Grace McLaughlin
Sep 5, 20236 min
Written by Grace McLaughlin, additional commentary & edits by Gavin Struve & Garrett Zatlin
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 Lee Flames are no stranger to the Division Two spotlight and have been making highly impressive strides year after year under Coach Caleb Morgan.
The Flames ended their 2022 fall campaign with their best finish yet at the NCAA XC Championships, a trend that we expect to continue. And yet, at the same time, that performance was not particularly flashy or indicative of a future top-10 preseason ranking.
But with a reliable roster of interchangeable pieces, continued development of backend scorers and the addition of two transfers, we have reason to believe that the Flames have what it takes to be a top-10 squad this fall.
And over the next few months, this ranking may end up being too conservative.
The Flames started out strong last season with a 4th place finish at the North Alabama Showcase, losing only to Division One programs. Silas Eckenroad led the way with his 14th place finish, followed by Matthew Fowler in 21st, Hayden Judge in 27th, Aaron Himes in 34th, Will Stone in 45th and Ezekiel Harless close behind in 46th. Evan Moore rounded out their top-seven with a 51st place finish.
That was a solid start for Lee given the competition that they were facing, although it was hard to compare their performances among other D2 opponents around the country. Even so, that effort set the stage for the rest of the season in terms of Lee's scoring potency and pack-running tactics.
The Flames then toed the line for the Louisville XC Classic "Gold race" and finished runner-up behind Division Two juggernaut, Grand Valley State. They did, however, beat a Miami (Ohio) team that won the MAC XC Championships later in the season.
Once again, Eckenroad was their top scorer in 20th place. That was a decent result, but it was the depth of this squad that truly blew us away.
Eckenroad was followed by Adan Rodriguez (21st), Stone (23rd), Judge (31st), Fowler (38th) and Himes (45th). Lee’s second race provided yet another solid display of depth and tactics, but the Flames’ limited national-caliber firepower became increasingly more apparent.
Lee returned to Alabama for the UAH D2 Festival Year Showcase and placed 2nd behind an up-and-coming program in Wingate. This time, Judge led the way with a top-10 finish in 9th, followed by Stone in 13th, Himes in 16th, Eckenroad in 20th, Harless in 30th, Moore in 33rd and Fowler in 38th.
Yet again, the extensive depth of this lineup shined once more. It was another decent performance for the Flames which offered further proof of their consistency and overall strength as a group. Still, the lack of a consistent ace continued to hinder their scoring potency.
At the Gulf South Conference XC Championships, Himes became the team’s top scorer to earn bronze while Eckenroad, Stone, and Harless also placed in the top-10. Moore was not far behind in 12th, followed by a few others in the top-16.
The Gulf South Conference is not a historically strong cross country league, but the rise of Mississippi College as a distance program gave the Flames some legitimate competition. Even so, Lee rose to the occasion and won their fifth-straight conference title, a true testament to Coach Morgan’s overall success and the team's resiliency after losing to Alabama-Huntsville the year prior.
The Flames followed up their conference victory with another win at the South Regional XC Championships. Stone had a great day by placing 3rd overall and Lee appeared to be a nationally competitive group heading into the national meet.
On a rainy day in Seattle, the Flames finished 16th overall at the NCAA XC Championships. It was a solid result that deserved respect, but it was also a performance that left us wanting a bit more. Their effort didn’t seem to be on par with the season that Lee was having going into that race.
Despite having strong pack-running abilities, the increase in competitiveness and field size hindered the Flames’ biggest strength. Combined with their lack of a true ace, as well as an "off" day for Judge, Lee could only go so far in the scoring.
Himes finished up a quietly solid season and was their top runner in 74th place. He was followed by Stone (84th), Moore (93rd), Eckenroad (121st) and Fowler (122nd) who closed out the Flames' top-five. Again, it wasn't necessarily a poor race for Lee, but they had the potential to put five men in the top-100.
The Flames will look a bit different this fall after losing Stone and Eckenroad to graduation, and Judge to Auburn (via transfer). And yet, we still see this group as a team that will improve going into the fall of 2023.
Despite those departures, Himes, Fowler, Moore and Harless and are coming back. We would also expect Lee to rely on Jon Fielding Stogner later this fall who was also in their top-seven at times last season.
When it comes to the above quartet of returners, we love the stability that they'll bring to this squad in the coming months. They all seem fairly interchangeable at times and Himes showed more promise than some may realize. When pairing these returners with a couple of new additions, it's hard to see this team having a legitimate "off" later this fall.
Also look out for Jacob Hatcher and Roberto Fajardo who had strong years in the 1500/mile which could translate to the grass. Lee also returns Stephen Clark and Ryan Lovelace, two sophomores who could have an impact this season as well.
Lee was also plenty active in the transfer portal as they managed to pick up two solid names who could fill any remaining gaps in their lineup.
Owen Pearce comes from Oklahoma Christian where he made improvements on both the grass and the track over the course of his time in Edmond, Oklahoma. His personal bests of 3:51 (1500), 14:27 (5k) and 23:55 (8k XC) make him a solid pickup for the Flames. However, his biggest plus is how seamlessly he fits into this lineup.
Pearce competed at the UAH DII Festival Year Showcase last fall and finished 14th, right behind Stone. That result tells us that he should be able to immediately serve as a solid replacement toward the front of Lee’s lineup.
The other addition is Luke Gaddis by way of Emmanuel College (GA). Gaddis is more of an unknown in terms of his ability to make an immediate impact on the team. He was successful as a freshman in 2021, as well as when he was a high schooler, but he did not compete in cross country last fall.
In the fall of 2021, Gaddis placed 17th at the Southeast Regional XC Championships, 3rd at the Conference Carolinas Championships and ran 24:31 for 8k -- clearly, he is plenty talented. Even so, we’ll have to see how he fares when returning to the cross country course in a new singlet before we truly know what he brings to the table.
Lee’s two experienced additions are promising, and combined with consistent improvements from their key returners, the Flames are in a similar position as they were last fall in terms of their strengths and weaknesses.
Outside of the NCAA XC Championships, the Flames were reliably good throughout the fall months. Their 16th place finish in Seattle, while far from terrible, was more a “baseline” performance when gauging their ceiling for success and level of cohesion that they showed earlier in the season.
The Flames return a good chunk of their lineup, boast a solid addition in Pearce, a wildcard transfer in Gaddis and have several other names on their roster who have shown improvements and flashes of talent. Plus, they're all significantly more experienced.
We even like the potential that Himes has to be a more established lead scorer. He ran 14:06 for 5000 meters this past spring and never had a poor race in the fall of 2022. The upside may be similar with Fowler who ran 29:38 (10k) on the outdoor oval.
The stability that those men should provide, combined with their pack-running tactics and our trust in Coach Morgan’s ability to continue developing this program, lead us to believe the Flames could be just as good as their potential was last year.
That, of course, can only happen if all of their scorers are mostly firing on all cylinders at the same time, which we see as a reasonable expectation.