TSR Collaboration
Mar 14, 202315 min
Written by Garrett Zatlin & Gavin Struve
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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 guide when determining eligibility.
Was not ranked in our last update.
First number indicates how much the athlete has moved in the rankings.
The second number indicates where the athlete was ranked in our last update.
Yes, we're dropping Yaseen Abdalla a heavy number of spots, but it's impossible to deny the impact that he had this winter, especially when it came to Tennessee's DMR.
Running 7:42 for 3000 meters was fantastic and it was a result that truly put him in a different tier. And with huge anchor splits his last two DMR efforts, splitting 3:54 at Alex Wilson and 3:58 (at altitude) at the national meet, this Volunteer clearly held value that others would struggle to replicate.
At the same time, a tough end to his 5k race at the SEC Indoor Championships, paired with a DQ in the DMR at the national meet, a sub-par 3k result in December and an underwhelming 12th place result in the 3k this past weekend forces us to put Abdalla back to TSR #25, even if we think that he probably deserves to be higher.
After running a huge mark of 13:19 for 5000 meters at Boston University, Parker Wolfe took an extended time off from racing. And when he returned, he looked great, but maybe not awesome.
The Tar Heel star ventured through the month of February running 3:56 in the mile, an encouraging first-race back in a few months. But a tough showing at the ACC Indoor Championships, where he was upset by fellow teammate Ethan Strand in the 3k and part of a bizarre 5k scenario which sent him back to 8th overall, forced us to remove Wolfe from our rankings.
Luckily, we were able to find a very good reason to bring Wolfe back in our rankings. A 5th place finish in a very top-heavy field validated his December result in a huge way. It also showed us that in the right race setting, which is usually something pretty honest, the Tar Heel star should still be viewed as a major threat.
There's frankly not much to say here. Sam Austin finished 6th in the 800 meter finals this past weekend, but later moved up to 5th place after a DQ. And truthfully, I don't think anyone is surprised by this result.
We knew that Austin was better than he was last year, and he had a few moments where we thought, "Wow, that's different," but it still feels like he's at least a year away from truly contending for a national title.
And as a true sophomore, that is hardly a bad thing.
After initially breaking into our rankings and then dropping back out, Conor Murphy has returned to snag one of the final few spots.
On paper, Murphy's 6th place finish in the mile finals is largely not that much different than what we saw from Sam Austin in the 800 meters. It was entirely realistic to think that this breakout Virginia runner could be a backend All-American.
After delivering on that potential, you have to step back and really evaluate Murphy's overall season of work. He ran 1:47 (800) and 3:55 (mile), finished 2nd place at the ACC Indoor Championships in the 800 meters to a guy who is ranked in our top-20 and just earned All-American honors.
In other words...what's not to like?
Yes, I know that Penn State's Handal Roban just finished 3rd at the NCAA Indoor Championships (after a DQ) over 800 meters. And yes, that is a beyond impressive result, especially for someone who was one of the last seeds into the national meet!
At the same time, there were plenty of moments throughout this season where I wasn't even sure if Roban was the best half-miler on his team. Sure, he never really had a bad race, running 1:47 (800) FOUR different times, but his firepower didn't truly start to show until this past weekend.
Either way, Roban was fantastic. He was incredibly patience and composed for someone so inexperienced. He knew when to move and he was smart not to get caught up in the crazy-fast paces we saw early-on.
You could argue that almost no one in the NCAA peaked better than this Nittany Lion star did.
Alex Maier quietly had one of the more solid weekends among all NCAA distance runners at this year’s NCAA Indoor Championships.
Sure, it never felt like he was fully in contention for an individual title late in his races, but Maier walked away with a pair of All-American finishes and found himself among the final group of contenders in both the 3000 meters and the 5000 meters. He bided his time and let others ahead of him make the moves and mistakes.
He didn't have the flashiest races, but he probably took some of the smartest approaches as far as his in-race tactics are concerned.
