Hidden Gems: The Most Underrated Prospects From The Class of 2023 (Boys)

The 2022 cross country season is in full-swing and this looks like the perfect time to find a few "hidden gems" in the Class of 2023 who are showcasing their talents with some exciting early-to-mid season success.

The goal of this article is to identify those athletes who haven’t necessarily posted jaw-dropping track times, but are now performing to the level of what we would consider to be "elite" on the grass.

Not to mention that the middle portion of the fall season is critical for athletes looking to gain scholarships and roster spots as college coaches start to fine-tune the number of athletes they look to onboard.

Let’s jump into our first edition where we identify harriers who aren’t in our top-50 recruit rankings (yet), but have given us good reason to rethink their position amongst the best young talents in the Class of 2023.

Keep an eye out for our women’s version which is coming soon!

The top dog for the CBA Colts, Nicholas Sullivan posted a sneaky-good 16:00 mark at Bowdoin Park earlier this season, home of the NXR Northeast Championships. He finished 2nd overall in that race.

At a glance, running 16-flat over 5000 meters doesn't necessarily mean a lot when it comes to highlighting the best of the best. However, that time, based off of past results on this course, would usually qualify Sullivan for the NXN Championships as an individual (in most years).

And the best part? He has two more months of training to become a better, faster cross country runner.

Sullivan also notched a top-10 performance at the Manhattan Invitation which is known to showcase high-caliber northeast talent. He’s no slouch on the track, but posting times of 9:16 (3200) and 4:19 (1600) doesn’t exactly sniff the top-100 distance runners in his own class.

And truthfully, based off of the process that TSR has taken when creating an all-encompassing approach of comparing many distance events, Sullivan wouldn’t be amongst our top-200 names based on his times.

But let's be clear: Sullivan is a very solid runner. His cross country performances are so much better than some people realize and there are multiple instances on his resume which suggest that he's a national-caliber navigator of cross country courses.

And when it comes Christian Brothers Academy, most up-and-coming talents are usually end up as good as they are expected to be.

Another runner from a storied high school distance program, Mason Talarico is showing the country that Saratoga Springs will continue to replenish the stable of elite talent that often comes out of New York.

After finishing outside the top-40 at last year’s McQuaid Invitational, Talarico notched a huge 2nd place finish in this year's race to help his team snag a 3rd place finish in a very strong field. Not only that, but he has kept that momentum going in his most recent efforts, finishing over 30 seconds better than his nearest competitor at the Saratoga Invitational.

Admittedly, Talarico hasn’t posted many high-end track times. With marks of 9:24 (3200) and 4:23 (1600), this New York native wouldn’t be considered an upper-tier runner in his own state. And yet, this rising distance talent is proving that he is now significantly better than what his past times would suggest.

Talarico's ability to earn top finishes in national-caliber fields, while still dominating smaller venues as expected, is a level of promising consistency which signal that he'll be much better on the oval come the winter and spring months.

As the season moves forward, Talarico should be considered as a high-level contender to win the New York state meet. And if he does, then he won't exactly be considered a "hidden gem" anymore and we'll be saying, "we told you so."

Bozeman High School looks to be producing another talented harrier out of Montana.

Securing an impressive total of five wins through his first six races of this season, Brown has become the leader of this fairly young team. Highlighted by a 2nd place finish at the Bob Firman Invitational, Brown showcased his ability to lead from the front while running an eye-catching time of 15:12 for 5000 meters.

And if you're skeptical about that result, just know that Brown also ran 15:13 for 5000 meters a week before the Bob Firman Invitational. He has yet to finish a race over 16 minutes this fall.

What is incredibly interesting about Brown is that this is his first season of running cross country. A now-former soccer player, this Montana native has found his fitness level at an all-time high, but could still explore a potentially limitless ceiling as far as his upside is concerned.

Posting times of 4:21 (1600) and 9:17 (two miles) isn't going to get him much attention nationally (even though that two mile mark is very solid), but recently emerging as a multi-season runner could do wonders for Brown. He'll be a key prospect to watch for the up-and-coming Montana State men who are becoming increasingly more competitive in the top ranks of the NCAA.

One of Michigan’s finest, Lezawe Osterink is an extremely interesting story when it comes to his raw potential.

Osterink’s track season is littered with a crazy-high number of races as he was likely aiming to support his team in their state and nationwide efforts. His best 3200 meter time is a very good mark of 9:13, but his second-best time falls back to 9:38.

Even so, Osterink ran that 9:13 PR just mere days after doubling in an invitational. He also has a bit of speed as well, posting a respectable-enough time of 4:20 over 1600 meters which led to him placing 3rd in that race.

And while clearly an established talent coming into these fall months, what we've recently seen Osterink has certainly caught our attention. That's because he has won SEVEN of his eight recorded races so far this season.

But within that streak of performances, it looks like Osterink is picking and choosing when he goes to the well. And while he does have one non-winning result of his resume this fall, it's important to note that Osterink placed 4th at the very competitive MSU Spartan Invitational in a deep field which included elite prep-level talents such as Connor Ackley, Seth, Norder and Connell Alford.

It’ll be fascinating to see where Osterink picks his postseason meets as he ran at the Eastbay Midwest Regional Championships last year. With the NXN Championships back in the fold, he could decide to head to NXR later this fall.

And when he does venture to the regional (and potential national) stages, he may have the most racing exposure of any of his competition as far as the 2022 cross country season is concerned.

Last, but certainly not least, is the best diamond in the rough who we could find.

Clayton Guthrie has popped onto the cross country scene this fall, showing the nation that he deserves to be in the conversation of athletes who should be recruited at the elite level.

Like a lot of the guys who we have already spoken about, Guthrie hasn't posted too many exciting times on the track, managing to record modest personal bests 9:35 for 3200 meters and 4:20 for 1600 meters.

However, those times haven’t stopped Guthrie from posting seriously sizzling performances.

At the Nike Town Twilight, he not only hung on with elite talent, but he even beat some of them! Placing 7th overall in an ultra deep field, which included Colorado commit Kole Mathison, led to Guthrie taking down the likes of Ian Kemey who has run 4:12 (1600) and 9:10 (3200).

That result, paired with the fact that he hasn't run slower than 15:26 this fall, is far more impressive than some people may realize.

Those are the type of performances that put you on the radar for coaches who might end up sending you that letter that they didn’t expect to address to your name. Because it's one thing to race at a high level, but to do so consistently is arguably the most valuable aspect that any prospect can bring to the NCAA.