TSR Collaboration
Feb 2011 min
Written by Conor Daly, Kevin Fischer & Gavin Struve
Additional edits & commentary by Garrett Zatlin & Gavin Struve
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.
Was not ranked in our last update.
First number indicates how much the individual has moved in our rankings.
The second number indicates where the individual was ranked in our last update.
20. Enrique Salazar, Senior, Manchester (Unranked)
A 10,000-meter specialist in the past, Enrique Salazar is having true indoor track success for the first time this season. A 14:01 (5k) win at the GVSU Big Meet has cemented his status as an All-American contender over that distance, but it shouldn’t have come as too much of a shock given his 8:08 (3k) result from a few weeks ago.
The day after racing at GVSU, Salazar played with some speed, posting a converted 1:55 (800) mark to win at the DePauw Invitational. While that isn’t anything resembling a nationally competitive mark, it isn’t half-bad for somebody who specializes in the longer events and hasn’t dropped down to 800 meters in nearly two years.
It’s undeniable that Salazar can hang with the best of Division Three over 5000 meters. Not only that, but he may also have just a little bit more speed than we previously thought. That, in theory, could help him over 3000 meters on the national stage as well.
19. Frank Csorba, Junior, Lynchburg (0 / 19)
Despite a tough day over 5000 meters at Boston University, we are still fully confident in Frank Csorba’s abilities and overall talent. His 8:06 (3k) result remains highly competitive nationally, and his 2:59 opening leg of Lynchburg’s DMR indicates some really nice fitness, especially in terms of speed.
If he is called upon for the DMR yet again at the indoor national meet, then he should be more than capable of keeping the Hornets in the mix and coming back the next day as a serious scoring threat in the 3k.
18. Derek Fearon, Junior, Pomona-Pitzer (-3 / 15)
A 4:12 outdoor mile effort is Derek Fearon’s only race since his season-opening 14:00 mark over 5000 meters from December.
It doesn’t appear that we can glean all that much from that shrug-inducing mile performance. It was a decent day in an "off" event for him, but nothing sensational. With that said, he drops a few spots in favor of athletes who have raced more often and have put down competitive marks across multiple events.
17. Michael Madoch, Senior, UW-La Crosse (+3 / 20)
While the last two weeks haven’t yielded any big breakthroughs for this still-rising UW-La Crosse star, Michael Madoch has still been solid and consistent enough to move him up a couple of spots. After dropping down in distance to run a solid converted mark of 1:52 for 800 meters, Michael Madoch anchored the Eagles to a DMR victory against a stacked field with a 4:09 split on a flat track.
After impressive performances at his first couple of indoor track meets this season earned him a spot in our rankings, Madoch has validated those results. Not by making more big splashes, but by replicating what we already knew he could do.
16. Aidan Matthai, Sophomore, UW-La Crosse (Unranked)
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the UW-La Crosse men stacked a distance event at an exclusively Division Three meet and worked together to earn several nationally competitive marks for their top guys.
First, it was the 3000 meters, then the mile and now the 5000 meters -- and Aidan Matthai has been a major factor in all three of those races. His latest effort produced a converted 14:06 (5k) mark, finishing runner-up in between teammates Adam Loenser (TSR #10) and Grant Matthai (TSR #13), and ahead of the North Central star duo of Braden Nicholson and Max Svienty.
At a program that’s enjoying as much success as the Eagles are right now, it’s easy for individual accolades to get lost in the shuffle a little bit. But the high-level versatility that Matthai has been displaying this season has been nothing short of amazing.
15. Nate Lentz, Senior, Williams (-1 / 14)
Even after Nate Lentz’s 8:09 (3k) result early in the season, we still believed that he was a miler at heart and would drop something fast in that event once we got into the nitty-gritty of the season.
While it’s possible that he still does that in the next two weeks or so, we have to give him his flowers as a truly nationally competitive 3000-meter runner after his recent 8:05 mark. He’s only two seconds off of the top spot on the national leaderboard and his historical success in the mile gives him a speed advantage over most athletes who will be in the field.
