankings, but his seasonal resume is too good to ignore.
That was one heck of a weekend for Reed Brown. The Oregon men will understandably get a lot of attention for the success that we saw from Teare, Hocker and Hunter, but Brown played a pivotal role in why the Ducks dominated.
The redshirt junior dropped a 3:56 mile earlier this year and was on top of his game at the national meet. He advanced out of the prelims and then came back to lead-off the Ducks' DMR. He handed off the baton in 1st place, putting himself ahead of two very strong talents in Smulders and Ratcliffe. And remember, that was off the double for Brown.
The Oregon miler came back the next day and eventually earned his best finish ever (as an individual) at the NCAA Championships. Brown finished 5th overall in the mile which allowed him to get over the hump of unexciting performances that we have seen from him in past national meets.
Between that DMR leg and a strong showing in the mile, we felt that Brown improved his stock quite a bit this past weekend.
After multiple seasons of struggling on the national stage when it came to the track, Suliman finally put forth a weekend that was worthy of an All-American finish.
After grinding through a brutal prelim race (which he admittedly could've handled better), Suliman was able to bounce back in the finals and smartly put himself in a position where he was able to follow the flow of the race. This allowed the Ole Miss veteran to earn a very clutch 3rd place finish behind Hocker and Kipsang. His drought of All-American honors at the national meet (on the track) was finally over.
Suliman was a stud all season long, running a personal best of 3:55 in the mile and even venturing into the 3000 meters. However, we knew that this had the potential to be a different season for him after he came away with a strong performance at the SEC Championships, fending off Amon Kemboi in a gritty mile race.
You have to credit the Texas Tech senior for putting himself in a position to win the 800 meters. Hedeilli found himself at the front of the pack in the men's 800 meter finals, but ended up getting a bronze medal for his efforts.
Both him and Gomez were essentially the sacrificial pacing lambs for Hunter and McLear to work around, but Hedeilli still came out with a top result and was rewarded with a finish that was indicative of his entire season.
It was absolutely wild to think of a scenario where Tanner wouldn't make it into the mile finals. However, that is exactly what happened. The Washington sophomore made major headlines earlier in the year when he ran 3:34 for 1500 meters and later dropped a 3:55 mile with ease.
That's why it was stunning to see Tanner barely miss the mile finals, getting out leaned by BYU freshman Lucas Bons for the final qualifying spot by 0.01 seconds. Tanner never got into a great position during his prelim and spent too much energy trying to work around everyone else. As a result, he was blocked from making any substantial moves forward and was vulnerable to a lean by Bons at the line.
In super tactical races like that, it's hard to really say that Tanner still isn't one of the best distance talents in the country. He did, after all, run a blistering fast 1500 meter time that converts to roughly 3:51 high for the mile. While Tanner may have struggled tactically in that prelim, he is still a top-ranked talent.
Gosh, it is hard to dislike anything that Eric Hamer did this season. The Colorado State senior had always been a top name in the country, but he just got better and better as the season went on and showed off some of the best consistency in the NCAA.
Hamer ran back-to-back times of 13:37 for 5000 meters (one of which was converted) and had no problem with fast, aggressive pacing in either of his efforts. Sure enough, that was evident at the NCAA Indoor Championships as Kiptoo hit the pace hard and left the rest of the field to chase.
Smartly, Hamer recognized what he was capable of and led the chasing efforts. Although Kiptoo took home an "easy" win, Hamer still posted an outstanding mark of 13:29 for 5000 meters. It was a significant personal best and validation that he is truly one of the better distance runners in the NCAA.
No one raised their stock more during these NCAA Indoor Championships than Finley McLear who looked like he had won his first NCAA title as he charged down the final straightaway with Charlie Hunter giving chase. Unfortunately for McLear, the Miami (OH) runner came up just 0.01 away from the 800 meter crown, but his performance is not one that will be forgotten quickly.
In a race against many tall runners, the shorter McLear used his height to his advantage as he accelerated past the pack and looked like the most explosive runner on the track. His 1:45 puts him in elite company as only one of three men to run that time in the 800 meters this year at the collegiate level. It also shows us that he will be able to compete in any style of race moving forward.
In his first NCAA Championship, Kipsang looked like he belonged. While he looked a little out of sorts at times during his mile preliminary race, he looked strong throughout the finals. After his 3:51 split in the DMR at the SEC Indoor Championships, it was clear that he was the only one quick enough to give Hocker a scare in the mile after Sam Tanner missed out on qualifying for the final.
The Alabama runner tracked the Duck for a while before Hocker’s terrific last 400 meters left Kipsang behind. Still, the redshirt freshman held on to 2nd place and looks to be a real threat in the 1500 meters this outdoor season. If he can further refine hi tactics, he'll end up being more of a problem for his competitors than he already is.
