Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Dec 21, 202312 min
Click here to see our Just Missed and Honorable Mention names.
Click here to see Part One (names #25 through #13)
Listed eligibility takes redshirts and Covid-related extensions into consideration.
TFRRS is used as a general, but not strict, guide when determining eligibility.
This past fall, the Oklahoma State men put together a historic performance at the NCAA XC Championships, putting five men in the top-15 and scoring just 49 points. But what if I told you that the Cowboys did all of that without a 7:38 (3k) runner?
Well, Ryan Schoppe is that 7:38 guy who didn't race this past fall. But as we saw earlier this month when he ran that NCAA #7 all-time 3k mark, this Cowboy ace is closer to be a superstar rather than just a top-tier name.
Last winter, Ryan Schoppe was electric, posting outstanding times of 3:55 (mile) and 7:41.99 (3k). He also went on to run 13:35 (5k) on the outdoor oval after helping Oklahoma State win the DMR national title.
In terms of times and tactics, Schoppe's ceiling is that of a top-five runner. He is way better tactically than some people may give him credit for and his ability to get separation late in races is very underrated. However, a few hiccups in the postseason over the last year make it hard to rank him any higher than this. Despite his unreal talent and refined racing ability, he has yet to earn an individual All-American honor.
Even so, Schoppe demands respect as one of the overall best distance runners in the NCAA and it would truthfully be a surprise if he didn't crack the top-10 portion of our rankings later this winter.
I can already hear everyone's collective gasps as they see Drew Bosley listed at TSR #11 in our preseason indoor track rankings. However, I would implore you to put down your pitchforks for a moment and allow me to explain ourselves.
Last winter, Drew Bosley was in the conversation with Fouad Messaoudi and Dylan Jacobs as the single-best collegiate distance runner in the nation. After all, Bosley had set the NCAA record over 3000 meters and had posted a 13:13 (5k) mark earlier in December of 2022.
Bosley didn't win a national title that winter, but out of all of the men who failed to win individual gold, no one was better than this NAU superstar.
So why is he ranked this low?
Truthfully, we haven't seen the best version of Bosley over the last nine months. This isn't to say that he hasn't run well, but he doesn't seem to be in top form, either. An injury kept him out for nearly the entire outdoor track season and his aggressive front-running tactics on the grass ultimately sent him fading from the leaders on major stages. You could see the same thing happening in the 3k at Boston University earlier this month. Despite running a great time of 7:43 (3k), the Lumberjack standout wasn't able to hang with the top of the field.
If Bosley is able to return to his 2022 form over the next few months, then this ranking severely undervalues him. But until then, this spot seemed appropriate.
Ah, yes. Nico Young. A guy who has made our lives so difficult when it comes to our seasonal rankings. For years, I have said that this Northern Arizona runner is one of the most naturally gifted distance talents in the NCAA (along with recent pro signee, Eliud Kipsang). And even as we approach 2024, I feel like that is still true.
However, the only critique that we've had for Young are in regards to racing tactically and effectively responding to fast finishes on championship stages. When it comes to all-out affairs, the Lumberjack ace is arguably the best time trial runner in the country, recently posting a jaw-dropping time of 7:37 for 3000 meters which beautifully complements his other personal bests of 3:37 (1500) and 13:11 (5k).
But as many of us know, ultra-fast times don't always translate to national titles.
The good news is that, earlier this month, Nico Young just showcased some of the best turnover that we have ever seen from him. En route to his 7:37 PR, Young was able to put together an incredible kick to rocket past the leaders over the final 100 meters and take home the overall victory.
If Nico Young is able to utilize that kind of turnover come March, then this ranking is likely too low. And if that happens, then that elusive national title may finally fall into his hands.
Going into last year's indoor national meet, many of us at The Stride Report felt that there were multiple men, maybe three or four, who could realistically win the mile national title that winter. Washington veteran Luke Houser was not one of those men.
But the still-rising Husky star had other plans, working with his fellow teammates in the mile final and making the decision to put himself in the lead with 600-ish meters to go to get some separation -- and it worked! Despite Isaac Basten nearly getting him at the line, it was Houser who emerged victorious with a mile national title.