If we see a pedestrian pace -- which is more than feasible given the amount of men who will be doubling back from other events -- Lentz could even be in the mix to win it, which isn’t something that we would have expected a few months ago.
14. Michael Olson, Senior, Plymouth State (Unranked)
Last year was a huge breakout season for Michael Olson as he dropped his 800-meter personal best from 1:54 to 1:50 throughout the academic year. And during that time, he qualified for the outdoor national meet where he finished a respectable 14th place overall.
But despite those massive jumps, he seemingly wasn’t satisfied and has continued to climb his way into the elite ranks of Division Three. Now, his recent 1:49 (800) mark at Boston U. is the fastest time in the country by roughly a full second -- and he's the only D3 man to break 1:50 this winter.
With the departures of stars like Ryan Wilson, Mike Jasa and Garrett Lenners -- as well as Bennett Booth-Genthe seemingly focusing on the mile -- the men's national 800-meter field has become fairly wide-open. There is a lot of parity, and there are several guys who we wouldn’t be shocked to see crowned as the national champion.
But you’re kidding yourself if you don’t see Olson as one of the absolute top contenders.
13. Grant Matthai, Sophomore, UW-La Crosse (-3 / 10)
Like his above-listed brother, this Eagle underclassman has not looked the least bit phased when stepping up as a national-level name this indoor track season.
Grant Matthai been competing at the front of some of the fastest races that Division Three has to offer this winter, most recently trying his hand over 5000 meters which went very well. His converted 14:07 (5k) mark is roughly on par with what we would have expected from the burgeoning star.
Now, as an All-American candidate in both the 3k and the 5k, Matthai has plenty to look forward to this postseason. In a national-level race, it won't hurt that his best mile performance (a converted 4:07 effort) is plenty quick for someone with perhaps more of a distance-oriented focus.
We have to imagine that Spencer Moon has been eyeing that sub-14:00 (5k) barrier for a while now. And sure enough, a trip to Boston U. was just the thing that helped Moon achieve that feat, clocking a 13:59 (5k) PR in the process.
Yes, we still have concerns about Moon’s ability to perform on the national stage (which holds him back in our rankings a bit). That, however, is a mark that simply indicates that he’s wildly fit right now. There’s no arguing that.
Another nice development was his 4:06 (flat track) split to anchor his team’s DMR. Even when converting that eight-lap split to a full mile, that’s the fastest that he’s ever run on an indoor oval by a good margin.
11. Christopher Collet, Senior, Wartburg (-6 / 5)
The highlight of the last few weeks for Christopher Collet was his effort over the mile distance at Boston U. There, he cracked a personal best for the first time this winter with a really impressive 4:05 performance. That’s a result that puts him ranked with the nation's best.
The following weekend, Collet anchored a DMR in a hyper-competitive field at the Indoor Eagle Open. There, Collet had an "off" day, clocking a poor 4:16 split. However, the Wartburg veteran quickly righted himself with a 4:08 (converted) mile the next day.
On a good day, Collet is a top-tier miler. While he’s a steeplechaser on the outdoor oval, he tends to focus his efforts on the mile during the winter months. This drop in our rankings is mostly a reflection of the success that men around him have enjoyed and the notion that Collet's optimal event doesn't exist on the indoor oval.
10. Adam Loenser, Junior, UW-La Crosse (+3 / 13)
Taking a big win over a pair of his teammates is a huge development for Adam Loesner, especially when you consider that those teammates are both comfortably listed in our current top-20 rankings.
At the Midwest Elite Invitational, Loesner ran a converted 14:07 (5k) to take down a loaded field that also included the 3rd place finisher from the cross country national meet, Max Svienty, as well as fellow North Central man, Braden Nicholson.
That’s a résumé-defining win.
Even for as big as that victory was, it only boosts Loenser a few spots. That's because he’s been so good in the early going -- also holding top-10 marks in the mile and the 3k -- that he doesn't have much further up to ascend before testing himself on the national stage.