And in the end, the Cowboy star was rewarded with a 5th place finish via a 7:50 (3k) mark and an 8th place result after a 13:52 (5k) performance. Maier’s results didn’t wow you this weekend, but it’s important to remember this Cowboy ace placed 16th in the 5000 meters at last year’s NCAA Indoor Championships before truly emerging as a top-tier talent last spring.
He'll likely be a greater threat on the outdoor oval over the next few months.
Wisconsin ace Jackson Sharp had a very solid indoor track season, one that deserved plenty of respect. He had run 3:57 in the mile, posted a 7:44 personal best over 3000 meters and easily won the 5k and the 3k titles at the BIG 10 Indoor Championships.
But as one of the final few 3k seeds at the national meet, it was hard to imagine this Aussie Badger making a dramatic impact. Frankly, we just didn't know if hew as fit enough.
That, of course, was a mistake. Sharp hung around with all of the title contenders throughout the men's 3k final. He was smart and never made excessive moves, but he was still willing to be aggressive at the appropriate times.
And now, he has a bronze medal to prove that regular season times don't entirely dictate postseason success.
Gosh, what a fascinating runner.
Tarees Rhoden was already an ACC champion in the 800 meters from last year, but his title victory a few weeks back felt distinctly different. Sure, he was able to masterfully execute a front-running approach with teammate Aman Thornton, but Rhoden's early-race aggression felt like he was trying to make a statement.
And sure enough, he took the same approach on the national stage in both the prelims and the finals. Rhoden exploded off the start line in both rounds, establishing a hot pace. In both instances, he began to falter on the third lap. But unlike almost every other runner ever, Rhoden was able to find a second wind a lap later.
That, in turn, gave Rhoden a 4th place finish in the men's 800 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships after a DQ.
In terms of raw fitness, this Clemson star is just as good as a handful of men in this range of our rankings. But I also can't help but wonder how he would fare if he took just a slightly more conservative approach.
He'll continue to be an All-American, but how will he take that next step to title contender?
Some guys just have flat-out bad days (or in this case, bad weekends).
A 8th place finish in a tactical mile final, followed by a brutal last place in the 3000 meter finals, forces us to shrug our shoulders and say, "Eh, it happens."
Fay obviously has to drop a good bit following the weekend he had. But still, it's impossible to deny that this Washington star was wildly versatile and held incredible firepower in multiple events. Running times of 3:52 (mile), 7:43 (3k) and 13:16 (5k) is something that no one else in the NCAA was able to come close to matching this winter.
Nico Young’s performance at the NCAA Indoor Championships provides a strong wrap-up to an indoor track season that appears underwhelming at first glance, but merits respect upon further inspection.
While he was never at his best following a 13:15 (5k) effort in December, Young still posted fairly competitive marks and was toward the front of most of the races he contested. No, he wasn't the explosive, time-trial star that he has been in past seasons, but it was impossible to write him off this past weekend.
It also made sense for him to excel at this year’s altitude-based national meet. Running 13:40 and earning a 4th place finish in the 5000 meters was a key performance that shows us that he’s still very much among the NCAA’s elite.
No, Young didn’t get any closer to winning his first national title this winter, but he proved that he can earn a top-half All-American finish even in what may be considered a “down” season for him. Perhaps he’ll look toward trying the 10,000 meters this spring, an event in which so many other Northern Arizona stars have thrived in.
Either way, he should be a near All-American lock, if not a national title contender, this spring.
It was a decent weekend for Kieran Lumb, maybe even good, but I'm not sure we're willing to say that he had a "great" weekend.
The Washington runner was fresh for the anchor leg of his DMR. And after splitting 3:59 at altitude, he was able to get the Huskies a 4th place result following a DQ. Again, that was a good result, just not a great result.
Fast forward the next day to the 3000 meters. This was an event that, on paper, Lumb had the chance to extremely competitive in. But the Canadian star was just never quite with the top group of contenders, ultimately finishing 8th overall, the final All-American honor.