Pairing that NCAA gold medal with a 3:52 mile PR, as well as two All-American honors over 1500 meters, this Husky mile star has proven to be one of the most reliable postseason runners on the track over the past year. He also earns an added bonus in these rankings from the fact that he'll likely have his Washington teammates to work with (yet again) on the national stage.
Despite a less-than-ideal end to his cross country season, Houser was still brilliant during the fall months, putting together his best-ever season on the grass. That's a positive sign as we head into a winter campaign where his 7:48 (3k) could be due for a reset.
Overall, Houser has everything that you could want. Postseason success, a strong understanding of when to make certain moves, a top-tier PR and teammates who have very clearly benefitted him on the national stage. For that reason, he is being placed at TSR #9.
Once a high school star, and debatably the top-ranked distance recruit from the Class of 2021, this Idaho native has been absolutely brilliant for the Washington men over the last few years.
Nathan Green was an accomplished miler who had grand success over 1500 meters as a freshman. But as a redshirt rookie last winter, Green was even better in his first official collegiate indoor track season. The Washington star ran an incredible time of 3:52 in the mile and quickly followed up that PR with a new personal best of 1:46.99 over 800 meters.
All of that led to Green placing 5th in the mile at the indoor national meet. But after not racing for quite some time last spring, Green flexed incredible closing speed in the postseason. All of that led to a PAC-12 title and, eventually, a national title over 1500 meters.
You could argue that no collegiate had a better kick than Nathan Green did last year, especially during the spring months. And with that belief, you can understand why Nathan Green is listed at TSR #8.
Potentially one of the most underappreciated athletes in these rankings, Handal Roban is a middle distance star who has been surprisingly consistent on the national stage despite his relative inexperience.
As a freshman, this half-miler from St. Vincent and the Grenadines was a very pleasant surprise. After barely sneaking into the indoor national meet with a 1:47 (800) mark, Roban advanced to the finals and earned a bronze medal (after Navasky Anderson was DQ'd) with a 1:47 effort at altitude.
But surely that was a fluke for someone who was seeded so low coming into the meet...right?
Wrong. Roban ventured to the outdoor oval where he looked relatively strong until the BIG 10 Outdoor Championships where he had an "off" day. But on the national stage, Roban was phenomenal, advancing to the finals where he ran HUGE PR of 1:45.95 for 800 meters to earn another bronze medal, finishing behind only Will Sumner and Yusuf Bizimana.
Back-to-back bronze medals and a 1:45 PR is absolutely incredible stuff for someone who was still so young throughout 2023. Oh, and if you thought that PR was a fluke, then just know that Roban later ran 1:45.93 at the CAC Games back in July.
But maybe the most impressive aspect about Roban is his poise and racing maturity. At the indoor national meet, he didn't panic when Tarees Rhoden and Navasky Anderson jolted to the front. Instead, he patiently worked his way up the field and was rewarded with a fantastic result. It was a somewhat similar story at the outdoor national meet as Roban quickly realized that the leaders were not going to come back to him and he made sure to put himself in a good position early-on.
If Roban was that poised, that fast and that successful as a rookie, then what could he do with a year of experience now under his belt?
It wasn't necessarily a challenge to rank Anass Essayi -- we knew he was going to be listed in our top-10 this winter. However, trying to figure out where exactly in our top-10 he should be was a bit of a challenge.
This South Carolina star was incredible last winter, running times of 3:50 (mile) and 7:41 (3k). That former mark sits at NCAA #2 all-time and the latter marks sits at NCAA #9 all-time. Not only that, but during the summer months, Essayi went on to post an unbelievably strong mark of 3:32 for 1500 meters in France!
In terms of raw fitness, Essayi is arguably just as good as anyone else in these rankings. If our list was based solely on times, then there would be a very strong argument for the Gamecock standout to be listed at TSR #1.
And yet, at the NCAA Championships, both on the indoor and outdoor ovals, Essayi has not stood out in a way that his times would suggest that he could have. Make no mistake, he has still earned excellent finishes of 3rd in the mile at the indoor national meet and 4th over 1500 meters at the outdoor national meet. But at this point in our rankings, those finishes deserve a bit more scrutiny, especially considering that Essayi has lost to a small handful of men on those stages who are ranked behind him.
