TSR's 2022 Preseason D1 XC Top 25 Rankings (Men): Just Missed & Honorable Mentions

NOTE: Earlier this summer, The Stride Report reached out to nearly every team that was considered for a possible ranking this summer. While we did receive numerous responses and great clarity, we did not get a 100% response rate. On rare occasions, we are referencing TFFRS in order to talk about returners and athletes who are out of eligibility.

The Providence men are a team that we very much wanted to rank.

They return a handful of sneaky-good names as well as a few promising youngsters from the 2021 cross country season. Still, there were enough departures and enough question marks surrounding this team that forced us to leave them in the "Just Missed" portion of our rankings.

Last fall, the Friars earned an unexciting 19th place finish at Nuttycombe before holding their own with a respectable 4th place finish at the BIG East XC Championships, clearly putting themselves in the upper-tier of the conference despite sitting outside of the top-three teams.

Providence ended their season with a 4th place finish at the Northeast Regional XC Championships, but that was enough to capture our interest as we head into 2022.

The good news is that the Friars return a top-50 name (per TSR) in Marcelo Rocha as well as a promising youngster in Liam Back. The rest of the Friars' 2021 lineup was also fairly young, featuring names like Patrick Thygesen (8:49 steeple) and Abdel Laadjel (8:07 (3k) and 14:12 (5k)).

Providence also added two-time top-80 national meet finisher DJ Principe as a graduate transfer.

In our eyes, all of that is a recipe for success this fall.

However, losing a top scorer in AJ Ernst as well as extremely valuable backend pieces such as Ryan Gallagher, David McGlynn, Angus White and a few others leaves the Friars with very limited lineup options this fall.

With scarce depth and the loss of their number two scorer, Providence needs to prove that their recent momentum can translate to the grass. If they do that, then there should be no issues with us ranking them in our top-25.

This is going to be a team that we will likely get heavily criticized for leaving out of our rankings -- and understandably so.

The Ole Miss Rebels have been the definition of consistency and success over the last few years. Their track prowess has translated very well to the grass and they always seemed to have one or two names emerge when they are needed the most.

However, Ole Miss not only loses their superstar head coach, but they also lose star low-stick Mario Garcia Romo as well as their top national meet scorer in Michael Coccia. And if you look at the Rebels' 15th place team finish from the 2021 national meet, you'll find that their scoring was heavily weighted on those two men.

Outside of those two, the Rebels didn't have anyone finish inside the top-110 individual spots at the national meet.

The good news, however, is that true low-stick Cole Bullock clearly didn't have his best day at the NCAA XC Championships. If he runs to his All-American potential, then he can at least counter-balance (some of) that scoring.

Still, this is a team full of milers who are being asked to move up to 8000 meters and 10,000 meters on the grass. They have a great core and decent-ish depth, but there will likely be a gap between Bullock and the rest of the team which could leave the Rebels vulnerable to excessive scoring.

But even as I'm typing this, I just don't feel good about putting Ole Miss in the "Just Missed" portion of our rankings. There is still enough there for this team to be nationally competitive and I'm sure we'll end up regretting this decision come October and November.

On paper, this Utah State team is good enough to be ranked. In fact, one could argue that they may be the most proven cross country squad in our "Just Missed" rankings.

The problem, however, is their consistency.
 

During the 2021 winter cross country season, the Aggies were outstanding. They massively outperformed expectations. They had a complete lineup and developed true low-stick talents with guys like Caleb Garnica and Camren Todd.

However, both Garnica and Todd struggled in the fall of 2021, faltering in the postseason. Chase Leach proved to be a promising youngster, and the depth was still there, but the team as a whole lacked steady low-stick scoring potency.

The catch, however, is that the Aggies return everyone except Connor Weaver from their 2021 fall lineup, and that could be a big deal. If Garnica and Todd produce the results that we know that they are capable of, and if Leach makes that next big jump, then this team could do some serious damage in 2022.

In our eyes, this team has the most upside of anyone in our "Just Missed" list.

It feels like Georgetown is consistently in the "Just Missed" portion of our team rankings, and maybe unfairly so. When you sit down and truly look at their 2022 roster, there's actually a ton of pieces who could put the Hoyas over the top this fall.

Throughout the 2021 fall cross country season, the Georgetown men were solid, but never amazing. They were 12th at Joe Piane, 10th at Pre-Nationals, runner-up at both the BIG East XC Championships and the Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Championships and then 22nd at the NCAA XC Championships.

In 2022, the Hoyas return a TON of once-young distance talents, many of whom gained valuable experience at last year's national meet.

Guys like Shea Weilbaker, Quinn Nicholson, Abel Teffra, Lucas Guerra, Jantz Tostenson, Matthew Payamps, Rusty Kujdych and Sean Laidlaw should give the Hoyas tons of lineup options -- and that doesn't even factor-in a loaded recruiting class.

And we can't forget about Parker Stokes, the steeplechase superstar who, in theory, could be a true low-stick for this team if his track success translates to the grass.