9. Cael Schoemann, Sophomore, UW-La Crosse (+3 / 12)
The 800-meter distance is seemingly made for this guy...or Cael Schoemann is made for the 800 meters.
After running a converted 1:50 half-mile mark earlier in the season, Schoemann validated himself in recent weeks. First, he dropped a 1:51 effort on a banked track to back up his converted mark. He then went on to split another 1:51 mark as a part of his team’s nation-leading DMR team. That relay effort came on a flat track, so if you were to convert the split to a banked track, then he would, in theory, have himself a 1:50-low (800) split.
That pair of consistent performances makes us feel good about betting on Schoemann. We mustn't forget that he was the 5th place finisher at the 2023 outdoor national meet (over 800 meters, of course).
8. Gunner Schlender, Junior, UW-Whitewater (0 / 8)
Gunner Schlender, like many others, chose the second weekend of February as the time to go after a national qualifying time over 5000 meters. And as we expected, he accomplished that goal with ease, running just short of his personal best with a 14:04 result.
All in all, that performance doesn’t really change our perception of him. Schlender is someone who gets better as the distance increases, so based on his converted 8:07 (3k) run earlier this season, that 5k performance is only fitting.
7. Cory Kennedy, Senior, RPI (0 / 7)
All things equal, Cory Kennedy has probably done enough to warrant a bump in our rankings. After racing just thrice this winter, between three different events, he holds three PRs and two top-three national marks.
Most recently, Kennedy ventured to Boston University where he held his own in a loaded 3k field en route to a glistening time of 8:04.
Kennedy is four-of-four in earning All-American honors when racing on the national stage over the past two academic years. Those ahead of him in these top-20 rankings aren't necessarily more accomplished than him, but they do hold national titles, nation-leading marks or reside in less top-heavy events.
6. Noah Jorgenson, Junior, Central College (0 / 6)
Noah Jorgenson has kept himself occupied since we last convened in this space. One of the nation's preeminent middle distance stars, he came one second short of his PR with a 4:06 (mile) at Boston U. Then, he contributed to a 9:56 DMR effort that should advance the Dutch to the indoor national meet.
This past Saturday, Jorgenson dropped a 1:52.91 mark in an 800-meter victory. It was a few seconds off of his PR, sure, but that's hardly reason to dock Jorgenson given how often he's raced and how comfortably he sits in terms of his NCAA Indoor Championships qualification status in three different events.
5. Isaac vanWestrienen, Sophomore, Cornell College (+4 / 9)
Few men have enjoyed so much success when moving up a level in competition.
This time last year, Isaac vanWestrienen was a good, but not great, runner at the NAIA level. In 2024, he has set PRs in the mile, the 3k and the 5k after an individual appearance at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships. And he's among the nation's best in the latter two events.
His latest effort saw him nab an 8:03 (3k) conversion in a dominant win at Wartburg. If not for his inexperience, vanWestrienen may be labeled an All-American favorite in both the 3k and the 5k. Heck, he may already be one in spite of his underclassman status!
4. Ethan Gregg, Senior, UW-La Crosse (-3 / 1)
A changing of the guard took place this past weekend, but perhaps only momentarily.
Ethan Gregg's ongoing streak of excellence was quelled a bit in a robust 5000-meter field earlier this month at Boston University, finishing behind a couple of fellow Division Three stars by a decent margin. However, more likely than not, this is just a one-meet blip that will fall to the back of mind in a couple of weeks.
Remember, Gregg didn't produce a single win this past fall until the cross country national meet. He's also the reigning 3k national champion and will be among the top title contenders over that distance and the 5k despite racing just twice so far this season.
3. Sam Llaneza, Junior, Lynchburg (0 / 3)
Boston U.'s Valentine Invite was a bit more providential for Sam Llaneza than it was for Ethan Gregg. Llaneza ran a seasonal best of 4:06 in the mile and contributed to what was then the NCAA #1 DMR team this season (now NCAA #4) which beat a few Division One and Division Two teams in the process.
