2023-24 D2 Indoor Top 25 Rankings (Men): Preseason (Part Two)

Written by Marissa Kuik, additional edits & commentary via Garrett Zatlin & Gavin Struve

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.

12. Simon Kelati, Junior, Western Colorado

Simon Kelati is riding as much momentum as anyone in our rankings.

After a historic fall campaign where this Mountaineer star finished runner-up at the cross country national meet, Kelati toed the line for Western Colorado’s home meet, running a time of 14:35 (5k) at altitude which earned a conversion of 13:39.

Regardless of what you think about conversions, that mark lines up with Kelati’s fitness level from his incredible fall season, putting him in a great spot for when he comes back from winter break.

On top of all of that, Kelati ran some great PRs last spring, including times of 13:51 (5k) and 3:46 (1500). He pulled off the challenging double at the outdoor national meet, finishing as an All-American position in both events! He also came away with an All-American finish last winter, placing 8th over 5k at the indoor national meet.

The craziest thing about Kelati’s performance at the indoor national meet is that he only ran once race leading up to the meet all season, and that lone race was in December! 

The only reason why Kelati doesn't crack our top-10 is because he races far less often on the indoor oval than other top individuals, almost not at all. But based off of the momentum that he has been building, we could see him moving up this list very, very soon. 

11. Angel Luera, Senior, Dallas Baptist

Angel Luera peaked at the right time at last year’s outdoor national meet when he finished 4th overall over 800 meters, running a fantastic PR of 1:48.22 at altitude. That performance was a major development as his prior PR of 1:48.97 had been an outlier compared to the rest of his spring campaign.

But what also boosts Luera's resume is the fact that he did not focus solely on the 800 meters that season. He also contested several 1500-meter races, ultimately running 3:46, and even tried the 3k steeplechase!

Luera did not race much during the 2023 indoor track season, only competing in a couple meets as a part of Dallas Baptist’s DMR team. That, in turn, makes a bit of an unknown as to how he'll translate his spring success to the indoor oval.

But let's consider one more factor: the growth that we saw from Luera during the fall. Not all middle distance stars compete in cross country, but those who do often see measurable improvement once they step on the oval. Luera just enjoyed one of his best seasons on the grass, coming away with a very respectable 65th place finish at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships.

Sure, we haven't seen Luera race often on the indoor oval, but he has the prerequisites for high-level success. And in the past year, he has further developed his aerobic fitness and specificity towards the half-mile distance.

After redshirting his freshman cross country season, we had no idea that Tyler Nord would perform so well on the oval throughout 2023.

Even as he experienced success throughout the indoor track season last year, it was not until the RMAC Indoor Championships (where he took home the individual 3k title) that we started to see Nord’s true potential. But even after that, he blew us away by finishing 3rd overall at the indoor national meet over 3000 meters. 

With his name now far more established, we looked forward to what he could do on the outdoor oval. Nord’s spring season was not quite as flashy, but he was still impressive, posting PRs of 3:49 over 1500 meters and 14:03 in the 5k. He qualified for the national meet in both events and almost came away with two All-American finishes. However, he settled for just one with a 8th place result in the metric mile.  

Nord lost no momentum over the summer en route to a consistently strong fall season and was rewarded with a 15th place finish at the cross country national meet. But more importantly, he wasted no time putting together a fast time at the Mountaineers' home meet, racing to a converted 3k time of 7:54.

Despite the glut of long-distance stars in the NCAA this winter, it feels like Nord at least deserves a mention in the 3k national title conversation. He's quietly dynamic and still has a ridiculously high ceiling. By simply being another year older, he should thrive in 2024.

9. Jan Lukas Becker, Senior, Mississippi College

In one of the better comebacks of the spring track season in any individual race, Jan Lukas Becker came away with the 10k title at the 2023 outdoor national meet, halting Awet Beraki's immense momentum.

In addition to that career highlight, Becker ran some impressive times across both 2023 track seasons, going 28:43 (10k) and 7:58 (3k) and 13:47 (5k) on the indoor oval. He finished 3rd in the latter event at the indoor national meet. 

What makes Becker deserving of his ranking is his ability to compete and succeed on the biggest stages. He didn't always live up to his lofty expectations this past fall, but he turned it on once championship season arrived and finished 7th place overall at the cross country national meet.

Though Becker is known for his prowess in the longer events, his turnover is comparatively better than most aerobic-centric stars in D2. With impressive times, experience, momentum and a propensity to run at his best in the postseason, Becker is likely eyeing a 5k national title in March.

8. Awet Beraki, Senior, Adams State

Awet Beraki probably has one of the best bodies of work of any individual in our rankings. He has a number of top-three finishes at the NCAA Championships to go along with some outstanding PRs.

Last year’s track seasons were no exception as Beraki won the 5k national title and finished runner-up in the 10k at the outdoor national meet after taking silver in both races a year prior.

