TSR Collaboration
Apr 211 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.
NOTE: Because we are in a new season, we are treating this week's rankings update as a new series of top-20 names. Therefore, we are not indicating any movement from our winter lists.
20. Max Svienty, Senior, North Central
What a past 13 months it's been for Max Svienty.
The North Central veteran emerged as a star on the track in 2023 and raised his game on the grass with a bronze medal at the cross country national meet. However, his results through the winter months were admittedly unexciting. So while he was certainly capable of it, dropping a 29:06 (10k) PR at the Stanford Invitational this past weekend was a pleasant surprise.
That mark was a PR by just over 10 seconds and would have sat at NCAA #3 by the end of the 2023 outdoor track season, but is NCAA #1 early in this campaign. The odds of Svienty finishing as a 10k All-American (he'll likely contest the 5k too) seem high at this early juncture after he finished one spot away from those honors last year.
19. Frank Csorba, Junior, Lynchburg
Frank Csorba is in a similar boat as Max Svienty given he entered the indoor track season in our top-20 rankings (both were actually top-10) after a stellar fall campaign, but fell out by season's end.
Csorba finished dead last in the 3000 meters at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships, but more importantly, helped his Hornets to a DMR national title. With one outdoor race now under his belt in 2024, he appears back on the path to individual glory. Csorba posted a 12-second PR in running 13:56 (5k) at Raleigh Relays.
That NCAA #1 mark, in an event he was a back half All-American in last spring, pairs well with a 1500-meter PR that opened Csorba's season. How many more PRs does he have in store this season?
18. Colin Kirkpatrick, Junior, Pomona-Pitzer
He didn't reach the heights he has in the past, but Colin Kirkpatrick's 2023-24 academic year has been largely encouraging and positive. He finished as a cross country All-American as Pomona-Pitzer won the national team title and ran an 8:07 (3k) PR before finishing as an All-American in that event for the first time.
And now the steeplechase stud can race in his optimal event and perhaps get to a level he never has before. Kirkpatrick has enjoyed by far his greatest success over the water pits and barriers. He is, after all, a two-time All-American in the steeplechase and has a blazing-fast PR of 8:43. And his year-long consistency and more well-rounded skillset gives credence to the idea that he may be in line to give men like Christian Patzka and Christopher Collet a scare this spring.
While hardly damning, his 9:00 (steeple) season debut and comparative lack of versatility on the outdoor oval keep him in the back-half of our rankings...for now.
17. Colin McLaughlin, Junior, Carnegie Mellon
If there was a flat 3000-meter race at the outdoor national meet like there is on the indoor oval, Colin McLaughlin would be several spots higher in our rankings. After all, he was the bronze medalist in that event at the 2024 indoor national meet.
However, despite several appearances on the national stage, that was McLaughlin's first All-American finish. We expect that he will now shift his focus to the 1500 meters, where he (barely) reached the finals at the 2023 outdoor national meet.
McLaughlin is plenty experienced, but was racing on an entirely new level on the indoor oval this past winter. Some of that has to be translatable even if there's no flat 3k in the spring and he has yet to contest the steeplechase. Will he see a similar breakthrough on the outdoor track?
16. Noah Jorgenson, Junior, Central College
Noah Jorgenson has hardly skipped a beat since the turn of the calendar to 2023. In three national meet appearances, he's come away with three All-American honors across three different events. Most recently, he placed 4th in the mile at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships.
So while one might think that means Jorgenson -- one of D3's top middle distance talents -- will opt for the metric mile as his primary event this season, he opted for the half-mile last spring and has a gaudy 1:49 PR. To make things even more interesting, he opened his outdoor track season in the 5k which seemingly aligns with his cross country strength, but resulted in a somewhat modest 14:43 mark.
At any rate, Jorgenson will be an All-American favorite (and perhaps even a top-half All-American favorite) in whichever of the two middle distance events he ends up in come time for the postseason.
