2022 D1 Outdoor Top 25 Rankings (Men): Update #4

Click here to see our Just Missed names, Honorable Mention names and Notes.

Listed eligibility takes redshirts and Covid-related extensions into consideration.

TFRRS is used as a general guide when determining eligibility.

KEY

(Unranked):

Was not ranked in our last update.

(#/#):

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

The second number indicates where they were ranked in our last update.

25. Matthew Pereira, Senior, Harvard (-1 / 24)

A runner-up finish behind teammate Acer Iverson in the 10k at the Ivy League Championships is by no means a surprise for Pereira who may have been content with maximizing the Harvard's team score.

However, a surprising 9th place result in the 5000 meters caught me off guard. Pereira's mark of 14:17 was well off of Iverson's winning time of 13:56.

Should we be concerned about this result? Probably not. Pereira has run 27:45 for 10,000 meters this season and needs to be rewarded for that mark in our rankings, even if he does have one less-than-ideal race.

I'll admit, I still want to see a bit more from Pereira to validate his crazy 10k personal best, but the Harvard runner does seem to thrive in aggressive-ish paces. At the national meet, that will theoretically benefit him...I think.

24. Amon Kemboi, Rs. Senior, Arkansas (-3 / 21)

Kemboi didn't win either the 5000 meters (2nd) nor the 1500 meters (3rd) at the SEC Championships this past weekend. On paper, that may seem a little underwhelming for someone who was such a problem at the indoor national meet.

However, when you consider that he was racing his teammate Patrick Kiprop in the 5k and had to battle title contenders in the 1500 meters, some of these results begin to make a bit more sense. He also ran 3:39 for 1500 meters, a near PR for him.

Kemboi hasn't blown us away this spring, but he doesn't need to. His past successes and his current personal bests are all of the evidence that we need to believe that he's going to be a factor on the national stage.

And after emerging as such a strong contender at the indoor national meet this past winter, we have no reason to believe that he can't replicate that come June.

23. Thomas Vanoppen, Junior, Wake Forest (Unranked)

Thomas Vanoppen is undefeated in the 1500 meters this spring (not including prelims). Undefeated! That's a crazy stat when you look at some of the competition that he has had to face this season.

On the outdoor oval, Vanoppen has taken down Nick Dahl, Wes Porter, Tom Dodd, Jesse Hunt, Zach Facioni, Sean Dolan and Sam Ellis at least once this season. All of those men have run under 3:40 for 1500 meters at some point in their careers.

Some of these men have lost to Vanoppen multiple times this spring, including Nick Dahl who is 0-3 against Vanoppen this season.

That's crazy! Can you imagine how hard it is to beat a consistent, race-savvy veteran with a 3:55 mile PR three different times?

With a seasonal best of 3:38 and a personal best of 3:37, along with a vast number of top-tier wins, it's time to start acknowledging just how great Vanoppen really is.

22. Jonathan Davis, Senior, Illinois (0 / 22)

Davis is a 3:54 miler who has run 3:36 for 1500 meters this season.

Unbelievably, he is ranked at only TSR #22.

Do I feel good about this ranking? Certainly not. However, a recent loss to Wisconsin's Adam Spencer in the 1500 meters at the BIG 10 Championships in a wildly tactical race reminds us that Davis is, in fact, human.

Even so, there's enough tactical success on Davis' resume to suggest that this was just a fluke. Spencer found an ideal spot and capitalized on that. For the most part, this Illinois ace is great at positioning and while he may not be a national title favorite, he's at least an All-American favorite.

21. Reed Brown, Senior, Oregon (-3 / 18)

Reed Brown will occasionally hug the rail when he's racing the 1500 meters, specifically in tactical settings. In a spot where many athletes feel trapped in, Brown seems to be right at home.

The Oregon superstar hugged the inside rail in the final 200 meters of the men's 1500 meters race at the PAC-12 Championships this past weekend. However, the lead pack had an extra gear and pulled away from him. In the end, Brown faded to 5th place.

A less-than-ideal result is certainly not the end of the world for someone who has run 3:36 this spring and was a bronze medalist in the mile this past winter.

Admittedly, this result does remind me that Brown's tactical approach isn't always perfect, but he's been great more times than not over the past year.

20. Ed Trippas, Senior, Princeton (Unranked)

A huge 8:30 steeplechase mark at the Penn Relays has suddenly thrusted Trippas back into our rankings and back into the national title conversation.

The Princeton veteran, who went on to win the Ivy League title with relative ease, owns an 8:19 personal best from the summer. However, Trippas has been on the quieter side this spring, not coming all that close his 8:19 personal best.

