TSR Collaboration
Dec 24, 20239 min
Written by Conor Daly & Kevin Fischer, additional edits & commentary via 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, but not strict, guide when determining eligibility.
Despite his myriad accomplishments, Frank Csorba has been perhaps a little underrated by The Stride Report in previous seasons. Of course, we won’t be making the same mistake as we inch closer to 2024.
During the 2023 calendar year, Csorba was an All-American four times, finishing 4th in the distance medley relay and 8th over 3000 meters (at the indoor national meet), 7th in the 5000 meters (at the outdoor national meet) and 14th at the NCAA XC Championships.
With these recent accolades, along with a head-turning season-opening 8:06 (3k) effort to best a largely Division One field at the Liberty Kickoff, this Lynchburg star is more than deserving of a top-10 spot in our preseason rankings.
Csorba has evolved into a reliable postseason runner who can thrive in nearly any race scenario while holding national-caliber times (4:08 in the mile and 14:08 over 5k in addition to his 8:06 PR for 3k). Frankly, it's hard to find a flaw on his resume.
Connor Riss is going into this upcoming indoor track season a legitimate threat to finish as an All-American in the mile, 3000 meters or 5000 meters -- and there's a chance that he'll contest two of those three in March...maybe.
This North Central veteran has developed a little bit of a history of not doubling at national meets despite qualifying in multiple events. At the 2023 indoor national meet, he scratched the mile to opt for a fresh run at the 3000 meters. And at the ensuing outdoor national meet, he scratched the 1500 meters in favor of a fresh 5k.
But ultimately, those gambles paid off for him, as he was an All-American in both of those seasons, earning backend honors. If he takes the same approach this March by putting his focus into the 3000 meters and competes against several guys with tired legs, then the sky's the limit for Riss, especially consider that he has far better turnover and speed than many of the more established long distance stars.
Coming off of a highly successful cross country season, the CCIW champion and Midwest regional meet runner-up is destined for a highly successful indoor track campaign. Although the veteran is more known for his long distance talents over the 5k and the 10k, if his outdoor track resume suggests anything, it's that Nicholson is not going to have any issues with the shorter distances on the indoor oval.
Nicholson’s spring season was fantastic, running national qualifying marks in three separate events before electing to run solely the 5k at the national meet. That decision paid off big-time as he was able to take home a bronze medal.
His 14:06 (5k) PR alone would make us plenty excited about his future. But when you add in his 3:46 (1500), you’re talking about someone who is a national level threat in both events. And even though it didn’t totally click last winter, the 3k could be Nicholson’s sweet spot. With both the speed and strength, we’re looking forward to seeing what one of the more relentless distance talents in D3 could do in a competitive 3k.
Consider Nicholson’s veteran status and ability to be an All-American in three different events and it’s easy to see why we are so high on him.
The third North Central man on this list might not be as explosive over a mile compared to his teammates, but that doesn’t make him any less of a threat. It just means that we (probably) won’t see him in anything shorter than 3k this winter.
Svienty will be a force to be reckoned with over 3k and the 5k this winter. The long distance specialist has run 8:10 (converted) for 3000 meters and has also posted an eye-catching PR of 13:59 for 5000 meters.
Not only can Svienty rip quick times in time trial settings, but he has also proven to be able to come up big at the national level. The North Central star has placed among the top-five in each of the last three national meets, placing 4th in the 5k at the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships, 5th in the 5k at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and 3rd at the NCAA XC Championships last month.
Even in a year that is saturated with aerobic-centric stars, Svienty's ability to run all-time marks while remaining as one of the more reliable postseason stars of the past year, gives him a great resume for the top-10 portion of our rankings.
Tor Hotung-Davidsen has seen a thing or two during his tenure at Lynchburg -- 2024 isn’t going to be his first rodeo. He’s the top returner from the 800-meter final at last year’s indoor national meet and is a top-tier sub-1:50 guy.
A sub-1:50 guy four different times, that is.
But it's not only Hotung-Davidsen's flashy half-mile PR of 1:49.04 that excites us. It’s also that he’s a multi-time All-American and tactically brilliant at this distance.
As we alluded to before, the Lynchburg veteran had an awesome national meet last winter. He was the runner-up over 800 meters, losing only to Mike Jasa. It’s also worth noting that in addition to running the prelims the day prior, he also put in an additional 800 meters of work for his team in the DMR, a sacrifice that many of his competitors in the individual race did not make.
That runner-up performance was a great improvement from Hotung-Davidsen’s pair of 6th place finishes from the year prior. And although the outdoor national meet wasn’t as kind to him, we’re not worried.
If our gut tells us anything, it’s that Hotung-Davidsen is going to be back as strong as ever, especially after the best cross country season of his career. In theory, that means that a 1:48 personal best for 800 meters could be in store for him sooner than we realize.
Sam Llaneza has the PRs and the national meet finishes to back up this ranking, most notably the elusive 800/1500 double that he pulled off at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Simply put, it’s hard to not like this mile specialist heading into this indoor track season.
We’ll start with his national meet double from last spring: Llaneza was able to manage the rounds like a veteran and have enough energy left to finish 4th in the 1500-meter finals and then 6th in the 800-meter finals only hours later.
In addition to these two All-American finishes, Llaneza has four additional All-American honors in the DMR, mile and the 1500 meters (twice). He’s never contested an event at a national meet on the track and not been an All-American. It’s that type of consistency at the highest level that makes him so valuable in our rankings.
It also doesn’t hurt that (like his teammate, Tor Hotung-Davidsen) that his cross country season has been nothing but encouraging. A 42nd place run at the national meet is impressive for someone who is known as a middle distance specialist.