15. Jonathan Zavala, Junior, Brockport State
In a NCAA Indoor Championship mile race that was ripe for the taking beyond the top spot, Jonathan Zavala emerged as one of the breakout stars. The Brockport State standout earned a bronze medal for his first All-American result, peaking perfectly with a 4:06 PR in the mile final.
Few men in Division Three have greater momentum than his distance talent does. Zavala has run PRs in four different events over the past two months. Needless to say, we're eager to see how he performs with newfound expectations this season.
14. Grant Matthai, Rs. Soph, UW-La Crosse
After finishing in the top-eight nationally in both the 5k and the 3k at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships, Grant Matthai took to the outdoor oval to compete in the 5000 meters at the Washington U. Distance Carnival against a field that featured some great talent across multiple divisions.
He ran a nice 14:06 (5k) mark to earn a 6th-place finish, 3rd among Division Three competitors, but less than a second behind Simon Heys and teammate Adam Loenser. While he fell just short of the personal best that he set at the indoor national meet, this was a great opener full of promising signs for the rest of Matthai's spring campaign. There’s plenty of indication that he will be able to add a third All-American plaque to his collection this spring.
13. Vince Simonetti, Junior, RPI
RPI hasn’t raced their distance crew yet this spring, so we haven’t seen Vince Simonetti in action since his spectacular 4th-place performance at the indoor national meet. He is quickly becoming one of the more clutch runners in the country, performing above expectations in each of the past three national meets.
It’s clear that he will be highly dangerous in both the 10k and the 5k this season. He’s flown under our radar in the past, but we have no reason to let that happen again.
12. Eric Anderson, Junior, UC Santa Cruz
As a converted former 800-meter specialist, Eric Anderson had a huge breakthrough in the mile this indoor track season which ultimately led to a surprise runner-up finish on the national stage.
His spring opener was a nice 3:53 (1500) and 1:52 (800) double over the course of two days. While that 1500-meter mark isn’t at the level of his 4:05 mile PR from this winter, we are still in the early going with lots more racing to come. It’s also promising to see that Anderson has not lost a step in terms of his 800-meter speed which will come in handy in a championship racing scenario.
11. Chasen Hunt, Sophomore, Lynchburg
After showing flashes of potential last academic year, Chasen Hunt really came into his own this past fall and winter. He is, after all, coming off of a 5th-place 3000-meter finish at the 2024 indoor national meet, he gave an outdoor 5k a try at the Raleigh Relays.
And it couldn’t have gone much better.
We are not at all surprised that his previous 5k PR of 14:29 got smashed, but his 14:03 result is even better than we anticipated. Hunt has clearly shown himself to be a nationally competitive runner in that distance. And with the speed he has flexed in the past (recently anchoring Lynchburg to a DMR national title), it will be exciting to see what he can do in the 1500 meters when he gets a shot at running it.
10. Cory Kennedy, Senior, RPI
The last time Cory Kennedy did not finish a season as an All-American was the spring of 2022. His consistency as a fixture among the elite of Division Three distance running these past two years is more than enough to warrant a top-10 spot in our rankings entering this outdoor track season.
We are awaiting his seasonal debut, but we are very optimistic that Kennedy will be in the mix in any race he competes in given he has one of the highest floors in the country.
9. Gunner Schlender, Junior, UW-Whitewater
While a 14:10 (5k) and 3:53 (1500) double to open the season at the Washington U. Distance Carnival may not have been quite the showing Gunner Schlender was hoping for, it wasn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination.
He appears to be on the doorstep of some really great performances, but wasn’t quite ready at this point in the season to pull off anything incredible. His double All-American performance at the indoor national meet, along with his 29:05 (10k) ability, suggests that we won’t be waiting too much longer.
8. James Settles, Senior, Colorado College
Since Colorado College doesn’t compete during the indoor track season, it’s been a little while since we’ve talked about James Settles. That won't be the case over the next few months. He has already made his mark this spring, opening with a 14:07 (5k) mark early this March and a 29:46 (10k) performance at the Washington U. Distance Carnival.