Even so, this latest 8:30 result does validate that Trippas is reaching top form, maybe even peaking as we near the postseason! And if that's true, then there aren't many men in the NCAA who could match a time around the 8:20 barrier.

19. Eduardo Herrera, Senior, Colorado (Unranked)

It feels absolutely absurd that a guy who has run 13:20 for 5000 meters this year and just won the PAC-12 title is only ranked at TSR #19.

Herrera is ranked this low is because the other names ahead of him are either, a) stronger national title favorites in their respective events, b) have run faster in certain events this season, c) their past national meet success is way too good to rank them any lower, d) they have more marquee wins over standout names or e) are more versatile.

A conference title in the 5k was huge as Herrera was able to take down both Sprout and Robinson from Stanford. Given his recent All-American finish on the indoor oval this past winter, it's hard to dislike anything about Herrera who can seemingly do no wrong.

Even so, the 5000 meters is an absolutely brutal event this year and it's the fastest it's ever been. For that reason, Herrera had to fall to our TSR #19 spot, but this is someone who could realistically, on a perfect day, finish as high as 2nd or 3rd place at the outdoor national meet.

18. Duncan Hamilton, Junior, Montana State (+1 / 19)

Hamilton had a SUPER busy weekend at the BIG Sky Championships, contesting three events and running four races...and yet, we didn't learn anything new.

Hamilton won the steeplechase in a time of 8:49 and did so fairly comfortably with teammate Levi Taylor finishing runner-up. In the 1500 meters, Hamilton ran a solid 3:44 mark at altitude, but settled for bronze behind Nur and Young. In the 5000 meters, Hamilton faltered to 9th place following a crazy big workload.

It's hard to really look at any of those results and find any major takeaways, but at the very least, I like that Hamilton was able to prepare himself for the multiple rounds that come with the steeplechase on the regional and national stages.

17. Olin Hacker, Rs. Senior, Wisconsin (0 / 17)

The grass green, the sky is blue and Olin Hacker won the BIG 10 title in the 5k.

There really isn't a whole lot to talk about here, but kudos to Hacker for taking down a 5k field that is much better than some people was may realize.

16. Brandon Miller, Sophomore, Texas A&M (-14 / 2)

Alright, let's talk about Brandon Miller. Something is clearly "off" with this Texas A&M superstar. Earlier this season, he struggled a bit at the Tom Jones Memorial meet where he ran 1:47 and settled for a 5th place finish overall.

If that was his lone "bad" race, then there was still plenty to be encouraged about. He was still an established superstar and he later ran 1:46 in an effort to get his groove back.

But at the SEC Championships, in the 800 meter finals, Miller, struggled. He led much of the race alongside teammate Sam Whitmarsh, but failed to find another gear and couldn't move up any further.

Instead, in the final 100 meters, in similar fashion to what we saw in that first race, Miller was swallowed up by the chase pack. In the end, he finished 6th overall and ran 1:47.

Is Miller still a national title contender? Honestly, I don't really know, but I find it hard to believe that someone as overwhelmingly dominant as him could just fall out contention for gold. For that reason, he sticks in our rankings, but trying to keep him this high is admittedly becoming a challenge.

15. Ahmed Jaziri, Junior, Eastern Kentucky (+1 / 16)

This will likely go unnoticed, but Jaziri won double gold at the ASUN Championships this past weekend, taking home wins in the 1500 meters and the 5000 meters. That 1500 meter victory was VERY encouraging as Jaziri was able to take down established milers like Ryan Drew and Jonathan Schwind in the process.

I'm not entirely sure how those results will translate to the steeplechase, but refined speed and an ability to win tactical races only helps Jaziri's stock.

I didn't think that Jaziri would be taking down Drew and Schwind in the same race, especially in their marquee event. That's a really positive sign in terms of the momentum that he has built this year.

14. Cole Sprout, Sophomore, Stanford (0 / 14)

Nothing too exciting here. Settling for a runner-up spot to Garrett MacQuiddy in the 1500 meters earlier this season, followed by a runner-up finish to Eduardo Herrera in the 5k (alongside teammate Ky Robinson) is largely unsurprising.

Sprout can obviously run absurdly fast and finish highly. However, many of his results, as great as they are, seem to quietly fade into the background of our coverage...and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

13. Adriaan Wildschutt, Senior, Florida State (-2 / 11)

A runner-up finish at the ACC Championships in the 5k, running a time of 13:28 and losing to Dylan Jacobs, isn't necessarily ideal. These more tactical matchups have not always favored Wildschutt who clearly leans towards time-trial environments, but we have to remind ourselves about the most important aspects of Wildschutt's resume.

