TSR's 2023-24 D3 Current Freshman Class Rankings: #3-2-1 (Men)

Written by Conor Daly & Gavin Struve

Additional edits & commentary via Garrett Zatlin & Gavin Struve

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Bowdoin makes a fairly surprising appearance in our men's D3 top-five freshman class rankings. Admittedly, this Maine-based distance program is not usually known for their recruiting efforts, nor have the Polar Bears been a nationally competitive distance program over the last few years.

And yet, with a freshman class of this caliber, that could change quite quickly.

Much of this ranking is due to having two of the biggest distance stars of any Division Three team in the nation. Both of these newcomers boast elite PRs as well as some extremely impressive range, effectively giving Bowdoin two long-term stars to build around.

The first blue-chip recruit for the Polar Bears is Matthew Servin (Champlain Valley Union HS) who has already run times of 3:53 (1500) and 1:54 (800). The former mark leaves him knocking on the door of becoming a national-level name in the mile as soon as this year. The latter effort, meanwhile, is still one of the better marks entering Division Three this year.

He will instantly bring firepower to the middle distance portion for this program.

Another element that excites us about Servin is that he’s not just a track guy. His high school resume sets him up very well to be a threat on the grass. We’re talking about someone who was the Division One Vermont state champion on the grass as well as the 6th place finisher at the NXR Northeast meet. 

And yes, we’re talking about the NXR Northeast "Championship" race, too.

Rarely do you ever find that string of results on the resume of a rookie in a Division Three program. Servin's blend of speed and strength looks unbelievably lethal. He already looks like a national-caliber name and he could theoretically give you significant problems, tactically, over the course of his NCAA career.

The other standout who the Polar Bears landed was another middle distance specialist, Oliver Brandes (Phillips Exeter Academy HS). The rising youngster achieved eye-opening marks of 1:52.77 (800) and 4:13 (mile) during his high school days, not to mention his sub-50 (400) credentials. 

Those are strong and valuable marks for an experienced college athlete. But for a current freshman? That's almost unheard of.

Both Brandes' 800-meter and mile personal bests put him in contention to be the nation's best freshman over those distances, or at least one of the best. And if he builds on those efforts later this year, then you could be deal with a scary-talented name who boasts a ton of youth-based upside.

While Brandes may not have the cross country success that Servin has enjoyed, a 20th place run at the NXR Northeast meet is not too shabby by any means. Frankly, that kind of cross country result is better than numerous pure long distance recruits brought in by other Division Three programs.

With a result on the grass that fills out an incredibly well-rounded resume, Brandes is a second name who exudes potential to be a legitimate star and someone who can very quickly be a national-caliber name. 

That duo of middle distance specialists is game-changing for the Bowdoin men. And when both of these men are in their athletic primes, the potential DMR lineup that they could assemble may be historically elite.

While we are really excited about Servin and Brandes, we are just as excited about the rest of this freshman class. This group of newcomers has some really encouraging depth that validates their TSR #3 ranking.

One of the main reasons why this rookie class is so good is due to the addition of Seamus McDonough (Homer High School). The Alaska native is a true long distance-oriented talent. McDonough was the 2022 Alaska Division Two runner-up finisher in cross country and holds a 5k PR of 15:21 on the grass. 

Not only that, but his résumé is fairly well-rounded, too. His focal 9:28 (3200) mark is nicely complemented by his 1:59 (800) and 4:22 (1600) personal bests. 

McDonough is someone who looks to be the future of the longer events for this program, especially since the Bears added even more middle distance talent that we've yet to discuss. And for a team that didn't make it to last fall's national meet and is losing their top scorer (Peter Brooks), the addition of someone like McDonough is huge.

We then come to the duo of Virginia natives in Aidan Singer and Ford Clark. Those two men hold 800-meter personal bests of 1:54 and 1:57, respectively. 

