TSR Collaboration
Jan 25, 20218 min
TSR contributors may value certain aspects and criteria differently between men and women when constructing our Indoor rankings. Scoring potential and potency at the national meet is taking into consideration for these rankings, although not entirely. Eligibility is based on TFRRS or roster information. Unless told otherwise, TSR is assuming that all D3 athletes will have chances to compete this season, even if an athlete's indoor conference meet does not take place.
NOTE: Aidan Ryan (Williams) is not expected to compete this winter or spring and will return to competition next year.
The RPI veteran is a solid overall talent, but he really entered an impressive last winter after running an outstanding mark of 14:23 for 5000 meters at Boston University. His 3k times are fine, owning a personal best of 8:34 and his mile personal best is a respectable 4:18. However, his 5k really allows him to standout. If he can replicate that performance from last year, then Jaques could end up being a legitimate threat at the D3 level.
Nealis ended his 2020 indoor track season with a remarkable effort at the Tufts Last Chance meet, running a stellar 4:11 in the mile to secure himself a place at the 2020 Indoor National Championships. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see him roll off of that momentum due to the cancelled national meet.
The Bates veteran has run 3:55 in the 1500 meters plus a few more miles around 4:15, but if he can pull off more performances like that 4:11 this year, then we could see him contend for a high-end podium finish at Nationals this year.
Ever since he was the top freshman at the 2019 NCAA XC Championships when he placed 15th overall, Alex Phillip has continued to be one of the fastest underclassmen in all of D3.
Last year, he ran some respectable times on the indoor oval, posting times of 4:17 in the mile and 8:35 in the 3k. However, his most impressive performance had to be running 24:26 in the 8k at the Terre Haute Meet of Champions last fall, mixing himself up with some talented D1 names.
In his 2021 campaign, Phillip took the win over Hunter Moore in the 5000 meters, running 14:33 in the process and putting himself at NCAA #2 currently on the D3 behind Joe Freiburger.
After an impressive start to the season for Phillip, it will be exciting to see how the John Carroll sophomore grows this season and which events he attacks.
The only guy from out west on our list, Cargile is a proven ace over the middle distances, racking up a very impressive three All-American honors throughout his career at Redlands; most notably placing 4th in the 800 meters at 2019 Outdoor National Championships.
Cargile has run 1:50 in the 800 meters and 4:13 in the mile, so he could easily be a threat in either event. With a few of the top 800 runners in D3 leaving due to graduation, Cargile could be one of the next big-name contenders in 2021.
In talking about breakout performances, Nicholas Hoffman takes the cake. He recently dropped a 4:09 mile this past weekend at Grand Valley State, a seven-second personal best! His previous best of 4:16 still is pretty good, but with this performance, Hoffman has elevated himself to a new level. The big question is whether or not he can replicate that sort of performance later this season. If he can, he’ll be a lethal force in the mile this winter.
Ridderhoff is another guy on this list who has run 4:09 in the mile. However, due to contact with another athlete at last year’s UAA Indoor Championships, he was disqualified. Even so, his times of 1:54 (800) and 4:13 (mile) are still very impressive. Not only that, but he could easily be a contributing member of a high-level DMR for Washington U. as he and the Bears took 3rd at the national meet back in 2019.
Ridderhoff could be a guy who swings from either the 800 meters, the mile or the DMR as he aims to add to Wash. U.’s perennially impressive team prowess.
Will we see the Lucas Mueller of old return in 2021? That is probably the biggest question I’d like to know this year.
We have harped on it before, but this guy came within 0.2 seconds of beating Dhruvil Patel for the 10k national title. That's not talent that can simply be ignored.
If Mueller, who has run astounding PR’s of 4:12 (mile), 8:17 (3k) and 14:22 (5k), can return to form after a subpar 2020, then that will change our perspective as to who will be in the running for national titles in D3. He’s got fellow speedster Matthew Wilkinson right with him at Carleton, so the hope would be that those two can push each other to greater heights.
That would be extremely dangerous IF those two soar to the top of D3.
Martin probably has the most range out of any of the guys on our list who could score pretty much anywhere when it comes to the National Championships. Back in 2019 as a freshman, he took 5th in the 800 meters at the Indoor National Championships, while in 2020, he ran a 5k PR of 14:40 -- that’s some seriously impressive versatility.
Martin also contributed to a 10:01 DMR (2020) and ran some respectable PR’s in the mile and 3k, which he doesn’t compete in as often, running 4:21 and 8:37, respectively. To top it all off, Martin has shown some promising strength in the fall during Wartburg’s cross country season, serving as a very reliable #2/#3 behind team ace Joe Freiburger.