This FSU superstar has run 13:09 for 5000 meters on the indoor oval and 27:38 for 10,000 meters this spring. Based strictly on time, Wildschutt is probably a top-three runner this year.

Not only that, but Wildschutt also placed 4th at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 5000 meters back in March. Clearly, this guy can still deliver on the biggest stages.

Wildschutt's racing tendencies at recent ACC meets would lead me to believe that he'll be working at a disadvantage on the national stage, but there are enough promising All-American results on his resume to suggest otherwise.

That said, I'll be curious to see how Wildschutt fares at the NCAA Championships without the unique pacing habits of Wesley Kiptoo.

12. Navasky Anderson, Junior, Mississippi State (Unranked)

Wow. Navasky Anderson is the real deal.

The Mississippi State standout ran a 1:46 mark earlier in the season at the Tom Jones Memorial meet en route to a massive PR. However, he finished 2nd in that heat, not being able to battle with the likes of Zahafi, Miller and Rivera in heat one.

And despite his success, I questioned whether or not Anderson was a one-race wonder.

But Anderson validated his talent in a major way at the SEC Championships, throwing down a monster finishing kick to defeat Sam Whitmarsh and take home gold with a time of 1:45.

Part of me wants to say that this was an upset, but the other part of me wants to say, "We already knew that this guy was the real deal! It's not an upset!"

But for Anderson to make the massive leap that he did this year and then build upon that result even further is so wildly impressive. And it's not like Anderson was racing against no one, he took down one of the fastest 800 meter fields in the country this spring.

Anderson's compounding success and scary strong finishes makes him a very clear contender for the national title, even if Zahafi is completely healthy, which it seems like he is.

11. Charles Hicks, Sophomore, Stanford (+1 / 12)

Excellent win by Charles Hicks in the 10k at the PAC-12 Championships. His 27:40 personal best from Payton Jordan was encouraging, but there were plenty of men in that field who were expected to run fast, including him.

To see Hicks take home a (very narrow) win over a strong field, despite the pressure being applied by Kieran Lumb, was a very encouraging development. It's one thing to run fast, but it's another thing to then mold your tactical approach around how the race is evolving in front of you.

I'm starting to think that if Hicks peaks in the postseason like he did in the winter, then could maybe win the 10k national title...maybe.

10. Dylan Jacobs, Junior, Notre Dame (+10 / 20)

The Florida State men tried to create a scenario that best suited Adriaan Wildschutt at the ACC Championships in the 5000 meters. However, that approach, as smart as it was, didn't work against Jacobs who shadowed Wildschutt the entire race before eventually outrunning him over the last two laps.

With a mark of 13:23 (an ACC meet record) and a conference title over one of the fastest 5k runners in NCAA history, Jacobs has to feel pretty good about where he stands right now. The Notre Dame star was excellent during the indoor track season before he transitioned to the outdoor track season where he took down Amon Kemboi in an early-season 10k and now, Adriaan Wildschutt.

Jacobs should be an All-American this spring. He had a rare "off" day at the indoor national meet this pat winter, but he is more than capable of responding to moves and being a major threat on the back shoulders of top men in the country.

With multiple marquee wins on his 2022 spring resume, Jacobs is looking like the last guy who you would want to face in the postseason. The only question, however, is whether or not he does the 10k/5k double...

9. Jonathan Jones, Junior, Texas (+4 / 13)

Ever since running 1:45 for 800 meters at the Texas Relays, defeating Moad Zahafi in the process, Jones has stuck to the 400 meters, running times of 45.07, 45.30, 44.79, 45.62 (prelims) and 44.43, in that order.

That kind of consistency, especially at that high of a level, is beyond impressive. Jones is clearly getting better and his speed is improving enough to the point where he could be a major problem in the 800 meters.

With major question marks surrounding both Zahafi and Miller, this could be the year where Jones wins a national title in the 800 meters which feels somewhat wide-open. For that reason, he jumps up in our rankings.

The problem, however, is...will Jones even run the 800 meters at the national meet? Running 44.43 in the 400 meters is next-level stuff and Jones currently leads the NCAA in that event. If the 400 meters pulls Jones away from the half-mile then...who else could be in the mix?