Both of those results are personal bests and for Settles to be running like this in March is a hugely promising sign. There’s every indication that he can be one of the top finishers in the 5k, and his improvement in the 10k shows that he has some great aerobic strength as well.
7. Sam Verkerke, Junior, UW-Eau Claire
After becoming the surprise 1500-meter national champion in the spring of 2022, Sam Verkerke didn’t look like himself throughout all of last year. However, it was thrilling to watch as Verkerke returned to his elite form as one of Division Three’s best this winter.
While it partially feels like Verkeke was overshadowed by his in-state 800-meter rival and eventual national champion, Cael Schoemann, we need to give Verkeke immense credit for his own indoor track campaign.
At the WIAC Indoor Championships, Verkerke came 0.01 seconds short of taking down Schoemann with a sub-1:50 converted 800-meter mark. When the duo battled again at the national meet, Verkerke once again got the short end of the stick by a heartbreaking 0.03 seconds.
With Verkeke as close as he was to being the best in the country in the half-mile, we can only imagine what’s possible if he’s able to translate his talents to the 1500 meters. He does, after all, hold a 3:45 PR in that event. In peak form, Verkerke could very well win a national title in either middle distance event.
6. Sam Llaneza, Junior, Lynchburg
Sam Llaneza’s 4th-place finish in the 800 meters at the indoor national meet, while still quite impressive, felt a bit underwhelming relative to his double All-American season in the spring of 2023. Yet, he’s been seemingly eager to redeem himself in this young outdoor track season.
At Raleigh Relays, Llaneza blasted a 3:46 (1500) that sits just off of his personal best. After a day of rest, he competed again at his team’s home meet. There, Llaneza ripped a nice 3:49/1:52 (1500/800) double to win both middle distance races, the former pretty comfortably.
If there were any doubts about whether Llaneza will be able to rack up double All-American honors this year, this weekend’s trio of performances should certainly erase them. Last year, Llaneza progressed very well, improving immensely from the end of the indoor track season to the end of the outdoor track season. If he follows that trend again, he could be as dangerous as anyone.
5. Christopher Collet, Senior, Wartburg
This steeplechaser must be thrilled that the outdoor track season is here. He has not wasted any time, jumping right into his main event with a 9:00 mark to his name this spring.
Christopher Collet is undoubtedly one of the favorites over the water pits and barriers. He has had a rich steeplechase history at the outdoor national meet, earning gold in the event in 2022 and silver in 2021 and 2023. His runner-up performance at last year's national meet was particularly impressive considering that he rallied after taking a fall mid-race. Collet then ran a Division Three record of 8:38 just a week later last June.
In case you can’t already tell, we’re really excited about Collet's steeplechase ability. So much so that we're just now mentioning that he’s also a 4:05 miler and a 13:57 (5k) guy. Those are some credentials few can match.
4. Cael Schoemann, Sophomore, UW-La Crosse
We have not yet seen Cale Schoemann race this outdoor track season, but the last time we did see him compete was when he won the indoor national title in the 800 meters last month thanks to a diving effort across the line.
With some remarkable consistency during the indoor track season, and that national title to his name, we have no reason to think that Schoemann can't do it again. After all, he placed 5th in the 800 meters at the 2023 outdoor national meet as only a freshman.
3. Ethan Gregg, Senior, UW-La Crosse
Despite battling sickness early in the winter season, 1st and 2nd place finishes at the indoor national meet proved an incredibly encouraging sign that the Ethan Gregg we've come to expect is back to form. But since then, Gregg had a rough go relative to expectations at the Washington U. Distance Carnival, where he was the fifth Division Three runner across the line in a modest mark of 14:11 (5k).
That being said, Gregg has loads of great performances and seasons to his name that would be silly to overlook. He’s always able to round into form when it matters most, and besides, he should still be considered the title favorite in the 10k.