Singer’s secondary marks of 51.2 (400) and 4:27 (1600) indicate that he is a true middle distance guy who we expect to see focusing in the 400 meters and the half-mile. On the other hand, Clark can hold his own in some of the longer events as his 4:22 (1600) and 15:51 (5k XC) PRs suggest. While he may not be relied upon to be a low-stick for the Polar Bears, he is certainly a valuable addition on the grass.

But at the end of the day, these two men add valuable long-term depth behind their fellow rookie standouts. Singer's 1:54 mark, specifically, could allow him to be an impact name at the Division Three level sooner than some may realize.

Rounding out this freshman class is the trio of Spencer Gibson, Dylan Herring and Zai Yang. They will need a few years to develop before they will be contributors, but with a lottery ticket mentality, it feels more likely than not that one of these men will stand out in some significant way by the time that they're upperclassmen.

Gibson and Yang are both balanced runners with no singular PR sticking out as being significantly stronger than the others. The former has run 2:05 (800), 4:32 (1600) and 16:22 (5k XC) while the latter has a 4:30 (1600), 9:46 (3200) and 16:13 (5k XC) to his name.  

Herring, in contrast, looks like he may be best over the two-lapper with a high school campaign highlighted by a 2:02 (800) PR.

With two star additions and a very strong supporting cast all in one class, the Polar Bears have set themselves up to emerge as a nationally competitive group in the coming years. And while you could maybe argue that other freshman classes are better, few are more impactful on their respective programs than these current Bowdoin freshmen.

2. Amherst Mammoths

Let's get straight to the point: The Amherst men have a very good freshman class from top to bottom. And that’s rare to say for a group of seven different guys. 

While we usually analyze freshman classes starting with those with the most loaded high school résumés to the more modest résumés, it would be unfair (and quite difficult) to assign an order to these guys based on what we know -- they’re all adept at different things.

So instead, we’re going to categorize them by their event specialties. But as we’re going to talk about with each of these guys, take note that they all have really strong range that could make them a threat outside of whatever their main event at the prep level was.

We’ll start off with the three more distance-oriented members of this class. 

First is Harrison Dow, someone who projects to be an absolute animal in distances of 3000 meters and longer. His 9:17 (two-mile) and 15:19 (5k XC) PRs are high-caliber marks which prove that he’s the real deal, especially when you consider that Massachusetts cross country courses often aren’t ridiculously fast.

Dow is a massive addition who has already paid off in a major way. His fall campaign was everything that we could have asked for (and maybe even more).

The rookie was consistently strong all season, peaking perfectly for the postseason in which he placed 17th at the Mideast Regional XC Championships and 126th at the cross country national meet. To put his season in perspective, that national meet finish was good enough to be the second-best freshman across the line.

For an Amherst program that returns a handful of solid names next year, many of whom have multiple years of eligibility, seeing Dow already ahead of schedule in his fitness is huge. His ongoing rise will likely give the Mammoths an even greater chance at potentially snagging an NESCAC cross country title in the next few years.

Also joining this distance squad is Oregon native, Harrison Talcott. He’s another aerobic-centric runner who has an 8:48 (3k) mark to his name. This west coast talent can also step down in distance quite effectively, as can be attested to by his very solid mark of 4:05 (1500).

With results like those, he’s an easy name to like. Talcott will need further refinement, but an 8:48 mark for 3000 meters suggests that he has the potential to at least contend (eventually) for a national qualifying spot on the track. He'll need to be a bit more consistent when racing at that level, but once he does, then he could be a quietly challenging name to take down.

There’s also Sam Young whose resume is very similar to Talcott’s. He’s the full package with PRs of 2:00 (800), 4:21 (mile) and 9:28 (3200).

If you were to say that this guy is a miler, we wouldn’t argue with you. But his 10th place finish at the New York Federation XC Championships makes him a bit more of a threat over the longer distances. With a strong debut collegiate cross country campaign that saw him break into the varsity lineup, and a resume that is fairly complete, it’s safe to say that Young is on the right track early in his collegiate career.