With three sub-1:50 (800) runs and five sub-3:48 (1500) runs as well as plenty of national meet experience, Llaneza is a guy who we can count on. He clearly understands positioning and few men are as experienced (or as accomplished) as he is at those distances.
Christopher Collet is a top-tier name from the 1500 meters all the way up to the 8k on the grass. Of course, it's been like that for a few years now. He’s a seven-time All-American, two-time regional champion in cross country and even has a national title to his name. With so much past success to lean on, we can’t see his indoor track season going any other way.
On the indoor oval, the Wartburg veteran is a national level threat in the mile, the 3k and the 5k. Just earlier this month, he more or less soloed a converted 14:13 (5k) mark. Perhaps that's only fitting for someone who was just 12th at the cross country national meet.
But for as great as that season-opening 5k is, Collet will likely focus his efforts on the mile and 3k. And can you really blame him? He was 3rd in the mile at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships and holds a converted 8:08 (3k) personal best, the latter mark being one of the fastest returning times in D3 this year.
Collet is going to easily qualify for the national meet in three individual events this winter. And with a master-level ability to close races, we can’t help but have high expectations for the Knights' focal star.
It’s no secret that Bennett Booth-Genthe is one of the best out there when it comes to races that are roughly four minutes in length or less. We don’t need to do too much talking to get that point across. In fact, he’s not the type of guy who needs a few races to warm up. He's ready as soon as the indoor track season hits.
After all, his 4:00.33 mile PR was run just a few weeks ago.
It’s only December and the Sagehen’s top ace looks sharp. Yes, he had some extra time to prepare since he was at home training while his teammates won a cross country team title, but that season-opening effort was impressive, nonetheless.
Of course, Booth-Genthe is not just a time trial specialist. He can get the job done on the biggest stages as well. Last winter, he was the runner-up in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships, losing only to Ryan Wilson -- and we haven’t even gotten around to mentioning a large part of why he’s ranked this high.
Booth-Genthe is almost as much of a national title threat in the 800 meters as he is in the mile. That’s what makes him scary good. He placed 4th in the half-mile at the 2023 outdoor national meet and holds the fastest 800-meter PR out of anyone in Division Three with a 1:48.31 mark to his name.
With a complete resume full of every aspect that you could need, and an ability to take down his competition in a variety of ways, we wouldn't totally argue with anyone who wanted to put this Sagehen star at TSR #1.
Christian Patzka is quick. There’s no doubt about it. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s one of the most tactically savvy guys around.
Although the (very) slight letdown of his 2nd place finish at the cross country national meet may be fresh in our minds, don’t let that distract you from his otherwise loaded resume. After all, that was his second runner-up finish at the cross country national meet in a row.
But we’re not trying to make the point that he can’t close out a race -- that is far from the truth. In fact, in 2023, he claimed a pair of NCAA titles in the indoor 5k and then the steeplechase on the outdoor oval.
Patzka’s closing speed in that national title-winning 5k race was incredible with a last 1600-meter split of 4:14 and his last 800-meter split going under 2:05. Oh, and his steeplechase title set a new Division Three record.
His (flat) 3k and 5k PRs come from back-to-back days at the 2023 indoor national meet with jaw-dropping marks of 13:47 (5k) and 8:05 (3k). It’s crazy that his 3:45 (1500) just stands as the cherry on top to his aerobic-centered talents.
The two-time national champion and nine-time All-American leaves us little to fret about. Yes, Ethan Gregg will stand in his way on his quest to win the 3k and/or the 5k national title(s), but that's very much a battle that Patzka can win.
As good as Ethan Gregg is, he only has one game plan. It’s to go to the front and hammer the pace from the gun so aggressively that his opponents can’t hang. And with the quality of competition in Division Three right now, it’s hard to imagine how that could work.
And yet, time and time again, Gregg has proven that his strategy can, in fact, work. It is possible that he is just that much more fit than his competition.
Most recently, Gregg ran away from the field as early as the first 1k at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships to win the national title by over 15 seconds.
At last year’s indoor national meet, Gregg did the same thing, first coming up short of the win over 5k, but still placing 3rd in a highly impressive time of 13:53. The next day, his front-running paid off with a 3k national title in a performance that barely missed the sub-eight minute barrier.
It was that latter 3k effort that really boosted Gregg’s stock. As someone who was known for his 5k/10k abilities, to see him run so strong over the 3000-meter distance was eye opening. Seeing him close out a race was also crucial to his case in obtaining our top honor.
Gregg will have to face the likes of (most notably) Christian Patzka to win a national title this indoor track season -- that's not a new development. But based on his ability to do so in the past, we are willing to bet that he'll deliver once again.
Ryan Harvey (Loras)
Spencer Moon (Simpson (IA))
Vince Simonetti (RPI)
Will Kelly (St. Olaf)
Cullen Capuano (Washington U.)
John Lucey (Williams)
Jack Begley (U. of Chicago)
Ryan Stracke (Pacific Lutheran)
Jake Shumaker (Millikin)
Brandan Knepper (Calvin)
Gavin McElhennon (Johns Hopkins)
Nate Lentz (Williams)
Adam Sylvia (Central College)
Vedang Lad (MIT)
Will Houser (Washington U.)
Isaac Wegner (UW-La Crosse)
Cael Schoemann (UW-La Crosse)
Henry Hardart (MIT)
TJ Carleo (Brandeis)
Nikhil DeNatale (Williams)
Alex Ivanov (Carnegie Mellon)
Andrew McGovern (Carnegie Mellon)
Emmanuel Leblond (Johns Hopkins)
Lowell Hensgen (MIT)
Andrew Hutchinson (Dubuque)
Andrew Guimond (North Central)
Kyle Miller (Buena Vista)
Jiwoo Kang (Williams)
Colin McLaughlin (Carnegie Mellon)
Ivan Appleton (Tufts)
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