Yes, it's true, Joe Waskom hasn't won a national title since the spring of 2022 when he stunned the nation with a huge victory over 1500 meters. But just because he hasn't won NCAA gold since then doesn't mean that he hasn't had major success.
This Washington megastar was absolutely brilliant last winter, running other-worldly times of 2:18 for 1000 meters and 3:51 for the mile. During the spring, he also ran 3:35 for 1500 meters, putting him in the conversation as the best pure miler in the NCAA. And even though he didn't win gold last year, Waskom's 4th place finish at the indoor national meet and narrow runner-up effort at the outdoor national meet still boosted his resume.
After a very strong summer of racing where he ran a 3:34 PR in Italy and later competed at the World Championships, Waskom has a library of experience that he can lean on throughout these winter months. The Husky ace has seen nearly every tactic possible and he has the fitness, as well as the turnover, to respond to almost any and all moves.
For someone who is viewed as arguably the most complete miler in the country, we have opted to put Joe Waskom at TSR #5.
When it comes to racing distances on the indoor oval, you could make the argument that Stanford's Ky Robinson is the most well-rounded athlete in these rankings. Between the mile, the 3000 meters and the 5000 meters, the Aussie Cardinal has proven to be a very real threat at nearly any distance and in most racing styles.
Last winter, Robinson was (mostly) excellent during the regular season. He won the Boston U. Season Opener 5k in a time of 13:11, ran a 3:55 mile PR at Washington, had a slight "off" day over 3000 meters at Arkansas, earned a 23rd place finish at the World XC Championships and came back to run 7:42 (3k) shortly thereafter.
However, a heavy workload of racing eventually caught up to Robinson at the indoor national meet, earning one backend All-American finish in what was a very underwhelming end to his season. Of course, as we all saw during the spring months, Robinson was incredible at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The Stanford superstar was the clear-cut winner in both the 10k and the 5k, a distance double victory that was last achieved by Edward Cheserek.
Fast forward past a great cross country season and Ky Robinson found himself back at Boston University earlier this month for a fast 5k effort. And although he didn't win, his aggressive front-running was a major reason why Graham Blanks ran the collegiate record and why Robinson hung on to break the former record as well (in a time of 13:06).
Yes, Graham Blanks is seemingly on a different level than any other aerobic talent in the NCAA right now. But Ky Robinson isn't that far behind. It is extremely unlikely that the NCAA Indoor Championships will be anywhere close to as fast as what we saw earlier this month. And in that case, Robinson has a very realistic shot to win gold.
With no World XC Championships to worry about this year, Robinson should be viewed as a legitimate national title threat over 5000 meters and maybe even the 3000 meters. He can handle whatever kind of racing style is thrown at him and he's smart enough to know when he should or shouldn't make certain moves.
It feels like Texas ace Yusuf Bizimana never got the appreciation that he should have throughout last year. He (deservedly) won the indoor national title over 800 meters, but that was after Navasky Anderson was disqualified (and understandably so).
At the Texas Relays, Bizimana didn't look like himself, fading to 4th place in a loaded, top-heavy field. And at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, despite running a new PR of 1:45.74, the Longhorn star still had to settle for silver thanks to Will Sumner having the race of his life.
As you can see, Bizimana is a wildly accomplished middle distance talent. But in 2024, we anticipate that he'll have fewer challenges in major races than what he had to deal with throughout last year.
But let's also not forget that this is someone who has found national meet success prior to last year. Remember, Bizimana was a mile All-American in the winter of 2021 as well as an 800-meter All-American in the spring of 2021 and the winter of 2022.
You could make the argument that between the individual distance events (800 meters and up), no one is more of a national title favorite than Yusuf Bizimana...depending on how you think Graham Blanks' 5k record will translate to the national stage.
For that reason, this Texas superstar sits at TSR #3 in our preseason rankings.
For as long as I have been covering this sport (approaching nine years), I can't remember too many indoor track campaigns that have been as flawless as what we saw from Fouad Messaoudi last winter.
