TSR Collaboration
Mar 17, 20229 min
Updated: Mar 18, 2022
Written by Brett Haffner & Garrett Zatlin
Click here to see our Just Missed and Honorable Mention names.
Listed eligibility takes redshirts and Covid-related extensions into consideration.
TFRRS is used as a general guide when determining eligibility.
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 Williams rookie may not have had his best day at the national meet this past weekend, but his regular season was one of the best we’ve ever seen from a true freshman at the D3 level.
National meet finishes are certainly a big factor in our final rankings, and while it’s easy to say that 14th place and 7th place finishes in the 5k and 3k (respectively) are a letdown for him, it’s important to remember why that is the case.
One month ago Tuohy Gaydos ran 14:00. For 5000 meters. And no, that wasn't a typo.
Running a time like that is no small feat, and neither is already being a two-time All-American after two seasons of competition. His overall value is still incredibly high thanks to his exciting potential that comes with his youth...his 14:00 is also hard to forget about.
Collet flexed great tactical execution in the mile this past weekend, doing what he had to in a tight prelim heat and then finishing an impressive 3rd place overall in a fast final.
Collet admittedly didn’t have much left when he came back in the 3k, dropping off less than a mile in from a chase pack that wasn’t going all that fast. Too much shouldn’t be made out of his 3k performance, although that result was an anomaly for someone like Collet, even on tired legs.
Still, by that point, the Wartburg ace had already shown us that he was one of the best milers in the country. He was wildly consistent all season-long, was able to earn valuable wins and up until his 3k this past weekend, never had a poor race.
For that reason, he sticks around in our rankings.
Sam Craig has always been one of the better distance talents in the country, but he dropped out of our rankings midseason despite some solid performances. This was mainly because other guys we were ranking just looked a little bit sharper at the time.
Still, Craig continued to improve throughout the season.
As Division Three rose to a new level, Craig rose with it.
Craig's season culminated in a 3rd place national finish in the 5k behind Alex Phillip and Michael Obroin. He showed a lot of poise in a large pack that followed Phillip and was able to stay competitive in a race where the pace was fairly quick. Although, in theory, that style of racing did favor his long distance strength.
The U. of Chicago veteran now has a lot of momentum to carry with him heading into the outdoor season. Based on how he attacked the 5k this winter and how he thrived on the grass, Craig may opt to move up to the 10k this season.
Harvey may have been unranked in our last rankings edition, but he was still very much a name who was on our radar. The Loras standout was a strong 1500 meter runner last spring, but it was obvious that he took a step up in fitness this winter.
Harvey slowly and steadily improved his mile personal best throughout the season, running 4:10 twice, then 4:09, then, this past weekend, he ran 4:07 for a big PR. That mark came in the mile finals where Harvey, despite his relative youth, placed 4th overall.
There are now a lot of promising signs for this Loras star moving forward. The second-year Duhawk runner gained valuable experience on the national stage last year and has now seemingly meshed that experience and raw talent this winter.
For someone who is still relatively young, that's very impressive.
Kuxmann was one of the three men to stun Mike Jasa in the 800 meter finals. While he did capitalize on a surprising opportunity to place 3rd overall, it still made sense that Kuxmann would be there to produce a top performance.
He has, after all, been one of the more consistent 800 meter runners in the country.
Kuxmann never ran slower than 1:54 this winter and he clearly improved as the season progressed. He ran 1:53 to get into the national meet, ran 1:51 in the 800 meter prelims and then held strong in the 800 meter finals to run 1:52 in the finals.
With a personal best of 1:51, Kuxmann had the experience, firepower, progression and postseason peak that was going to equal a top finish, regardless of how Jasa performed.
Lekcky was flat-out great all season long. He ran fast times, secured strong wins and earned two-backend All-American finishes this past weekend, placing 5th in the mile and 7th in the DMR.
We still can't help but wonder if he should've run the mile this past weekend given his 4:05 personal best. However, for the most part, there isn't a whole lot to talk about here. Lecky held his own and matched most of our expectations, but there wasn't anything in particular that truly stood out.
Wow! Michael Obroin! Where did that come from??
The men's 5k this past weekend was a major highlight, mainly because of the dominance that we expected to see from Alex Phillip. Well, sure enough, we did that see that Alex Phillip dominate, but seeing Obroin cross the line in 2nd place was incredible!
Obroin entered the national meet with a 14:23 personal best and was in a favorable seed position. However, to see him stick with a fast pace, run a substantial personal best and fend off other men who are simply more experienced than he is was downright impressive.
After faltering on the national stage in cross country and having no other national meet experience on the track, predicting Obroin as the 2nd place finisher this past weekend would've been bold.
But if you made that prediction, then you now look like the smartest person in the room.
One of the few guys from out west to compete this past weekend, Cargile called his shot a few weekends ago, running 4:04 in the mile at Boston University to prove how elite his current fitness was.
However, Cargile did more than just flex his fitness this past weekend. He also showed that he could translate that success to a race that was all about positioning. He stuck himself right near the front of the championship mile final and eventually walked away with a runner-up finish behind Aidan Ryan.
Cargile should be a constant threat in the 1500 meters this spring, along with even stepping down to the 800 meters. The vast depth of competition out in California should give him many opportunities to run fast where he could run something scary quick.