However, the Hoyas lose two extremely pivotal scorers in Jack Salisbury and Matt Young. Those men were reliable front-runners for this team throughout last fall and they beautifully complemented the Hoyas' young depth.

Ultimately, Georgetown sits in the "Just Missed" portion of our rankings simply because we have more questions than answers.

Can Stokes become a true low-stick? Which returners will step up into more definitive scoring roles? Are there any incoming freshman or redshirt freshman who will be major factors?

Those questions garner optimistic answers, but until we have a better idea of what the Hoyas can bring to the table this fall, we'll keep them as one of our first three teams out of our rankings...for now.

You have to commend what Coach Aaron Simoneau has done with the Michigan State men since joining the Spartans in 2014. While some years have certainly been better than others, his teams consistently produce names who prompt us to say, "Huh, this guy is pretty good."

After a highly successful 2021 winter cross country campaign, Michigan State was able to rally for another national qualification in the fall. However, their regular season was fairly unexciting.

The Spartans were 3rd at Roy Griak, 24th at Nuttycombe, 5th at the BIG 10 XC Championships and then 4th at the Great Lakes Regional XC Championships. At the national meet, Michigan State settled for a 30th place finish, one spot out from last.

Generally speaking, it wasn't a great season for a Michigan State team that could have been better in larger meets. Still, they advanced to the national meet and did enough to get by.

The problem, however, is that they lose superstar low-stick scorer Morgan Beadlescomb as well as a key middle lineup scorer in James Uhlenberg who fluctuated between the second and third scoring spots within the Spartan's fall lineup.

Losing those two men takes Michigan State out of contention for a ranking. In fact, it would likely put them in our "Honorable Mentions" section rather than our "Just Missed" list.

But last year's team, outside of Beadlescomb and Uhlenberg, was very young and everyone else returns. In theory, many of their returners should be noticeably better in 2022.

Not only that, but Michigan State is also adding D2 cross country standout CarLee Stimpfel (a grad transfer) as well as high school superstar Riley Hough who was the 2021 Eastbay XC National Championships last fall.

When you consider all of these positive aspects, Michigan State actually has a chance to be just as good as last year, maybe even better. And while they aren't one of the first few teams out from a ranking, they may end up having one of the most interesting lineups of anyone in our "Just Missed" section.

Historically, it's hard to write off the Princeton men. Under the guidance of Coach Jason Vigilante, the Tigers have been able to remain nationally relevant almost every single year, especially on the grass.

And in 2022, that will continue to be the case.

Yes, it's true, the Princeton men are losing a TON of scoring. High-octane scorers such as Ed Trippas, Kevin Berry and Jakob Kintzele have all ventured to other programs as graduate transfers. And if you look at last year's results from the Ivy League XC Championships, that means that Princeton loses their top-two scorers as well as their fifth scorer.

Not only that, but it appears that Matt Grossman, another backend varsity member, is gone.

 There is, however, plenty of good news.

The Princeton men have had some exceptional recruiting classes over the last few years and generally speaking, their roster is very young. Guys like Anthony Monte and Matthew Farrell have shown tremendous promise and there are numerous names after those two who could be impact scorers in the fall.

But wait, there's more!

Camren Fischer, who was the 2019 Mid-Atlantic regional champion, is likely to return this fall after not competing in 2021. On the track, he has recently run times of 3:58 (mile) and 7:59 (3k).

That's a big deal for a Princeton team that will be trying to recoup their lost low-stick scoring potency from last year.

The Harvard men will still be favored to take home the Ivy League title this fall...but they won't be overwhelming favorites. Princeton's depth is debatably better than what the Crimson have right now and one could argue that the Tigers actually have more upside.

And while there were simply too many departures for Princeton to be ranked, they do have enough upside and potential to be listed in the "Just Missed" portion of our rankings.

This looks a bit odd, doesn't it?

To some, placing the Oregon men outside of our top-25 rankings should be a crime. They are, after all, the most iconic distance program in the country and just landed one of the greatest distance coaches in the country, Jerry Schumacher.

However, when you look at Oregon's 2021 lineup and compare it to their 2022 roster, their scoring appears to have major gaps.

Generally speaking, the Ducks were fairly solid throughout the 2021 cross country season. They placed 6th at Nuttycombe and 4th at the PAC-12 XC Championships. However, at the NCAA XC Championships, Oregon had a rough showing, finishing 29th overall as everyone except Aaron Bienenfeld fell outside of the top-150 individual spots.

And now, things might get even trickier.

Cooper Teare, Jack Yearian and Reed Brown are all gone. And although Bienenfeld could return, there's an equally strong chance that he doesn't.

That is brutal.

All of that being said, the Ducks are extremely young. Evan Holland, Caleb Brown, Abdinasir Hussein and Quiny Norman gives Oregon a few respectable lineup options, as do superstar recruits Rheinhardt Harrison and Larry Josh Edwards.

In fact, the entirety of this team is loaded with tons of incredibly talented youngsters, meaning that they can offer sky-high potential this fall. And with Jerry Schumacher now as the head coach, one has to think that the Ducks will put together a somewhat cohesive lineup in 2022.

