John Cusick
Jul 31, 20228 min
Additional commentary and edits by Garrett Zatlin
Cole Nash continues to improve his stock every time he toes the line for a race -- and that’s exactly why he finds himself checking in at TSR #15 of our preseason rankings. The 2021-2022 academic year was more than good for the Seawolf athlete as we saw him rapidly rise up the ranks of elite distance talents in Division Two.
It was really hard to gauge how good Nash was going to be during the 2021 cross country season largely because two-thirds of his regular season races were just dual meets against Alaska-Fairbanks.
Even in his race just before the GNAC XC Championships, there wasn’t a whole lot of competition, so his three consecutive victories should come with a grain of salt.
Now, that being said, what we saw from Nash during the postseason was nothing short of phenomenal. He went on to finish 2nd at the GNAC XC Championships, just a mere second behind the likes of Aaron Ahl. Two weeks later, he finished 5th at the West XC Championships against the best competition he had seen all season.
Nash later doubled down on his conference and regional performances at the NCAA XC Championships where he finished 27th overall and proved to everyone that he was more than capable of running with some of the best men in the country.
But what Nash did on the track only solidified his efforts on the grass.
It wasn’t just the placements that improved Nash’s stock over the course of last year, but his times on the track also improved...a lot.
The Alaska Anchorage star posted outstanding marks of 1:56 (800), 3:48 (1500), 13:53 (5k) and 29:24 (10k) during the spring season. And when you compare those times to other 5k/10k specialists, Nash is arguably the most well-rounded athlete in that theoretical field.
Nash has improved upon his foot speed and that should make a difference when it comes to the end of races. We also mentioned that Nash lost to Aaron Ahl a couple of times throughout the season, but that's likely because he doesn’t have sub-four minute mile speed.
Everything about Nash's resume suggests that he's going to be a star this year. Running 13:53 for 5000 meters makes it challenging ignore to think that he'll finish outside of the top-20 at this year's national meet, especially after he was already seven spots out from doing so last year.
In truth, Nash still has to go out and execute in races that matter the most. He's done that fairly well, but because of his schedule, only a few races will give us a decent understanding of where he sits in our D2 XC Top 25.
Andrew Hylen debuted for the Lakers all the way back in 2019, immediately making an impact and eventually finishing as Grand Valley State's fourth scorer at the NCAA XC Championships, helping his squad to a 4th place team finish.
Fast forward to the 2021 cross country season and Hylen was contributing just as much now as he was during his freshman season, if not more.
In 2021, Hylen raced just four times, but he never finished worse than 16th place in any of those meets. He was 13th at the MSU Spartan Invitational and then 16th at the Louisville XC Classic with the latter meet being one of the more competitive invitationals in the country, regardless of division.
Hylen continued his streak of strong performances with a solid 10th place finish at the GLIAC XC Championships before having the best race of his season (and maybe his career) at the NCAA XC Championships. Hylen finished 12th overall on that stage and served as the Lakers’ third scorer, allowing them to take home the national title.
In his two national meet appearances, Hylen has proven that he can rise to the occasion, and that’s something that we can’t just overlook while making these rankings. A 12th place finish on the national stage is highly impressive and the same can be said for his 16th place finish at the Louisville XC Classic.
From what we can tell, Hylen thrives in large, nationally competitive fields -- and that's rare.
However, we also can’t overlook the fact that Hylen’s marks on the track don’t quite stack up with a few other top men in these rankings.
He’s run 14:16 for 5000 meters and 29:54 for 10,000 meters. Those are by no means bad times, but they don't reflect the same kind of firepower that other top-ranked men have shown us. Still, one of the biggest positives that we can take away from Hylen’s track resume is his continual improvement.
Ongoing progression at this point in one's career isn't always a guarantee, and that's why it's so valuable.
Even so, Hylen needs to be a bit more consistent throughout his entire cross country season. A more complete string of results could push him higher into our rankings. Still, we've been encouraged by the small improvements and brilliant moments of elite talent that Hylen has flashed.
For that reason, he comes in at TSR #14.
Duncan Fuehne may come into the 2022 cross country season as one of the most overlooked runners in the nation, especially if people are focused on his national meet result from last fall.
With just a few track meets at altitude under his belt, we weren’t sure how much of an impact Fuehne was going to make on an already-deep Colorado Mines roster last fall. We continued to ask that question after a 33rd place finish at the Chile Pepper XC Festival which, admittedly, didn’t do much for us in terms of Fuehne being a top-25 name.
But then the postseason came around and Fuehne made his mark on the season.