At the 2023 indoor national meet, Beraki finished runner-up in the 5k and ran a 3k PR of 8:04 to snag 7th place and another All-American finish in that event. Although Beraki did struggle with an injury and inconsistency this past fall, he still demonstrated enough grit to place 32nd at the cross country national meet.

For the most part, this Grizzly superstar always shows up when it matters, though his results can be a bit sporadic in his lead up compared to other elite names.

We anticipate Beraki being far more steady this winter as he looks to not only improve upon his PRs — including an excellent 13:36 (5k) mark — but also pull off another double All-American finish and perhaps win his first indoor 5k national title. Of course, this all assumes that he'll be 100% healthy and in top form come February and March.

7. Ryan Riddle, Senior, Missouri Southern

It's exciting to see Ryan Riddle once again grace our rankings after sitting out during the latest spring and fall seasons. The Missouri Southern star ran incredible PRs last winter and established himself as a national title contender in both the 3k and the mile. With another season under his belt, we're eager to see Riddle competing at the top of Division Two again. 

Marks of 3:59 in the mile and 7:55 in the 3k put Riddle towards the top of our rankings. At last year's indoor national meet, he opted to race the 3000 meters and run the anchor leg for Missouri Southern’s DMR team. That relay ended up 3rd overall largely because of Riddle's impressive 3:58 split. The next day, he finished 6th overall in the 3k.

With the ability to remain nationally competitive across the board while sustaining laudable versatility — he also boasts a personal best of 13:53 (5k) — we look forward to seeing how quickly and decisively Riddle re-establishes himself among the nation's elites. Could this be the year that he finally comes away with individual NCAA gold?

6. Tanner Chada, Rs. Senior, Grand Valley State

Another top runner making his return to competition after roughly a year away is Tanner Chada. For the longest time, this Laker superstar has been near the top of our rankings and the D2 national leaderboards thanks to his impressive times and postseason finishes.

Chada comes in this season with marks of 13:45 in the indoor 5k and 7:56 for 3k. He has also run 13:37 for 5k on the outdoor oval and 28:43 over 10,000 meters. He finished as the runner-up in multiple cross country national meets and boasts several top-five finishes across events at the indoor and outdoor national meets.

The biggest concern for Chada will be how he fares after 12 months off from racing for the Lakers. His history is impressive, but Division Two times have gotten even faster since he last toed the line.

With that in mind, Chada's start to the season has been promising, at least as far as rust-busters are concerned. He contested a couple of 5k races in early December, including a respectable 14:18 mark in Boston and a noticeably strong 14:01 result at the Lakers' home meet.

Admittedly, both of those times were below Chada's usually high standards, but to see that he's still within building distance of his prior All-American fitness is encouraging. Because when this guy is at his sharpest, he is incredibly hard to shake.

5. Juan Diego Castro, Senior, Azusa Pacific

By venturing to Azusa Pacific after coming over from Oklahoma State as a graduate transfer, Juan Diego Castro carries some personal bests that were already impressive within the Division One ranks.

Coming into this season, this former Cowboy boasts times of 3:57 in the mile, 3:40 over 1500 meters and 1:48 for 800 meters. Each of those marks make him an instant national title contender and perhaps the most well-rounded middle distance star in Division Two.

Castro already has experience racing against high level of competition considering that he came from a powerhouse Division One program. He was a part of the Cowboys’ national title-winning DMR team at the most recent indoor national meet, so he's had moments of great poise in high-stakes environments.

After a strong first cross country season at the D2 level, it's hard to see how Castro doesn't have grand success over the next six months.

4. Loic Scomparin, Junior, Colorado Mines

Loic Scomparin is someone who continues to blow us away with his consistency, improvement and somehow-subtle all-time marks.

In the past, we viewed Scomparin as a long distance guy who's at his best in the 10k. However, last winter, this Oredigger ran a shockingly impressive NCAA #2 all-time result of 7:51 in the 3k. He then went on to run 3:45 for 1500 meters during the outdoor track season while still putting up a time of 29:09 for 10k. Talk about some serious range. 

Truthfully, his 2023 indoor national meet performance left a little to be desired as Scomparin chose to focus on the 3k and “only” finished in 7th place. Nevertheless, he followed that up with a 3rd place finish in the 10k at the outdoor national meet and went on to finish 8th at the 2023 cross country national meet. 

Scomparin has already kicked-off his indoor track season with a historically fast time of 13:29 (5k). He now has multiple distance events in which he could rise from being an All-American to a national champion. He has just as much raw talent as anyone in Division Two, but translating that to being a winner in March is the biggest challenge that lies ahead.