Mantz is bumped down one spot simply due to his absence from the indoor national meet race in Arkansas. It's clear that after his 13:28 (5k) and his win over Kiptoo on the cross country course that this Cougar tar would have been a contender in the indoor 5k if he had chosen to compete. Luckily, we should be able to see a rematch of these two in another title race (or two) in the 5k and 10k in the spring.
In a world without the Oregon Ducks, Garcia Romo might be our TSR #2 runner. The Rebel continued his breakout year with a strong performance at the NCAA Championships which saw him anchor Ole Miss to a 2nd place finish in the DMR in a blazing time of 9:20.
Not only that, but he also finished 3rd in the 3000 meters. He positioned himself well in both races, but came up just short to some incredible runs from Teare and Hocker. Still, Romo has positioned himself amongst the best in the country heading into the outdoor season.
It is crazy that we do not have someone who led wire-to-wire for a time of 13:23 in the top three in our rankings, but then again, it has been a wild season.
Kiptoo’s performance in the 5k was nothing short of spectacular. He took the field out in a stunning 2:32 through the first kilometer to open up a gap that never fully closed. The Cyclone's ability to dictate the pace from the start and run incredibly fast times in a championship setting is truly elite.
It should be noted that he did not have to run against the likes of Conner Mantz or Luis Grijalva as they skipped out of running in Fayetteville in favor of focusing on cross country.
Still, Kiptoo beat all of the people in front of him and did it in style.
There is a strong argument to be made for Hunter to be ranked at TSR #2. In fact, we actually talked about this on our last Blue Oval Podcast. The senior won the 800 meter title in a thrilling race against Finley McLear with a 1:45.90 and also ran a 1:46 split to help the Ducks win the DMR.
His time of 1:45 while having to navigate a tough field on an indoor track makes us believe that he has a 1:44 in him once we hit the outdoor track. Hocker and Teare might get more headlines, but Hunter is doing something very special this year.
Despite not winning an individual national title, it is hard to say that Teare’s weekend wasn’t a success. He anchored DMR to yet another 9:19 performance and earned the Ducks a crucial 10 points. His control and confidence was clear throughout his entire 1600 leg as he slowly increased the pace to inch away from Mario Garcia Romo who was running a strong leg himself.
In the 3k, Teare looked just as good as he gapped the entire field before his precocious teammate, Cole Hocker, threw down a strong kick to edge him at the line. The veteran Duck still earned a strong 2nd place finish and ran yet another quick time of 7:46. The Oregon runners are on a different level right now.
There isn’t too much more to add to what we have already said about Hocker’s national meet performance. He won the mile/3k double which is something even the great Edward Cheserek never completed. The Duck’s mile performance was nothing short of dominant as he controlled the pace early on and closed with an incredible 25.87 last lap.
Hocker’s 3k win took his weekend from good to legendary as he beat teammate Cooper Teare with a ferocious kick. The Oregon sophomore was the man of the meet and will be the one who everyone is watching during the outdoor track season.
Shea Foster (SE Louisiana)
Adam Fogg (Drake)
Adriaan Wildschutt (Florida State)
Alec Basten (Minnesota)
Morgan Beadlescomb (Michigan State)
Lucas Bons (BYU)
Yusuf Bizimana (Texas)
Juan Diego Castro (Oklahoma State)
Alec Sandusky (Cincinnati)
Bashir Mosavel-Lo (Virginia Tech)
Luis Peralta (Oregon)
Ahmed Jaziri (Eastern Kentucky)
Davis Bove (LSU)
Cameron Ponder (Furman)
Baldvin Magnusson (Eastern Michigan)
Andrew Kent (Georgia Tech)
Brandon Tubby (North Carolina)
Ben Veatch (Indiana)
Tom Dodd (Michigan)
Lucas Bons (BYU)
Yusuf Bizimana (Texas)
Juan Diego Castro (Oklahoma State)
Alec Sandusky (Cincinnati)
Bashir Mosavel-Lo (Virginia Tech)
Kieran Taylor (Arkansas)
Ackeen Colley (Western Illinois)
Sean Dolan (Villanova)
George Kusche (Nebraska)
Duncan Hamilton (Montana State)
Matt Young (Arkansas)
Jacob McLeod (Arkansas)
Antonio Lopez Segura (Virginia Tech)
Ben Nibbelink (Virginia Tech)
Ben Fleming (Virginia Tech)
Marco Vilca (Texas Tech)
Zach Stallings (Washington State)
Baylor Franklin (Ole Miss)
Brandon Miller (Texas A&M)
Andrew Jordan (Washington)
Cooper Williams (Indiana)
Aaron Wier (Furman)
Jacob McLeod (Arkansas)
Gilbert Boit (Arkansas)
Devin Meyrer (Michigan)
Crayton Carrozza (Texas)
Everett Smulders (Ole Miss)
Thomas Ratcliffe (North Carolina)
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