Is Kieran Lumb better than what we saw from him this past weekend? Yes, I think so, but we also shouldn't act like he was terrible or anything like that. Generally speaking, he was just flat-out solid.
There's not too much to say about here. If I had told you that Nathan Green was going to finish 5th overall in the mile finals, almost all of you would have said, "Yeah, I could see that." And sure enough, that's what happened.
Tactically, Green has matured a lot. He looked somewhat comfortable during that mile final, but just never got himself positioned for the national title. The redshirt freshman was just a bit too far back.
Still, that was a really nice result and when paired with a key 1:48 (800) split off of the double from the mile prelims, I think it's safe to say that Green was a top-15 middle and long distance runner in the NCAA this winter.
It's not really fair to judge Ryan Schoppe's DMR performance. He split 4:00on the anchor leg, but the Cowboys were so far ahead that he was simply going through the motions to get NCAA gold.
However, a rough outing over 3000 meters (falling to 14th place) isn't indicative of the season that he had. Schoppe was one of the better 3k/mile runners in the NCAA this winter and he showed a tremendous amount of growth in nearly every aspect of his racing.
He falls to TSR #13, but no one looked at Schoppe's 3k result this past weekend and thought that was actually how good he was.
Ky Robinson just looked tired.
A title favorite in the eyes of many, Robinson did everything he could to put himself in the mix during the men's 5000 meter finals and the 3000 meter finals. But in both fields, he looked "off". The Stanford star salvaged a 7th place All-American finish in the 5k, but fell out of contention for a top-eight finish in the 3k by placing 10th.
It's no secret that Robinson has had a very schedule as of late, recently traveling back to Australia to compete at the World XC Championships and then coming back to earn a 3k national qualifying time (as well as run at the national meet).
Robinson is still a top-15 and we wouldn't argue if you said he was a top-10 name. But he had a few small hiccups this year and just wasn't at his best on the national stage. For that reason, he drops in our rankings.
So...what should we do here?
On one had, Navasky Anderson looked like an unstoppable monster for 99% of the men's 800 meter finals this past weekend. He overtook an already-aggressive pace from Tarees Rhoden and was charging down the home straight, eventually earning a time of 1:45.
Of course, as we all know, Anderson noticeably moved into the lane of Yusuf Bizimana who had a very real chance of catching him. But that impediment ultimately allowed Anderson to win gold before eventually being disqualified.
We can talk about the DQ all we want. But you cannot possibly deny that Navasky Anderson was one of the talented men in the NCAA this past weekend. That's why he's not taking a significant drop in our rankings.
At the same time, we have to acknowledge that Anderson was DQ'd and that he never earned an All-American honor, no matter how much we or anyone else believes he should have. Our own penalty is this Mississippi State star has to fall outside of our top-10, although sitting at TSR #11 is hardly an insulting spot.
The tactical genius from Drake nearly did it.
Isaac Basten's unbelievable final kick, something that he has put on display for us time and time again, nearly got him the mile national title this weekend. Unfortunately for him, he was just 0.03 seconds late.
Basten isn't the most talented miler in the NCAA. He doesn't have the most elite middle distance speed and he's far from being one of the better aerobic-based athletes. But guys like him have shown us how far racing IQ, insane kicks, patience and experience can get you.
The Bulldog star does all of the small things right, but he also makes moves that you wouldn't always expect. I mean, heck, was anyone expecting Basten to storm down the inside rail over the last 50 meters and nearly snag the win away from Luke Houser on his left shoulder?
I certainly wasn't.
There's no doubt that Basten was the best that he's ever been this season. New personal bests of 1:48 (800) and 3:54 (mile) support that assertion. Now, the question is, how can he take advantage of this fitness during the spring?
Few men elevated their status at this year’s NCAA Indoor Championships (and this season as a whole) as much as Casey Clinger did.
A 4th place in the 3000 meters with a time of 7:49 (3k), along with a runner-up finish in the 5000 meters thanks to a 13:38 mark, are a series of results that lift Clinger into another tier and they raise a series of questions.