8. Morgan Beadlescomb, Rs. Senior, Michigan State (+1 / 9)

Beadlescomb made his 10k debut on the track this past weekend and ran to a BIG 10 title in a time of 28:54. I truthfully don't have much to say here, but I do wonder whether or not he'll go for the 10k/5k double at the national meet...

7. Eliud Kipsang, Junior, Alabama (-3 / 4)

It's been nice seeing Kipsang in a few 800 meter races over the last few weeks as he attempts to refine his speed. However, a convincing loss to Mario Garcia Romo, who beat Kipsang in the exact opposite way you would expect him to do so, was admittedly surprising.

Kipsang didn't have a response for Garcia Romo's move a little past halfway, but he did settle for a runner-up finish and a respectable 3:39 mark in the process.

The collegiate record holder in the 1500 meters, who has run 3:33 this spring, still deserves your respect. On paper, he's talented enough to take down any miler in the country this year, especially with Nuguse effectively done for the season.

But this outdoor track season is beginning to look a bit like his indoor track season. Kipsang had an outstanding regular season, surprisingly faltered a bit at the SEC Championships and now leaves us wondering what he has in store for the national meet.

While I do have questions about his tactics, I still think Kipsang is a national title favorite -- maybe just not as much as Garcia Romo. And honestly, if you look at a lot of these mile-centric talents such as Reed Brown and Jonathan Davis, it's not like they had amazing conference performances, either.

6. Moad Zahafi, Senior, Texas Tech (-1 / 5)

Remember when Moad Zahafi said that he had sustained an injury, could barely walk and had to get scans to diagnose what his injury was?

So apparently none of that really mattered as Zahafi ran 1:46 in the prelims at the BIG 12 Championships, taking the top qualifying spot for the finals.

However, Zahafi would later pull out of the 800 meter conference finals -- but not because of an injury. The Texas Tech star has said in an Instagram post that he wants to, "save some energy for the regionals".

So...is it safe to assume that is Zahafi fully healthy? Why would he race a prelim but not the finals? Is he still the same title contender that he was a few weeks ago?

I'm not sure I have an answer to any of those questions, but until a result give me a reason to doubt him, Zahafi will largely stay in the same spot, moving just one spot down to TSR #6.

5. Ky Robinson, Sophomore, Stanford (+1 / 6)

Robinson moves up one spot largely because the names ahead of him either dropped down in our rankings (Miller and Zahafi) or dropped out entirely (Nuguse).

Robinson held his own at the PAC-12 Championships running 13:36 in the 5k to finish 3rd overall alongside teammate Cole Sprout. In the steeplechase, he ran 8:33 to settle for a narrow loss to Brian Fay.

Overall, Robinson's value as a distance runner this year has been outstanding. His elite-level marks through three different events suggest that he can once again be a factor on the national stage.

However, it would've been nice to see him win a PAC-12 title. Earning gold would have really validated his ability to be a top-three name in these rankings. Still, I don't think we can look at these results and be too surprised.

4. Nico Young, Sophomore, Northern Arizona (+6 / 10)

Seeing Nico Young run 3:37 for 1500 meters was admittedly not surprising.

Seeing Nico Young run 13:11 for 5000 meters was admittedly not surprising.

But when something's not surprising, that usually means that the person in question is consistently delivering on expectations.

In the past, I've been critical about Young's execution in tactical settings and his clear favoritism towards time-trial environments.

But after finishing a narrow 3rd place at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 5k this past year, I don't really have much to counter with. Young's 3:37 mark and 13:11 mark are just flat-out incredible. In most years, he would be the overwhelming national title favorite.

This ranking isn't necessarily an endorsement for how we think he'll do on the national stage, but trying to find any argument against Nico Young is becoming increasingly more difficult.

3. Brian Fay, Junior, Washington (+5 / 8)

I'll admit, I don't really know who to put at our TSR #3 spot. It feels like I could hear arguments for seven different names and I wouldn't be opposed to any of them.

Fay, on paper, is easily one of the most valuable distance runners in the country. He has run 3:55 for the mile during the indoor track season and has since run 13:16 for 5000 meters and then 8:32 in the steeplechase. In those races, he took down megastars like Morgan Beadlescomb and Ky Robinson, both of whom reside in the top-10 of these rankings.

Fay also ran 28:22 for 10,000 meters at the Raleigh Relays, taking down a handful of respectable talents in the process such as Acer Iverson, Andrew Alexander and Nike's Eric Jenkins.

But how convinced am I that Fay is going to win a national title? Is that even a fair question with Abdi Nur in the men's 5k field? Are we even convinced that Fay is going to scratch out of the steeplechase despite his 8:29 PR? Wouldn't it actually make more sense for him to contest the steeplechase which theoretically has the best chance of Fay winning a national title?