3. Romain Legendre, Junior, Adams State

Running a new Division Two record naturally translates to a pretty high placement in our rankings, and Romain Legendre did just that with a 5k time of 13:24 at Boston earlier this month. That effort comes on the heels of a fairly impressive fall campaign where he finished towards the front of several deep races.

Though his cross country national meet finish of 55th place left us a little puzzled, Legendre quickly squashed any doubts with this new D2 indoor 5k record. With this being Legendre’s first track season in the NCAA, it will be interesting to see which event he contests next and what he will choose to specialize in.

All signs point to the 5k, but he also holds a gaudy personal best of 3:42 in the 1500 meters. Could that speed and his proven aerobic strength translate to another D2 record in the 3k?

Plus, how will Legendre fare in the postseason against men who are nearly as fast, but are more battle-tested against NCAA competition? There are many questions that we can't wait to see answered as the season picks up. However, what we do know is that Legendre can run absurdly fast.

Hamza Chahid did something incredible this past cross country season. The Wingate star raced only twice the whole season, after skipping the regular season entirely, and finished 4th overall at the NCAA XC Championships.

Oh, and by the way, that was his first collegiate cross country season! As such, we have even higher expectations for him entering 2024.

Chahid was elite on the track last year, at least for the D2 level. With personal bests of 4:01 (mile), 8:01 (3k), 3:44 (1500) and 13:33 (5k), this guy could simply do no wrong. He won the 3k at the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships, his first national meet, while also helping his team to a national title in the DMR.

Going into the outdoor track season, Chahid moved up to the 5k where he ran that ridiculously fast aforementioned PR. He ended up recording a DNF in that event at the outdoor national meet, but managed to rebound for a 6th place finish over 1500 meters. 

Chahid’s outdoor track season was a little below our expectations based on what he achieved in the winter, but he definitely exceeded expectations in the fall. And it's important to remember how new he still is to the NCAA! But more importantly, this guy is tactically brilliant. Despite his NCAA inexperience, he seemingly has a perfect understanding of positioning and when to make his move(s). His kick is lethal as well.

The Wingate standout is already off to a great start this winter, running 7:58 (3k) and 13:56 (5k). If this Bulldog star rides the momentum that he built throughout 2023 into the next three months, then he is going to soar on the track and put himself in contention for yet another national title...and maybe two.

1. Wes Ferguson, Rs. Senior, Nebraska-Kearney

The king of 800 meters in Division Two is Wes Ferguson, a man who has won three individual national titles in the event over the past two years.

In that span when he was a national title threat, Ferguson only lost one individual national title on the track. That lone defeat came at the 2023 indoor national meet to only Oussama El Bouchayby, an all-time D2 star who is now at Alabama. That kind of consistent success in such an unpredictable event is practically unheard of, but it speaks to Ferguson’s ability to compete against anyone in any type of race. 

Looking back at his three national titles, Ferguson has had to race both tactically and hard from the gun. The Nebraska-Kearney veteran has also worked on his endurance by competing in cross country and running more mile and 1500-meter races. This Loper has done everything he can to ensure that he comes into each season prepared to defend his half-mile title(s).

It's often difficult for someone who specializes in one event to sit at TSR #1 spot (although Ferguson is also nationally competitive in the mile). But this is by far the biggest national title favorite across any D2 men's distance event (800 meters and up). Let's not forget, he ran 1:45 for 800 meters last spring at altitude and is the D2 record holder over 1000 meters (2:23.80).

Ferguson's historically elite times and his ability to win races no matter the style, even at altitude, makes him TSR's top distance talent entering his final indoor track season.

Dayton Brown (Adams State)

Cole Nash (Alaska Anchorage)

Gidieon Kimutai (Missouri Southern)

Scott Nutter (Wingate)

Duncan Fuehne (Colorado Mines)

Tanner Maier (Minnesota State)

Harry Ross-Hughes (Lake Erie)

Drew Weber (Western Washington)

Johan Correa (Central Washington)

Ben Sumner (Azusa Pacific)

George Couttie (Charleston (WV))

Kaleb Tipton (CSU-Pueblo)

Drew Dailey (Shippensburg)

Cole Benoit (Mississippi College)

Logan Bocovich (Colorado Mines)

Paul Knight (Colorado Mines)

Matthew Fowler (Lee (Tenn.))

Mitchell Dervin (Adams State)

Koby Fraaza (Grand Valley State)

Noah Fisher (Findlay)

Harry Louradour (West Texas A&M)

Ricardo Barbosa (Wingate)

Yonas Haile (Adams State)

Trent Cochran (Colorado Christian)

Hunter Hutton (Western Oregon)

Jakob Rettschlag (Wingate)

JP Rutledge (Colorado Mines)

Kevin McDermott (Western Washington)

Maxime Touron (NW Missouri)

Kendall Branan (Indiana (PA))

Kewani Campbell (Lincoln (MO))

Hudson Majeski (UC-Colorado Springs)