Is Clinger a national title contender moving forth? What event is his best? Is the runner-up finish his crowning achievement? The latter question feels unfair regarding what he’s achieved on the cross country course, but it’s his best placement at an NCAA Championship and his first All-American honor on the track.
Clinger’s showing in Albuquerque doesn’t entirely change what we think about him — given he’d already displayed underrated speed and versatility on the oval — but it does confirm that in the right setting (altitude, strength-based races) that he can be as dangerous as we thought he eventually could be.
For the sake of time (and a hint of laziness), I thought it was best to group these two men together. I don't think you can talk about one without talking about the other.
When looking at Joe Waskom's overall resume, he was just fantastic this winter. Running 2:18 for 1000 meters was the first signal that something special was coming from the reigning 1500 meter national champion. And when he threw down an other-worldly time of 3:51 in the mile, it became clear that Waskom was the national title favorite...depending on what you thought about Anass Essayi.
As for Luke Houser, he was solid throughout the entire season, but didn't really begin to peak until these last weeks. After a rust-buster 2:25 (1k) effort, Houser ran a strong 3:55 mile PR and also posted an encouraging 7:46 mark over 3000 meters. But what we couldn't have expected was Houser dropping an insane 3:52 mile time in Boston just before the national qualifying window closed.
Was Joe Waskom's 3:51 mile better than Luke Houser's 3:52 mile? Yes, obviously, but not by much. And was Joe Waskom's 2:18 (1k) PR better than anything else that Houser ran? Sure, I would say so.
But Houser never had a truly poor race this season. Waskom did. Houser won the mile national title. Waskom, despite being favored, settled for 4th place. Houser showcased slightly more range. Waskom never strayed further than 600 meters from his ideal distance.
Is there a case for Waskom to be ranked over Houser? Yes, there is. But it's not just the national title that gives Houser the edge -- it's everything that we saw from him in comparison.
Crayton Carrozza’s result at the NCAA Indoor Championships felt perfectly in line with his potential and increasing dependability as a veteran middle distance ace.
His performance this past weekend was almost indisputably the best of his college career. And that’s saying something considering that he has already been an All-American, an NCAA champion in the DMR and a multi-time BIG 12 champion as an individual.
But racing to a runner-up (initially 3rd place) finish with a second-half surge, which aligned perfectly with his mile background, showed us that he was capable of being at his best when it mattered most.
Carrozza shouldn’t be an afterthought just because he was the second part of the Longhorns’ impressive 1-2 statement. He may not have the half-mile upside of his teammate, but Carrozza could have won the national title himself on the right day.
Plus, a 1:46 (800) mark in a championship setting at altitude is nothing to scoff at.
Now the question(s) become...what can do this spring? And what we see from him over 1500 meters? I suppose time will tell...
To be clear, Anass Essayi did not have a poor race at the national meet despite placing 3rd in the mile finals when he was favored to win (by some, not all). The South Carolina star at least gave himself a chance to win gold, but just couldn't find the right opening in a very tactical race to get ahead.
But when you look at the entirety of his season, it's impossible to say that Essayi wasn't a top-five name. Times of 3:50 (mile) and 7:41 (3k) are just absurd. Those are all-time performances, the former of which nearly broke the collegiate record!
Still, settling for bronze in a tactical race and scratching out of the 3k finals does force us to drop him no more than three spots in these rankings.
Would Yusuf Bizimana have out-leaned Navasky Anderson at the line had he not been impeded? Truthfully, I don't know...and I don't think anyone really knows. It was that tight.
Yes, Anderson was disqualified and Bizimana was given gold. But it's not just because he was granted the national title that puts him at TSR #4.
It's how he waited so patiently to make his move in that 800 meter final this past weekend. It's how he didn't get rattled when the pace was so hot so early-on. It's how he dominated his races, including running the nation's fastest half-mile time, earlier this winter.