In his two national meet appearances on the track last academic year, Llaneza ran just the DMR on the indoor oval and then doubled over 1500 meters and the half-mile at the outdoor national meet. That leaves us a bit unsure about which combination of events he'll choose between the 800 meters, the mile and the DMR this season, assuming he doesn't go all-in on the latter yet again.
At any rate, we trust that Llaneza's ability will be maximized after earning six All-American finishes on the oval (including the DMR) across his career.
2. Bennett Booth-Genthe, Junior, Pomona-Pitzer (0 / 2)
We finally saw Bennett Booth-Genthe return to action after dropping a 4:00 (mile) effort on the 2nd of December and then taking 10 weeks off from racing.
This past Saturday, Booth-Genthe returned to the mile and earned his first win of the season (his first race of the season was in a loaded field at Boston U.) in a somewhat unassuming 4:07 mile effort on an outdoor track over a handful of star teammates.
We saw enough from Booth-Genthe to keep him this high in our rankings heading towards the postseason. And while not spectacular, his recent result was hardly concerning enough to drop him.
1. Christian Patzka, Junior, UW-Whitewater (+3 / 4)
This was our most-debated top spot across our rankings (including D2) updates this week and perhaps this season. However, Christian Patzka seemed like the fairest athlete to land on at our TSR #1 spot.
Ethan Gregg's recent hiccup in the 5k and Booth-Genthe's relative inactivity opened the door for Patzka to climb to TSR #1 for the first time since earlier this fall. After all, he did just defeat Gregg by nearly 20 seconds at Boston U.
The 13:51 (5k) mark that Patzka dropped in that setting wasn't even a PR which implies that he's quite possibly still gaining steam as the season progresses.
Despite a pair of narrow losses (by such thin margins that they may well not have come in full efforts) to top-10 teammate, Gunner Schlender, Patzka has probably impressed the most of any Division Three man in any singular effort this season and thus ascends to TSR #1.
Michael Olson (Plymouth State)
Aidan Matthai (UW-La Crosse)
Enrique Salazar (Manchester)
KICKED OFF
Sam Acquaviva (MIT)
Colin Kirkpatrick (Pomona-Pitzer)
Will Kelly (St. Olaf)
JUST MISSED (in no particular order)
Sam Acquaviva (MIT)
Colin Kirkpatrick (Pomona-Pitzer)
Will Kelly (St. Olaf)
Chasen Hunt (Lynchburg)
Max Svienty (North Central)
Ryan Harvey (Loras)
Braden Nicholson (North Central)
Simon Heys (Wilmington (OH))
John Lucey (Williams)
Adam Sylvia (Central College)
Dwight Hosni (UW-Oshkosh)
Parker Heintz (UW-La Crosse)
Kyle Miller (Buena Vista)
Sam Verkerke (UW-Eau Claire)
Elijah Meder (Hope)
Braedon Gilles (UW-Stevens Point)
HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)
Isaac Wegner (UW-La Crosse)
TJ Carleo (Brandeis)
Colin McLaughlin (Carnegie Mellon)
Ivan Appleton (Tufts)
Will Neubauer (Wabash)
Nicholas Lyndaker (Lynchburg)
Calvin Boone (St. Scholastica)
Chase Upmann (Carthage)
Joe Franke (Loras)
Reza Eshghi (Haverford)
Ziyad Hassan (MIT)
Ned Farrington (Bates)
Will Salony (Trinity (Tex.))
Vince Simonetti (RPI)
Trevor Richwine (Dickinson)
Caleb Correia (John Carroll)
Marcus Cheema (Emory)
Mason Shea (UW-Eau Claire)
Jonathan Zavala (Brockport State)
Jake Shumaker (Millikin)
Emmanuel Leblond (Johns Hopkins)
Lowell Hensgen (MIT)
Tor Hotung-Davidsen (Lynchburg)
Lucas Florsheim (Pomona-Pitzer)
Connor Riss (North Central)
Notes
- N/A