The 2014 and 2017 versions of Edward Cheserek are certainly up there as well as Lawi Lalang in 2012. Maybe Cooper Teare and Cole Hocker in 2020? I'm sure there are others, but those are just the ones that I remember.
This Oklahoma State star was beyond phenomenal last winter. He could simply do no wrong. The Moroccan distance standout began his winter season with statement 3k win in a time of 7:44 before running 3:54 in the mile and later improving his 3k PR to 7:41.
Oh, and he helped the Cowboys set a new NCAA record in the DMR.
But what truly impressed me was how he handled himself at the national meet. After the Cowboys easily won the DMR national title, Messaoudi went to the 3k where he put together a masterclass showing on tactics and positioning. And although the race was tight, every move that this Oklahoma State star made was seemingly perfect -- and that's how he ended up with NCAA gold.
Messaoudi outdoor track season didn't end the way that he probably wanted it to, but he was still able to run 3:35 for 1500 meters at the Bryan Clay Invite back in April.
If someone wanted to rank Messaoudi at TSR #1, we probably wouldn't argue with you. This Cowboy star was nearly perfect in every aspect of racing last winter. He posted super fast times, was nationally competitive in multiple events, was exceptional tactically and was as consistent as almost anyone else in the country.
There are two ways of looking at this ranking for Graham Blanks.
The first is that you don't think Blanks is accomplished enough on the indoor oval to earn this spot and that the non-5k times on his resume, while still excellent, aren't quite TSR #1 good.
The second point of view, however, is far more positive. This Harvard star was probably the best distance runner at the outdoor national meet last spring who didn't win a national title. He then dominated during the cross country season and then just erupted at Boston U. to post a monster 5k time of 13:03 (5k), destroying the previous collegiate record and taking down an insanely loaded field in the process.
And in case you couldn't tell, we adopted the latter perspective.
Between Blanks' fall campaign and his recent collegiate record, not placing him at TSR #1 would feel a bit click bait-ish. But it's not just his ultra-fast 5k time or his incredible cross country season that puts him at this spot.
Blanks has shown an unreal ability to control his fitness no matter the setting. His mid-race and late-race surges are so impressive -- he can seemingly flip on multiple gears whenever he wants. The Harvard star has almost always made the right tactical decisions over the last year (whether he thinks so or not) and he has proven that he's just more fit than everyone else right now.
After having a few doubts about Blanks' national title potential in the fall, we decided that we're done doubting him. That's why he sits at TSR #1.
Mehdi Yanouri (Oklahoma State)
Yaseen Abdalla (Tennessee)
Casey Clinger (BYU)
Jesse Hamlin (Butler)
Sam Austin (Florida)
Denis Kipngetich (Oklahoma State)
Kirami Yego (Arkansas)
Bob Liking (Wisconsin)
Hillary Cheruiyot (Alabama)
Lukas Kiprop (New Mexico)
Abdullahi Hassan (Wisconsin)
Ronan McMahon-Staggs (Washington)
Patrick Kiprop (Arkansas)
Devin Hart (Texas)
Tarees Rhoden (Clemson)
Sean Dolan (Villanova)
Gary Martin (Virginia)
Theo Quax (Northern Arizona)
Davis Bove (Cal Poly)
Lukas Kiprop (New Mexico)
Samuel Rodman (Princeton)
Rivaldo Marshall (Iowa)
Alex Phillip (North Carolina)
Camden Marshall (Indiana)
Sam Whitmarsh (Texas A&M)
Aman Thornton (Clemson)
Nicholas Plant (Virginia Tech)
Colin Sahlman (Northern Arizona)
Luke Tewalt (Wake Forest)
Matthew Payamps (Georgetown)
Tinoda Matsasta (Georgetown)
Simeon Birnbaum (Oregon)
Rocky Hansen (Wake Forest)
Evans Kiplagat (New Mexico)
John Lester (Transfer Portal)
Dayton Carlson (Arizona State)
Sebastian Fernandez (BYU)
Isaiah Givens (Colorado)
Acer Iverson (Harvard)
Lexington Hilton (Arkansas)
Ben Perrin (Montana State)
Dylan Schubert (Furman)
Aaron Las Heras (Northern Arizona)
Blaik Slavinski (Clemson)