2. Bennett Booth-Genthe, Junior, Pomona-Pitzer
At the Stanford Invitational, Bennett Booth-Genthe proved that he’s on a level that no other D3 men's middle distance runner can match. The Sagehen superstar first posted a red-hot 3:45 (1500) which sits less than a second off of his personal best.
If that wasn’t enough, Booth-Genthe returned to the track the following day to win a highly competitive heat of the 800 meters in 1:50. Last month’s mile national champion is running phenomenally and looks incredibly sharp now as ever. He has established himself as the name to beat over the middle distances in 2024.
1. Christian Patzka, Junior, UW-Whitewater
The 5k indoor national champion pulled out of a 5k at the last minute last weekend because of a rumored illness. Nonetheless, Christian Patzka still has plenty of time to show Division Three what he is capable of.
In addition to having the credentials of running under 14:00 for 5000 meters multiple times, Patzka’s best event, the steeplechase, is now added to the national meet schedule at this time of year. He’s the defending national champion in that event and is in as good of form as we’ve seen from him, so we imagine that will correlate to the steeplechase.
He’s arguably the best in the country in two events (the steeplechase and the 5k) which made him our pick for top honors ahead of his outdoor debut. His 3:45 metric mile PR from last outdoor track season suggests he could be one of the best in the country in that event as well.
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KICKED OFF
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JUST MISSED (in no particular order)
Isaac vanWestrienen (Cornell College)
Steven Potter (UW-Oshkosh)
Caleb Correia (John Carroll)
Lance Sobaski (Wartburg)
Spencer Moon (Simpson (IA))
Ethan Domitrovich (John Carroll)
Nate Lentz (Williams)
Enrique Salazar (Manchester)
Simon Heys (Wilmington (OH))
Jayden Zywicki (UW-La Crosse)
Aidan Matthai (UW-La Crosse)
Will Kelly (St. Olaf)
Sam Acquaviva (MIT0
Ryan Harvey (Loras)
Braden Nicholson (North Central)
John Lucey (Williams)
Trevor Richwine (Dickinson)
Sean Hendricks (Rochester)
Braedon Gilles (UW-Stevens Point)
Adam Loenser (UW-La Crosse)
Michael Olson (Plymouth State)
Michael Madoch (UW-La Crosse)
Derek Fearon (Pomona-Pitzer)
Mason Shea (UW-Eau Claire)
Aidan Manning (UW-La Crosse)
Jake Shumaker (Millikin)
Charles Namiot (Williams)
HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)
TJ Carleo (Brandeis)
Ryan Hagan (SUNY Geneseo)
Ivan Appleton (Tufts)
Joe Franke (Loras)
Reza Eshghi (Haverford)
Ned Farrington (Bates)
Henry Hardart (MIT)
Pablo Arroyo (MIT)
Dawit Dean (Emory)
Caleb Silver (Central College)
Emmanuel Leblond (Johns Hopkins)
Lowell Hensgen (MIT)
Will Goddard (Bowdoin)
Parker Heintz (UW-La Crosse)
Adam Sylvia (Central College)
Andrew McGovern (Carnegie Mellon)
Elijah Meder (Hope)
Kyle Miller (Buena Vista)
Dwight Hosni (UW-Oshkosh)
Julian Aske (NYU)
Calvin Boone (St. Scholastica)
Chase Upmann (Carthage)
Ziyad Hassan (MIT)
Oscar Roering (Pomona-Pitzer)
Will Houser (Washington U.)
Haiden Diemer-McKinney (Wabash)
Alex Ivanov (Carnegie Mellon)
Justin Krause (UW-Whitewater)
Connor Riss (North Central)
Lucas Florsheim (Pomona-Pitzer)
TK Berhe (La Verne)
Jake Krause (UW-Oshkosh)
Nikhil DeNatale (Williams)
Cameron Hatler (Pomona-Pitzer)
Adam Sage (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps)
Notes
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