Jake Lyskawa
Oct 2, 20226 min
Written by Jake Lyskawa, additional contributions and edits by Garrett Zatlin
One of the most promising NCAA men’s distance programs just got better.
A lot better.
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons, led by Coach John Hayes, have assembled one of the most impressive groups of distance recruits from the Class of 2023. In fact, one could argue that, so far, no other collegiate program has been able to match the unreal level of domestic talent that the men from Winston-Salem have committed for next year's roster.
This year's Wake Forest recruiting class is led by North Carolina native Rocky Hansen, a distance running megastar who is currently ranked as our TSR #7 recruit -- a spot that may be considered too low given his loaded resume.
Hansen posted phenomenal personal bests of 4:00.76 in the mile and 8:46.97 in the two mile during his junior year on the outdoor oval. Those are times that rival some of the absolute best prep-level distance marks in the nation.
On the grass, Hansen has already improved upon his previous 15:21.80 (5k) PR, running a mark 14:45 to win the Adidas XC Challenge on September 17th and most recently posting a jaw-dropping time of 14:20 at the Asics Invitational this past weekend.
That latter result is the fastest cross country 5k mark in North Carolina history and it currently sits at No. 14 all-time across the nation, all according to MileSplit.
Oh, and by the way, this is the first season where Hansen has ever run under 15:00 for 5000 meters. That kind of time drop bodes well for the Wake Forest commit who now carries upper-echelon times across the board.
Hansen is undeniably an NCAA superstar is the making. He has posted all-time elite marks as a junior and so far during his senior cross country season, the Christ School superstar is showing us that he has not yet hit his ceiling -- and that's a good thing.
With Wake Forest soon losing low-stick star Zach Facioni, the multi-faceted distance talent who has been the face of this program for so long, the men from Winston-Salem will be looking for greater star power to replace him.
Luckily, having someone like Hansen join this roster as soon as next year could immediately give the Demon Deacons a true identity in place of Facioni. And truthfully, when you look at their skillsets, both men mirror each other quite well.
We then come to Michigan standout Hunter Jones who currently sits as our TSR #11 recruit. He is another incredible distance talent who boasts a resume that puts him amongst the best high school runners in the nation.
Jones began his senior year cross country season with a personal best over 5000 meters in a time of 14:36 to win the Pete Moss Benzie Central Invite. That time puts him at US No. 5 so far this season.
He's also undefeated in six races this fall.
However, what makes Jones such a wildly valuable recruit is his versatility. In fact, he possesses some of the most eye-popping range of anyone from the Class of 2023. The soon-to-be Demon Deacon posted excellent times of of 1:52.69 in the 800 meters and 3:52.84 in the 1500 meters last spring as a junior.
Jones is a massive addition for Wake Forest. Not just because he's an incredible cross country runner, but because he can be a legitimate three-season threat who offers middle distance speed that this roster isn't exactly known for.
The recent departure of Kenton Bachmann to Virginia (via a graduate transfer) and the graduation of Archie Wallis leaves the Wake Forest men thin in the 800 meters outside of 1:48 man, Rynard Swanepoel.
And frankly, none of those three men have offered the same dynamic ability that Jones has reflected in his performances over the last few seasons.
Wesley Shipsey (TSR #14 recruit) and Ty Garrett (TSR #35 recruit) have also committed to run in Winston-Salem starting next year. When paired with Hansen and Jones, they give Wake Forest the most ranked high school distance talents (per TSR) of any NCAA program so far this year.
Earning the commitments of Hansen and Jones alone would have already made this a standout class for Wake Forest. But when adding Shipsey and Garrett to the mix, it’s clear that the Demon Deacons now have a collection of talent that may rival whatever Stanford, Oregon or Notre Dame eventually assemble later in this recruiting cycle.