Balancing title contention versus overall value is extremely tough to do, but Fay has done no wrong this season and he has taken down some marquee names this spring. For that reason, he moves up five spots.

2. Mario Garcia Romo, Junior, Ole Miss (+5 / 7)

When I went through the other names who could potentially take our TSR #2 spot, I just couldn't find anyone who really convinced me.

Fay has been outstanding, but I'm not sure how high his chances of winning a national title are when looking at the steeplechase and/or the 5k.

Robinson is a superstar talent, but it didn't feel right ranking him ahead Fay after the Washington ace handed him a loss at the PAC-12 Championships.

Zahafi's BIG 12 prelim race was encouraging, but I don't know what to think about him after an injury that seemed, at the time, to be pretty serious.

Nico Young absolutely had an argument for this spot following his 13:11 mark for 5000 meters, but is the NAU superstar as much of a national title contender as Garcia Romo is in the 1500?

In the end, I think it's fairly clearly that Mario Garcia Romo is the clear national title favorite in the 1500 meters after convincingly taking down Kipsang at the SEC Championships en route to the win and a monster mark of 3:36.

With a 1:46 result on his resume and a mile national title from this past winter, it feels fairly obvious that Garcia Romo deserves this TSR #2 spot. He hasn't always been perfect this season, but he continues to impress us time and time again.

1. Abdi Nur, Rs. Sophomore, Northern Arizona (0 / 1)

Despite running a collegiate 5k record of 13:06, there isn't really much to say about Nur. This result was wildly impressive, but it didn't necessarily tell us anything new. Instead, it simply reaffirmed what we already knew: Abdi Nur is the best distance runner that the NCAA has to offer right now.

ADDED

Navasky Anderson (Mississippi State)

Ed Trippas (Princeton)

Eduardo Herrera (Colorado)

Thomas Vanoppen (Wake Forest)

KICKED OFF

Yared Nuguse (Notre Dame)

Victor Kiprop (Alabama)

Anass Essayi (South Carolina)

John Rivera (Ole Miss)

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Sam Whitmarsh (Texas A&M)

John Rivera (Ole Miss)

Ayman Zahafi (Miami (FL))

Anass Essayi (South Carolina)

Adam Spencer (Wisconsin)

Matthew Payamps (Georgetown)

Jack Salisbury (Georgetown)

Parker Stokes (Georgetown)

Victor Kiprop (Alabama)

Zach Litoff (Santa Clara)

Yasin Sado (Virginia)

Athanas Kioko (Campbell)

Barry Keane (Butler)

Alec Basten (Minnesota)

Crayton Carrozza (Texas)

Ben Fleming (Virginia Tech)

Isaac Basten (Drake)

Andrew Kent (Colorado)

Ahmed Muhumed (Florida State)

Luke Houser (Washington)

Ryan Schoppe (Oklahoma State)

Kieran Lumb (Washington)

Kenneth Rooks (BYU)

Casey Clinger (BYU)

Ryan Smeeton (Oklahoma State)

Aaron Las Heras (Wake Forest)

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)

Alex Maier (Oklahoma State)

Nick Dahl (Duke)

Drew Bosley (Northern Arizona)

Sean Dolan (Villanova)

Joe Waskom (Washington)

Austin Vancil (Colorado)

Tarees Rhoden (Clemson)

Acer Iverson (Harvard)

Cebastian Gentil (Iowa State)

Jason Gomez (Iowa State)

Abduhalli Hassan (Wisconsin)

Cole Johnson (Michigan)

Michael Power (Tulsa)

Cathal Doyle (Portland)

George Kusche (Northern Arizona)

Aaron Bienenfeld (Oregon)

Colton Johnsen (Washington State)

Tim Zepf (Notre Dame)

Clayborn Pender (Georgia)

Baylor Franklin (Ole Miss)

Sebastian Fernandez (BYU)

Jacob Lamb (Alabama)

Wes Porter (Virginia)

Notes

• Yared Nuguse's 1500 meter result (3:39) at the Sound Running Track Meet will not count towards national meet qualification since did not satisfy NCAA requirements about the number of contested collegiate events per gender. With Nuguse opting to sit out of the ACC Championships due to a tweaked hamstring, his season is effectively over.

• Neither John Rivera (Ole Miss) nor Anass Essayi (South Carolina) have competed since late April. Their absences from the SEC Championships has prompted us to remove them from our rankings.