The responsibility of leading the next generation of Mammoths in the mile seems to fall into the hands of Josh Thomas (Chadwick High) and Stan Craig (Collegiate High School). That's because they hold fantastic 1600-meter personal bests of 4:15 and 4:16, respectively. 

And like some of their teammates who we already mentioned, each of them have enviable versatility. This potent mile duo are both safely under 2:00 for 800 meters and boast sub-9:30 (3200) credentials.

Most teams would be happy to have an incoming freshman with just one of those personal bests across the three distance events at the prep level. However, Thomas and Chadwick possess all three.

Thomas, in particular, would look like a focal standout in just about any other freshman class. He has run 1:57 (800) and 9:24 (3200) and placed 17th overall at the very competitive CIF (CA) Division Five State XC Championships. He's a fairly proven talent in everything from the half-mile up to the 5k.

We also want to be clear that Craig is far from a depth or developmental piece. We think he can be as much of an asset on the grass as the track, per his 15:26 (5k XC) PR. He was, after all, the runner-up at the Division One VISAA XC State Championships, only finishing behind someone who went on to break 9:00 for 3200 meters.

When pairing these two dynamic milers with the aerobic-centric success of a few men who we mentioned earlier, the future of Amherst's cross country team looks promising. If enough things break their way, then they could eventually/potentially unseat Williams from the top of the NESCAC.

As for the middle distance contingent, Brice Shearburn (John Burroughs High School) and Parker Boyle (Hong Kong International School) are huge pickups. The Mammoths are likely looking at this pair of 1:56 men to be the future over the two-lap distance. 

Shearburn adds to the well-rounded nature of this freshman class. He’s a 4:20 (1600) man as well as having run 9:36 (3200). He figures to primarily be a track athlete while some of his aforementioned teammates will take on the 8k duties.

As for Boyle, it’s our understanding that he has been attending school in Hong Kong until coming to America to race (among other pursuits) this past spring. His impressive 800-meter mark is accompanied by a 52.14 (400) and 4:19 (1600). 

What makes Boyle an intriguing name is that we are totally in the dark about what he can do in any distance longer than 1600 meters. Generally, those who are able to run as fast as Boyle does over 400 meters tend to not necessarily thrive over longer efforts. However, it’s only fair that we give him the chance before jumping to conclusions.

But at the very least, having guys like Shearburn and Boyle balances out this freshman class that has many versatile names, but also leans towards the longer distances.

All in all, this freshman class doesn’t have a weak spot...at all. All seven of these rookie additions have high school credentials that more than qualify them to make an impact for the Mammoths over the next few years. Again, that's very rare.

For those of you keeping count at home, here’s a quick round-up. Out of those seven guys…

That’s a ridiculously robust class in terms of versatility and firepower, and those are credentials that are more than good enough to be our TSR #1 freshman class in most years.

But this time, the Mammoths will have to settle for a really strong TSR #2 spot.

1. Carnegie Mellon Tartans

It rarely works out so smoothly that one distance program stands out so clearly above the rest so as to avoid dissension at TSR in constructing our rankings, especially without many head-to-head results.

But Carnegie Mellon’s men’s rookie class is so replete with talent that it left no question as to who would headline our 2023-24 D3 freshman class rankings. 

The Tartans are coming off an elite display of depth en route to a 6th place finish at the 2023 NCAA D3 XC Championships despite finishing with no All-Americans. Even so, they have a top-notch freshman class waiting in the wings that should add an infusion of scoring potency to an already-strong roster. 

And it's more likely than not that a low-stick star or two emerges from this crop.

Carnegie Mellon’s most recognizable addition this past offseason was Army transfer, Matthew Porter, who looked like an All-American throughout the fall before falling outside of the top-200 at the cross country national meet. But just because the lead scorer was the most established name (and not part of these rankings) doesn’t make him the Tartans’ most valuable addition.

Instead, that title should arguably go to Matthew Short. The Berkley, Michigan product was a respectable cross country talent as a prep star, but found his best form on the track. He ran as fast as 4:14 (1600 meters en route to a 4:16 mile) and 9:07 (two-mile). 