It's true, Bizimana barely ever raced the half-mile this season, but it didn't really matter. His speed work throughout the season, as we saw over the final 100 meters, is ultimately what got him NCAA gold.
In a different world, or perhaps in a different era of the NCAA, Drew Bosley would be our clear TSR #1 runner. Heck, this guy is the collegiate record holder in the 3000 meters after all!
Everything that Bosley did in Albuquerque backed up the resume that he’s built and really fleshed out in recent months. The Northern Arizona star made decisive, race-altering moves in both the 3000 meters and the 5000 meters at the national meet, going to the front and pushing the pace late in each before ultimately falling just short of his first taste of individual NCAA gold.
Bosley finished just a quarter of a second behind Messaoudi in the 3k (where he finished runner-up) and just over a second behind Dylan Jacobs in the 5k (in which he finished 3rd). If you can't win a national title, that's almost the best possible combination of results you could produce.
This Lumberjack ace has suddenly elevated himself at (or above) the level of his higher-billed teammate, Nico Young. He has as good of a chance as any of emerging victorious in the 5k or the 5k Eugene, Oregon this June if a certain national meet race breaks his way.
This past weekend, Fouad Messaoudi split 2:53 on the opening leg of Oklahoma State's DMR, giving them a lead that more or less secured them a national title before Ryan Schoppe even got the baton. He then came for the 3k the next and put together an absolutely perfect race plan to snag the win away from Drew Bosley at the line.
Dylan Jacobs, meanwhile, put in a massive kick on the final lap of the men's 5k and had zero chance of being caught. He comfortably defeated an insanely loaded field. He would come back the next day and falter a bit in the 3k, but would still salvage a 6th place result.
The debate of who should be our TSR #1 runner got very heated in our Slack channel. In fact, we had to make a poll to decide.
And obviously, you can see who won.
Yes, Messadoui did come away with two national titles this weekend: one in the DMR and one in the 3000 meters. But Jacobs' 5k national title was arguably just as good as Messaoudi's 3k win and a second All-American finish isn't hardly bad.
But what it ultimately came down to was times.
Messaoudi was incredibly fast this year, running 3:54 in the mile and 7:41 over 3000 meters. However, in the eyes of our TSR writers, Jacobs' marks of 7:36 (3k) and 13:11 (5k) were just overwhelmingly dominant. Those two of the top-three fastest times that the NCAA has ever seen in those events (indoors).
For that reason, Jacobs get the edge...but we get it if you want Messaoudi at TSR #1.
Parker Wolfe (North Carolina)
Conor Murphy (Virginia)
Handal Roban (Penn State)
Jackson Sharp (Wisconsin)
Aidan Ryan (Williams)
Duncan Hamilton (Montana State)
Ethan Strand (North Carolina)
Thomas Vanoppen (Wake Forest)
Aidan Ryan (Williams)
Duncan Hamilton (Montana State)
Ethan Strand (North Carolina)
Thomas Vanoppen (Wake Forest)
Baylor Franklin (Ole Miss)
Will Sumner (Georgia)
Elliott Cook (Oregon)
Sam Rodman (Princeton)
Jason Gomez (Iowa State)
Nick Foster (Michigan)
Patrick Kiprop (Arkansas)
Graham Blanks (Harvard)
Charles Hicks (Stanford)
Jesse Hamlin (Butler)
Sam Gilman (Air Force)
Liam Murphy (Villanova)
Anthony Camerieri (Ole Miss)
Ronan McMahon-Staggs (UCLA)
Acer Iverson (Harvard)
John Lester (Stanford)
Cass Elliott (Washington)
Cebastian Gentil (Iowa State)
Joey Nokes (BYU)
Barry Keane (Butler)
Jesse Hunt (North Carolina)
Camden Marshall (Indiana)
Cole Sprout (Stanford)
Adam Spencer (Wisconsin)
Aaron Ahl (Washington)
Matthew Rizzo (Georgetown)