Still, there are simply too many factors that are holding us back from Oregon being a top-25 team. For now, they'll reside in our "Just Missed" section.

When The Stride Report ended our two-hour rankings conversation, the Furman men sat at TSR #25. We logged off, closed our laptops and then went to bed. However, in the ensuing days, we discovered some interesting news (not related to the Paladins) which ultimately forced this team out of our rankings.

And even now, that feels like a mistake.

If you're looking at last year's national meet results to gauge how good the Furman men were, then you would be led to believe that this was not a good team. That's because Paladins finished dead last at the 2021 NCAA Fall XC Championships.

However, what you have to remember is that this team won the Joe Piane Invitational which is a HUGE deal. That is always one of the most competitive meets in the country each and every year. A 9th place finish at Nuttycombe, while not quite as strong, still validated Furman as a nationally competitive team.

With that in mind, the Paladins do lose a handful of key names. Both Daniel Bernal and Aaron Wier were valuable front-runners for this team throughout last fall and now this team will be looking to replace their scoring potency. That task won't be any easier with a support piece like Ares Reading transferring out of the program.

That being said, this team has unreal potential in 2022.

Dylan Schubert is a sub-29 minute runner over 10,000 meters, Noah Dolhare has made modest (but solid) improvements, Ponder has shown flashes of low-stick potential, Carson Williams had a huge breakout year in the steeplechase this past spring and there are a TON of young talents who could be so much better than we realize.

Few teams have greater depth and more lineup options than Furman. In fact, it's hard to imagine a scenario where they aren't back on the national stage this fall.

But with a few key departures, as well as Cameron Ponder getting surgery to remove a bone spur and "repair minor damage [that] it had caused [to his] achilles" six weeks ago, we just couldn't find enough room to put the Paladins in our top-25.

Even so, when you're a team as deep as Furman, you have to be more optimistic than pessimistic about their upcoming cross country season.

The Butler men had a very up-and-down 2021 cross country season. In some meets, they significantly underwhelmed while in other meets, they were pleasant surprises.

At Joe Piane, the Bulldogs placed 3rd overall, showing off tremendous scoring potency and a somewhat complete lineup through four runners. However, at Nuttycombe, they faltered to 22nd place in the team standings. Their low-sticks weren't nearly as potent in the team scoring and their fifth scoring spot continued to be a point of vulnerability.

At the BIG East XC Championships, the Butler men earned a somewhat comfortable win, taking down strong teams such as Georgetown, Villanova and Providence. The smaller field favored the Bulldogs' front-runners and minimized the impact of their final scoring spot.

At the NCAA XC Championships, Butler settled for a not-so-great 28th place finish, seeing a significant drop-off in their scoring after Simon Bedard and Barry Keane who also faltered from their All-American expectations.

Now, in 2022, this team loses Bedard as well as Clarke Otte, the first and third scorers for the Bulldogs last year (depending on which results you're looking at). For a team that was so reliant on their up-front scoring last fall, trying to replace two of your top-three scorers is going to be a major challenge.

Still, Keane has proven that he can be one of the best in the nation. Other guys like Jack McMahon and Pierre-Louis Detourbe could also help create a cohesive top-three.

When you factor in returners, a transfer in Matthew Forrester and a top recruit in David Slapak (from the Czech Republic), then you begin to realize that Butler still has the chance to be sneaky-good in 2022.

Still, replacing established top-scorers with still-developing distance talents is enough to have us put Butler outside our top-25 rankings for now.

We'll admit, the Colorado State men are probably closer to our "Honorable Mention" section than our actual rankings. But still, it feels like we're not talking enough about a program that returns almost everyone from a fairly solid 2021 cross country team.

The Rams earned a very strong 10th place finish at Nuttycombe last fall. On paper, that's a result that likely earned them plenty of valuable Kolas points. And while they didn't have anyone in the top-30 of that race, they also had their entire top-five finish in the top-100 spots.

However, at the Mountain West XC Championships, Colorado State struggled. They finished 4th overall as a team while Tanner Norman was the lone bright spot, finishing 4th individually.

Unfortunately, after a 9th place team finish at the Mountain Regional XC Championships, the Rams ended their season early.

For the most part, Colorado State didn't do a whole lot to excite us last fall...except for that Nuttycombe result. Finishing 10th in that field was super impressive and it leads us to believe that the Rams at least have the potential to be nationally competitive once more in 2022.

Losing key scorer Jacob Brueckman isn't ideal, but this team returns everyone else. The Rams are certainly deep enough to fill in the gaps and Tanner Norman has shown the potential of being a true front-runner for this team.

Other names like Max Martinez, Lars Mitchell, Tom Oates and Michael Mooney have either battled past injuries or recently had breakout track seasons. All but Martinez haven't been in cross country results recently, meaning that Colorado State has a reserve of potential point scorers that some people may not be aware of.

Overall, Colorado State needs to run like they did at Nuttycombe on a much more consistent basis. However, the fact that they did run that well and return nearly everyone makes them too good to ignore when it comes to this section of our analysis.