2019 D2 XC Top 25 Men: Update #2

KEY

(Unranked):

Was not ranked the week before.

(#/#):

First number indicates how much the individual has moved in the rankings.

The second number indicates where they were ranked the week before.

25. Trad Berti, Rs. Sophomore, Chico State (Unranked)

Berti has had back-to-back strong outings for the Wildcats. He’s been the lead man for their last two meets and enters our rankings for the first time. His 3rd place finish at the Capital Cross Challenge and his time of 24:10 puts him on our radar.

24. Isaiah Rodarte, Rs. Sophomore, Adams State (-1 / 23)

23. Kale Adams, Rs. Senior, Adams State (-1 / 22)

Did not race.

22. Luke Julian, Rs. Sophomore, Colorado Mines (-3 / 19)

Did not race. Falls due to strong performances from others.

21. Wyatt Baxter, Junior, Chico State (0 / 21)

Baxter stays put for us this week at #21. He finished 7th at the Capital Cross Challenge and was the #3 guy on the Wildcats scoring roster. His 24:17 is a very strong time and he should be consistent the rest of the way.

20. Austin Nolan, Senior, Southern Indiana (Unranked)

Nolan enters our rankings for the first time this year after his 3rd place finish at the Trevecca Nazarene D2 Showcase. He finished only behind Joshua Chepkesir and Jack Mastandrea, giving him some validation here in 2019.

19. Ross Husch, Rs. Senior, Western Colorado (-1 / 18)

Did not race. Falls due to strong performances from others.

18. Felix Kemboi, Senior, Alaska Anchorage (Unranked)

Kemboi enters our rankings for the first time this season after a strong 4th place finish at the Capital Cross Challenge. He ran 24:12, just eight seconds away from the winner and seven seconds behind his teammate. He finds himself higher than Berti right now because of prior experience.

17. Dylan Ko, Rs. Sophomore, Colorado Mines (0 / 17)

16. Luc Hagen, Rs. Junior, Colorado Mines (0 / 16)

Did not race.

15. Steven Brown, Senior, Sioux Falls (Unranked)

Strong performance from Brown at Roy Griak this year. Last year, it was Mason Phillips taking home the victory, this year it was Brown. He won by seven seconds and has now solidified him as a legitimate Top 25 athlete this year if he races this way at NCAA's.

14. Joshua Chepkesir, Sophomore, UNC Pembroke (Unranked)

Big time race for Chepkesir who we mentioned at the end of the last season. He won the Trevecca Nazarene D2 Showcase with a time of 24:17, which was 20 seconds faster than the 2nd place finisher. He had a fantastic 2019 season, but was nowhere to be found during NCAA's. Hopefully this time around, he finds his way to the NCAA meet and shows us how good he really is.

13. Karim Achengli, Senior, NW Missouri (+2 / 15)

12. Jhordan Ccope, Junior, NW Missouri (+2 / 14)

Did not race.

11. Titus Winders, Sophomore, Southern Indiana (+1 / 12)

It was a strong race for Winders as he finished 9th at the Trevecca Nazarene D2 Showcase with a time of 25:36. Not his best race, but he moves up due to others falling out this week.

10. Anthony Raftis, Senior, Queens (N.C.) (-4 / 6)

Raftis didn’t have the best race of his season at the Capital Cross Challenge. That being said, it’s likely that Queens (N.C.) is working hard through most of these meets and that could be part of why he didn't perform to the best of his ability this past weekend. A time of 24:30 isn’t bad, but he did just run 24:11 two weeks ago in San Diego. He finished 16th this weekend. We’re not super concerned with him as of now.

9. Braden Reichl, Junior, Michigan Tech (0 / 9)

Reichl continues to impress in his junior season. After a breakout sophomore year, it’s no surprise to see him having a strong 2019. He finished 5th this past weekend at Griak (just three seconds behind his teammate).

8. CarLee Stimpfel, Sophomore, Saginaw Valley State (0 / 8)

Did not race.

7. Jack Mastandrea, Senior, Charleston (W.V.) (+3 / 10)

We mentioned that Chepkesir won the Trevecca Nazarene D2 Showcase by 20 seconds. The second-place finisher was Mastandrea. His time of 24:37 is a personal best over 8000 meters and he continues to write a narrative of being a contender in 2019.

6. Mason Phillips, Rs. Senior, Sioux Falls (-3 / 3)

Phillips had an okay race over the weekend at Griak, finishing 7th. This is certainly a let-down after winning the individual title last year. Then again, his drop off in our rankings can also be attributed to the performances that we saw from others this past weekend. We’re not too worried about Phillips as of right now.

5. Charlie Sweeney, Rs. Sophomore, Western Colorado (-1 / 4)

Did not race. Falls due to strong performances from others.

4. Wesley Kirui, Junior, Alaska Anchorage (+1 / 5)

A very good runner-up result and time of 24:07 at the Capital Cross Challenge moves Kirui up a spot this time around. Kirui is one of the strongest runners in the field and he continues to show us that. He’s the favorite to win the West region as of right now and we’re not sure anyone will be able to sneak in front of him.

3. Taylor Stack, Junior, Western Colorado (-1 / 2)

Did not race. Falls due to strong performances from others.

2. Tanner Chada, Sophomore, Grand Valley State (+6 / 8)

The biggest jump of the weekend goes to Chada. Chada went to the Ohio State Buckeye Preview over the weekend and took home the individual title with a time of 24:27. It was ten seconds better than the 2nd place finisher and he took down a field of talented D1 runners while he was at it. He’s the new challenger for the individual title.

1. Gidieon Kimutai, Sophomore, Missouri Southern (0 / 1)

Did not race.

ADDED

Joshua Chepkesir (UNC Pembroke)

Austin Nolan (Southern Indiana)

Steven Brown (Sioux Falls)

Felix Kemboi (Alaska Anchorage)

Trad Berti (Chico State)

KICKED OFF

Joseph Humes (Hillsdale)

Brian Patrick (Northwood (Mich.))

Corbin Hansen (Nebraska-Kearney)

Jhavan Holston (Chico State)

Samuel Blake (UC San Diego)

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Afeworki Zeri (UCCS)

Gabe Plendcio (Biola)

Matthew Pahl (Michigan Tech)

Aaron Runge (Augustana (S.D.))

Jesus Urtusuatsegui (Augustana (S.D.))

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)

Silus Kipkoech (UNC Pembroke)

Kyle Hinson (Charleston (W.V.))

Ben Zaremba (Grand Valley State)

Luxas Taxter (Stonehill)

Joshua Litwiller (Cal State San Marcos)