Back in mid-September, Shipsey, an Oregon native, ran a three-second personal best of 14:50 to win the Merriweather Classic. And much like Jones, he also possesses incredible personal best in the middle distances, touting outstanding times of 1:52 for 800 meters and 3:51 for 1500 meters.
Shipsey's commitment to Wake Forest is what effectively gives the Demon Deacons the best recruiting class in the nation (so far). It's not just because he's super talented, but it's because his versatility, in a similar manner to Jones, gives him tremendous scoring upside and more importantly, tons of value.
It's one thing to have a top-tier recruit with great range and versatility. However, having multiple recruits in the same class with that kind of middle and long distance aptitude is a rarity.
As for Ty Garrett, he returned to Center Grove High School in Indiana after spending the past two years at Valor Christian High School in Colorado. Garrett spent his freshman seasons at Center Grove, and has now come full circle in his senior-year return.
Garrett has great long distance potential, something he flashed after he ran a 14:47 (5k) at last year’s Texas Distance Festival. His cross country PR sits at 14:58 (5k) from the Garmin RunningLane XC Championships last fall.
On paper, Garrett's personal bests aren't quite as potent as Hansen, Shipsey or Jones -- but his intangibles are just as good. This Indiana native (and former Colorado native) has been nationally competitive since his days as an underclassman. He's tactically sound, very consistent and highly experienced.
If anyone in this recruiting class is prepared to race at the collegiate level, it's Ty Garrett.
The addition of these four young men to next year’s Wake Forest roster will prove vital to a program that is set to lose a mass amount of talent by the summer of 2023.
Zach Facioni, Aaron Las Heras, Thomas Vanoppen, Joaquin Martinez De Pinillos, Jonathan Velasco and Ben Mitchell are all listed as seniors (or graduate students) on Wake Forest's current cross country roster.
That’s four of the Demon Deacons’ projected top-five scorers and two solid depth pieces.
Wake Forest’s saving grace, as it pertains to potential returners for next fall, is Luke Tewalt. The rising distance standout is expected to be a high-impact scorer for this team later this fall and after a strong outdoor track season, his upside is plenty high.
But what makes the introduction of Hansen, Jones, Shipsey and Garrett so exciting is the fact that they will beautifully complement a juggernaut 2022 recruiting class.
Guys like Gavin Ehlers, Weber Long, Bryce Gilmore and Mark Trammell, as well as many others, will all have a season of collegiate racing under their belts by the time this star quartet joins them in Winston-Salem next fall.
That young core could develop into a lethal group of high-octane scorers and maybe even produce a few potential NCAA superstars. While it may take a year or two for that scoring prowess to materialize, there is seemingly too many top-level options for this team to not be competitive in the coming years.
And the craziest part about all of this is that Wake Forest may not even be done with their recruiting efforts.
Coach John Hayes has a history of landing incredible distance runners from overseas, many of whom have had a massive influence on his recent lineups across all three seasons.
Names such as Zach Facioni (Australia), Aaron Las Heras (Spain), Thomas Vanoppen (Belgium) and Rynard Swanepoel (South Africa) have been nationally nationally competitive names (to various extents) for the Wake Forest men over the last few years.
And with younger talents such as Paul Specht (Germany) and Joe O'Brien (England) recently being added to this program, it wouldn't at all be a surprise if even more overseas names were recruited later this fall.
If / when that new injection of overseas talent does enter this program, then the young and untapped firepower on this roster in 2023 could be almost overwhelming.
The narrative surrounding Wake Forest has slowly changed over the last decade.
The questions surrounding this team have evolved from, "Can this team be competitive?" to "How competitive is this team?" to "Who can be competitive with Wake Forest?"
And while the eventual loss of numerous high-end veterans would be crushing for most teams, the Demon Deacons have ultimately proved that they aren't like "most teams".
If this recruiting class ends up being as good as we think they will be, then the Wake Forest men could end up eventually winning ACC titles and potentially battling for podium positions...if they don't already do that this fall.