Running fast times is one thing, but Short also gained valuable championship meet experience, taking bronze at the Michigan Lower Peninsula (LP) Division One finals (the state’s most competitive prep division) over 3200 meters before competing in the two-mile distance at New Balance Outdoor Nationals. 

Not to mention, Short also holds a pretty respectable 1:56 (800) mark which suggests that he could be a nationally competitive middle distance name at the Division Three level with some further refinement. 

Short, who’s already run 4:13 for the mile as a collegian, is a strong focal recruit for this class. On paper, he's the perfect guy for this program to build around. In fact, his marks signal that he could be the top recruit for a number of Division One programs. 

Of course, he's hardly the only newcomer of status in this class. Ryan Wahler holds the fastest half-mile mark in this class at 1:55, but he’s far from a one-trick pony. With 16:10 (5k XC) and 4:18 (1600) as his other personal bests, this Wisconsin native holds solid overall value.

Wahler was also in the thick of several Maryland state meet races over the past couple of years. He's not only fast, but battle-tested, which isn't always a given for a handful of high-achieving prep talents.

Nathan Massie holds an identical 1600-meter personal best to Wahler, but is also adept over 3200 meters (9:23), giving him the makings of a strong 5k runner at the collegiate level who perfectly fits the Tartans' distance and depth-centric ethos.

When you really think about it, Massie could be the headline recruit for any number of other teams. But on paper, this is probably one of the best fits (at least in Division Three) that he could have found. The Tartans' distance program has a strong history of developing guys like him into high-impact names.

The next athletes who bear mentioning are a pair of aerobic-centric athletes who ran at altitude in high school. 

William Fleming comes by way of Park City, Utah while Lyndon Gotelaere is from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Each of these young men have competed at several state meets where their times were already strong, but made even more impressive considering the altitude that they achieved them at. 

In fact, when using an altitude conversion calculator and inputting the locale that these two ran each personal or seasonal best at, we get converted times of 4:19 (1600) and 9:10 (3200) for Fleming and a 9:22 (3200) for Gotelaere. Those are incredible marks for guys who we're only just now mentioning in this article.

Both men also ran 16:09 (5k XC) at over 4000 feet altitude. Each figures to be key cogs in Carnegie Mellon’s podium-aspirant cross country team in the near future. 

Some more mile-centric additions from the 11-man class are Christian Brower, who ran 4:19 over 1600 meters, and 4:25 (mile) man, Connor Reidy. They're not the headliners of this class, but are probably too good to be classified as "developmental" additions.

It's a fairly similar story for Nicolo Fasanelli and Adam Kollgaard who held a strong balance between the 1600 meters and 3200 meters in high school. Fasanelli ran 4:28 (1600) and 9:33 (3200) while Kollgaard posted marks of 4:26 (1600) and 9:38 (3200) at the prep level.

Meanwhile, Greg Kossuth (9:30 for 3200 meters) and Angelo Parrino (9:46 for 3200 meters) appear to lean more towards the longer distance events in comparison to some of their new teammates. Kossuth, in particular, may even be a bit underrated, finishing just two spots behind the aforementioned Harrison Dow (who is now at Amherst) at the 2022 NXR Northeast Championships.

Carnegie Mellon brought in a large freshman class with strong range between the distance events (800 meters and up) and virtually all of whom figure to make an impact in their first couple of years with the Tartans.

Sure, it would have been nice if this class had one more 800-meter name or even more of a cross country lean. Even so, it’s hard to argue with the wealth of young talent now residing in Pittsburgh. In fact, we'd argue that this rookie group is unrivaled by any competing contingent in Division Three this year.

Middlebury Panthers

Washington U. Bears

Tufts Jumbos

RPI Engineers

U. of Chicago Maroons

John Carroll Blue Streaks

Wartburg Knights

Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens

SUNY Geneseo Knights

Emory Eagles