Nobody ran with more guts than Fassbender did in his hunt for national titles. In both the 3000 meters and the 5000 meters, the Warhawk ace took the helm of the lead, even with guys like Alex Phillip and Aidan Ryan right on his tail.
While he didn’t contend up front at the end of the races, Fassbender still put together one of the more impressive doubles of the weekend, earning 5th place and 3rd place finishes in the 3000 meters and 5000 meters, respectively.
It only makes things more dangerous when you consider that his Warhawk teammates, Christian Patzka and Gunner Schlender, finished right around him in that epic 5000 meters team effort, going 4-5-6.
Fassbender is someone who has run on the national stage before and who is plenty familiar with the men he is racing against. The tactical understanding of his competition, foes and teammates alike, clearly benefitted him this weekend.
While his mid-season performances didn’t paint the entire picture, Potter ran masterful races in the 800 meter prelims and the finals this past weekend. After walking away from his prelim heat in a time of 1:51.11, it was evident that Potter was ready to contend in the finals.
The Titan ace ultimately ended up as a close runner-up to Ryan Wilson on day two, running 1:51.07, but this was Potter’s best championship race on the national level. He’s definitely shown that his clutch performances are coming out on the biggest stages possible.
Between his past experiences, his improved understanding of racing tactics and his proven ability to run fast, it was almost obvious that Potter was going to be a factor this past weekend.
Ridderhoff has been a solid competitor in Division Three for the last few years, competing well in national settings. However, this past weekend elevated him to being an extremely clutch performer.
The Washington U. veteran was given the daunting task of competing next to Aidan Ryan, the best miler in Division Three, in the DMR. However, Ridderhoff blew away expectations by kicking Ryan down on the 1600 meter leg of the DMR, winning Washington U. a national title.
Then, Ridderhoff came back in the 3000 meters and managed to earn a 4th place finish behind the likes of Aidan Ryan, Alex Phillip and David Fassbender.
These performances turned out to be huge for the Bears, as the team earned a co-national championship for their first national title in program history.
Sure, Ridderhoff wasn't a top-10 runner for the 3k or a top-five runner in the mile this season. Still, he ran his best when it matted the most and put himself in contention against some of the best names in D3 history.
And when you are as clutch as he was on the national stage, then the regular season hardly matters.
As the outright favorite in the 800 meters all season, it was an absolute shock to see Jasa falter in the final 100 meters of the championship final. That was the first time all season that we’ve seen him not dominate. He was just outright beaten.
However, Jasa’s season as a whole was an impressive one, being the only Division Three runner to break 1:50 in the 800 meters and putting together a bunch of strong 400 meter and 4x400 meter performances.
One performance where he wasn’t firing on all cylinders doesn’t define Jasa. He has still proven himself to be the cream of the crop of Division Three middle distance specialists and even with a 4th place finish, I think most people would agree with us.
I doubt that many people imagined that Ryan Wilson would be the national champion in the 800 meters this winter. Yet, he stepped up on the biggest stage possible to rise to the top.
His finals race was very tactically sound, taking over on the final stretch to cruise past Steven Potter and Mike Jasa and with an impressive time of 1:50.92. While many people will likely get caught up in the fact that Wilson took down Jasa, it's the fact that Wilson perfectly maneuvered his way past both Potter and Kuxxman.
The decision to drop the mile seemed to pay off for Wilson. However, if we look at his season as a whole, we probably should've seen a top All-American finish coming.
This decision may be a little controversial, but this weekend proved that Aidan Ryan is not completely invincible. While scoring 28 points for the Ephs was very impressive, four races ended up being a lot for Ryan to handle.
His mile final looked smooth to bring home the win, but in both the DMR and in the 3k finals, he was bested when it came down to a kick by Jacob Ridderhoff and Alex Phillip, respectively.
That being said, Ryan put together one of the most wildly impressive seasons by a Division Three athlete, ever. Heading into outdoors, the question remains as such: How much of the D3 record books will Aidan Ryan rewrite?
Adding to his already incredible resume, Alex Phillip’s two national titles were icing on the cake for his monstrous indoor season.
The 5k/3k double is not an easy one to handle despite how common it is, but Phillip completely dominated both championship races, regardless of whether or not the pace was or not. He was able to effortlessly roll through a quick pace, but also steamroll past Aidan Ryan when it came down to a kick.
With Phillip, as the distance increases, he gets even better. We could see some long distance records fall under his reign this spring, especially as he moves up to the 10k. His fitness was flat-out incredible this year.
Michael Obroin (Carnegie Mellon)
Ben Kuxmann (Millikin)
Ryan Harvey (Loras)
Sam Craig (U of Chicago)
Joe Freiburger (Wartburg)
Carter Oberfoell (Loras)
Nick Andrews (SUNY Geneseo)
Tyler Morris (Colby)
Christian Patzka (UW-Whitewater)
Ezra Ruggles (SUNY Geneseo)
Nick Andrews (SUNY Geneseo)
Joe Freiburger (Wartburg)
Jamie Daley (John Carroll)
Tyler Morris (Colby)
Garrett Lenners (Nebraska Wesleyan)
Kai Dettman (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps)
Matthew Kleiman (Johns Hopkins)
Gunner Schlender (UW-Whitewater)