What will Martin do this year? We could see him return to the 800 meters, contribute to a speedy DMR, step up to the 5k or even contest the mile/3k. The options run rampant for Martin, so it will be interesting to see what basket(s) he decides to throw his eggs into.
One of the most consistent distance stars in D3, Pangallozzi has maintained a solid presence in the upper-echelon of the nation's best distance talents. Last year, he ran 8:24 in the 3k and 14:33 in the 5k, both of which would have qualified for the indoor national meet. He also had a big day at the 2019 NCAA XC Championships, taking 4th place and putting himself in a position to be one of the top returners for the 2020-2021 year.
If Pangallozzi can get some solid races underneath him, then the John Hopkins veteran could find himself qualifying for Nationals in the 3k and 5k once again -- that would not surprise us. Even so, some high-end All-American finishes could be right in his wheelhouse.
Another guy with some great range on the track, Pommier has the ability to stretch his talent from the mile up to the 5k with some of the nation's top-end talent. He’s run 4:12 in the mile, 8:34 in the 3k and 14:34 in the 5k.
North Central had a slew of guys qualify for the national meet in the 5k last year, including Pommier, so it would have been very exciting to see that group in action all at once. Will the same happen this year? Or will Pommier qualify in the mile for the third-straight year? Either way, he’s got enough talent to do some damage in any of the distance races he wants to pursue.
Freiburger has been one to watch during the COVID times as Wartburg was one of the only teams to actually have a cross country season this past fall. With that, he pretty much dominated the American Rivers Conference week in and week out, not losing any race. We’ve also seen him get a hot start to his 2021 campaign, already taking the national lead in the 5k with a 14:32 solo effort last weekend.
Freiburger could team up with Dalton Martin and some other Wartburg guys to put together a powerful DMR later this season as they ran 10:01 last year at their Last Chance meet. He also seems primed to tackle the 3k/5k and rack up some All-American honors there. He’s got options, but Freiburger will be amongst the top runners in D3 this year in whatever he competes in.
Jasa is easily the most true middle distance runner on our list, but his resume with the 800 backs himself up plenty. He went into Indoor Nationals last year as the second seed behind Kyler Lueck, now graduated, so Jasa is now one of the top 800 runners in D3 to look out for. With his times of 49.94 (400), 1:20 (600) and 1:52 (800), Jasa has some serious speed to his name. He was entered in Loras’ 4x400 relay last year which boasted one of the top times in the nation.
With the ridiculous amount of talented 800 runners that Loras has, could we see a strong DMR from the Duhawks? If so, Jasa would absolutely be an integral part to their success. Akin to last year, he could also take on the 800/4x400 double, both of which give him some great scoring opportunities at Nationals.
Another middle distance oriented guy on our list, Potter could be a strong threat in the 800 meters, the mile or even the DMR this winter. His talent gives him lots to choose from. He competed incredibly well against Kyler Lueck last year in the WIAC and has personal bests of 1:51 in the 800 and 4:13 in the mile. He was looking to be one of the top contenders in the 800 last year and along with guys like Mike Jasa, could be competing for the national title in 2021.
Coming off of his incredible 2020 indoor campaign, Fassbender is one of the top distance guys in all of D3, already having proven it last year. He ran some incredible PR’s of 8:15 in the 3k and 14:26 in the 5k, putting him at NCAA #3 in D3 for each event last year. Even so, along with some other UW-Whitewater teammates, Fassbender stepped up in a big on the DMR in 2020, qualifying their relay to the eventually cancelled Indoor National Championships.
Will Fassbender go for the 3k/5k double? Or will he go for the DMR with his teammates? Either way, it’s very likely we’ll see him finish near the top of any event that he chooses.
With the other top runner in D3, Aidan Ryan, taking a year off, the choice for our TSR #1 pick became a little easier. Wilkinson was a major force to be reckoned with on the D3 level in 2020, establishing himself as the one to beat in the 5k, sitting at NCAA #1 on the D3 leaderboard with his 14:22 PR.
Of course, that wasn’t all that we saw from him. The Carleton senior ran 4:08 in the mile (NCAA #3 in D3) and 8:11 in the 3k (NCAA #3 in D3) which were equally as impressive. The battle between him, Aidan Ryan and/or David Fassbender would have been absolutely electric last year, which will make it all the better in 2021 when Wilkinson and Fassebender matchup.
Wilkinson could do anything from the mile to the 5k this winter and be a contender for the national title; that’s just how good he is. He’s proven himself to be a star ace already and this season should prove to be no different.