The Oredigger youngster finished 11th at the RMAC XC Championships, serving as the fifth man for Colorado Mines and helping his squad earn the team win. Fuehne later replicated that 11th place performance at the South Central XC Championships.
Unfortunately, that was the last we saw of Fuehne crossing the line on the grass. A tough DNF result at the NCAA XC Championships ultimately gave the Oredigger star a very limited resume and an inaccurate reflection of his true talent.
Luckily, Fuehne went on to have a very promising outdoor track season.
The rising Colorado Mines runner set a personal best of 14:04 in the 5000 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays just a month after he finished 13th at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the same event. He later built on that performance by running 30:10 in Golden, Colorado, earning a 29:00 altitude conversion and qualifying for the national meet a result.
It was at the NCAA Outdoor Championships where Fuehne truly proved to us that he belonged in these rankings. The underclassman standout posted a time of 29:29 on the national stage and took home a 6th place All-American finish.
And now, he's ranked at TSR #13.
We'll admit, the resume for Fuehne isn't all that extensive -- and that fact can be looked at in two different ways.
The first way is that Fuehne doesn’t have enough experience and that he isn't nearly as proven as a few of the other men in our D2 XC Top 25.
Or, we can say that he has a very strong resume for someone in a powerhouse program who is still so young and we have reason to believe that he'll get even better.
And as you can tell by his ranking, we're going to bet on the latter.
Loic Scomparin is one of the hardest athletes in Division Two to rank for the upcoming 2022 cross country season...and that's mainly because he has (almost) never raced for Colorado Mines on the grass.
The biggest question that we have heading into this season for Scomparion is, "How will he stand up against the nation’s best when it comes to running a 10k on the grass?" Well, in the two cross country races that we have seen Scomparin in, he finished 7th and 6th.
However, those finishes aren't anything to scoff at.
Because that 7th place finish came at the 2021 Chile Pepper XC Festival while his 6th place finish came at the 2020 RMAC XC Championships --- two of the more competitive meets that a D2 distance star can toe the line for.
We wish there was more data from the fall months that we could use to help our case with Scomparin. But despite that, the way that this Oredigger star has run on the track over the last few years speaks for itself.
When Scomparin was just a freshman, he ran 8:01 (3k) and 13:49 (5k) to take home a stunning pair of bronze medals at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships. He later finished 4th in the 5000 meters later that outdoor season, solidifying himself as one of the premier long distance star of the division.
Scomparin didn’t fare nearly as well during the 2022 track seasons in comparison to his rookie campaign, but it was not all lost. He ran 7:55 for 3000 meters, lowering his personal best by six seconds. He later finished 17th at the indoor national meet and then 11th at the outdoor national meet, both in the 5k.
It’s clear that this Colorado Mines ace belongs in the conversation of top distance athletes despite his lack of cross country racing. He has tons of raw potential and has proven to everyone that he can consistently succeed in high-pressure national meet scenarios.
Still, his lack of results in the fall is ultimately what has us putting Scomparin at TSR #12.
There's one of two things that you're thinking of right now.
The first thought is, "Wow, the Adams State men are going to be really good."
And the other thought is, "...who?"
If you don't recognize the name Dais Malebana, then don't worry, you're probably not alone. That's because Malebana is a transfer from Nebraska who previously competed at the D1 level.
And during his time with the Huskers, Malebana was good...really good.
On the track, Malebana has thrown down tremendous times of 3:39 (1500), 3:59 (mile), 8:00 (3k) and 14:04 (5k). At the D2 level, Malebana is now a legitimate national title contender in the 1500 meters and boarderline national qualifier in the longer distances.
Malebana's success on the track is good enough to put him in these rankings, although we needed a bit more in order for him to be ranked this high.
Luckily for him and for Adams State, Malebana has also shown promise on the grass. At the 2021 BIG 10 Winter XC Championships, the former Nebraska runner secured an excellent 19th place finish in what is considered to be one of the deepest conferences in Division One.
And in our opinion, that kind of result should translate to Malebana being of the absolute best cross country talents in the country...we think.
The problem, however, is that Malebana didn't compete on the grass that winter outside of his aforementioned conference meet. Then, last fall, he struggled a bit.
A victory at the Bradley Pink Classic was encouraging, but finishing 46th at the BIG 10 XC Championships and then recording a DNF at the Midwest Regional XC Championships was obviously not ideal.
On paper, Malebana's best performance probably suggest that he's a top-10 runner. However, a few up-and-down results on the grass and uncertainty about how his D1 performances will translate to D2 is what ultimately keeps him in this section.
But make no mistake, Malebana could be a major problem for the rest of the RMAC this fall.