2022 D2 Indoor Top 25 Rankings (Men): Preseason (Part One)

Nate Lopez
Dec 18, 2021
10 min read

Updated: Dec 18, 2021

Additional contributions by Sam Ivanecky and John Cusick

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 guide when determining eligibility.

25. Wes Ferguson, Rs. Sophomore, Nebraska Kearney

Ferguson finished the 2021 season as an All-American last winter when he found himself placing 7th in the final of the 800 meters. All signs pointed to him having another breakthrough during the outdoor season, but that didn’t turn out as all parties had hoped.

Fast forward to now, and early-on in the season, Ferguson currently owns the fastest time in the country after running 1:52.23 which converts down to 1:49.80 after a conversion. That result should offer plenty of encouragement for the Nebraska Kearney standout moving forward.

If Ferguson can make the leap in terms of strength, there’s no reason to believe he can't actually run under the 1:50 barrier without a conversion. He’s run 2:29 for 1000 meters, so there's at least some combination of foot-speed and strength, but that’s about the only thing we have for comparison sakes.

It’d be great to see Ferguson jump into the mile to see what we’ve really got on our hands. However, until then, Ferguson should be considered an upper-level threat amongst 800 runners, but not quite in the elite tier...yet.

24. Jan Lukas Becker, Sophomore, Queens (NC)

Queens (NC) product Jan Lukas Becker assembled a decent slate of racing this past cross country season. He only had two races with double-digit finishes, the first being the Louisville Classic where he finished in the top-20 amongst some of his top competition in Division 2 as well as some runners from Division 1. The second race was the cross country national meet where he finished 10th.

Becker is strong and has been on the national stage before, doubling each time. So who knows? Maybe this year he opts to focus on one event...but it's more likely that he will stick to the pattern of doubling down.

Regardless of how he chooses to approach the Big Dance, Becker will still have his work cut-out for him trying to overtake the competition. Despite boasting strong personal bests of 8:07 (3k), 13:51 (5k) and 29:15 (10k), the long distance events are just as saturated as ever and his last few results at the national meet on the track, while certainly not terrible, weren't amazing either.

23. Austin Miller, Senior, Augustana (SD)

The workhorse from Augustana (SD) is coming off of his best cross country season yet. Miller secured personal bests in both the 8k and 10k on the grass, along with a conference crown, a top-five regional finish and his best-ever finish at the NCAA XC Championships.

And yet, the Augustana product is known for his work in the middle distances.

One would be hard-pressed to find a greater proof of fitness and aerobic strength than the results Miller compiled this past fall. Just imagine what he’ll do dropping back down to his primary arena building off of the strength he’s gained.

Boasting personal bests of 1:51 (800), 3:45 (1500) and 4:06 (mile) makes Miller one of the most dynamic threats in the NCAA. In fact, with conversions, Miller's times last winter were actually 1:50 (800) and 4:05 (mile). He can double with no problem and has been successful when doing so in the past. He's also no stranger to winning...a lot.

It may not have been pretty the whole way, but Miller was already a double All-American last winter when he was a top-eight finisher in the 800 and the mile. He is definitely worth keeping an eye on, especially if his cross country performances suggest a boost in his results this winter.

22. Kyle Moran, Junior, Colorado Mines

Is this the year that Moran finds himself near the front of an indoor national meet final? One of the best all-around runners between track and cross country, the Mines junior is hot off of a 9th place finish in cross country from this past fall. That finish was his second top-10 result at the NCAA XC Championships in his career and it has him poised for another big indoor season.

The last time we saw him race on the indoor oval, Moran was putting down elite times in the 3k and 5k. He was ranked at NCAA #2 in the 5k last year, pairing nicely with his NCAA #8 mark in the 3k.

Unfortunately, his national meet performances fell a bit short. He wound up placing 12th in the 3000 meters and 8th in the 5000 meters -- decent finishes, but a bit underwhelming given how well he had been running. Luckily, this season provides a nice chance for some redemption.

Moran has frequently found himself in the mix at national meets, but not necessarily as a true contender for a win. Looking at 2022, the expectation is that Moran continues to put down fast marks. He has run 7:57 for 3000 meters and has run 13:46 for 5000 meters during indoors, putting him in the top-tier of runners.

What will raise Moran in our rankings is if he can continually win races this year. Of his nine races last winter, he won exactly zero. That will need to change for Moran to reach the next level in 2022.

21. Jonathan Groendyk, Senior, Grand Valley State

Groendyk has started the winter season off right where he left it. Coming into this year with an indoor personal best of 1:50.40 for 800 meters, the GVSU senior nearly matched that in his first race, clocking 1:50.89 at the GVSU Holiday Open.

It’s obviously very early in the season, but given that it’s only the second time he’s ever broken 1:51 during indoor track, things are looking promising.

After multiple years of never advancing beyond the preliminary round at a national meet, Groendyk made his first NCAA final this past spring at the outdoor national meet. He finished 5th place in the 800 meters at the Outdoor National Championships, cementing himself as a legitimate contender heading into 2022.

Having said that, there is still reason for concern as to how he runs in the prelim rounds.

Both times he made the indoor national meet, he finished 10th, knocking him out of the competition. He was the "Last Man In" this past spring at the outdoor national meet, so there’s clearly some work that needs to be done to make him a safe bet.

For Groendyk to become a legitimate contender this indoor season, he will need to show that he can consistently run under 1:52. He did that only once last year. He’s already matched that total this year and we haven’t hit January.

If he does it another time or two, he’ll likely find himself moving up in the ranks.

20. Ahmed Sado, Sophomore, Adams State

Ahmed Sado seems poised to keep himself in the national picture considering he already did so this fall, placing 18th at the NCAA XC Championships.

Sado opened up on the indoor oval with a unique double in the 5000 meters and the 800 meters, notching times of 15:11 and 1:59, respectively. While those weren't great results, we do know that he’s healthy and that he has a lot more in the tank based on his marks from last year. Nothing wrong with a rust-buster in December.

Sado has been a known commodity for Adams State at the last few national meets. He finished 6th place in the mile at the indoor national meet last winter and followed that up with a 6th place finish in the steeplechase during the ensuing outdoor national meet.

Running a 5000/800 double doesn’t give us much of an indicator of which event he’ll focus on, but given the cross country fitness, Sado might move up to the 3k/5k scene this winter while posing as a legitimate threat on a DMR team that just lost arguably their best miler.

19. Jake Mitchem, Sophomore, Colorado Mines

Colorado Mines’ Jake Mitchem will hit the indoor scene after a solid cross country campaign. Mitchem finished 13th at the cross country national meet after a top-three finish at Nationals in the steeplechase this past spring.

Nothing seems dramatically different with Mitchem which is technically a good thing. He’s still consistently running at a high level as shown by his recent results (13th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships) and that will likely translate into Mitchem running at a high level on the indoor oval this winter.

Mitchem certainly doesn’t lack the experience on the big stage. He’s been part of three Colorado Mines national teams during cross country (twice as an All-American) and has made it to the outdoor national meet three times as well, with his breakthrough seemingly coming last spring.

Expect Mitchem to ride that wave of fitness into the holiday break and to come out with some new 3k and 5k personal bests on the other side.

18. Caleb Futter, Freshman, Grand Valley State

Last winter, Futter was largely focused on the middle distance events, qualifying for Nationals in both the mile and DMR. Although he jumped up to the steeplechase during outdoors, it seems more likely that he’ll continue to focus on the shorter races given how saturated the 3k and 5k fields are shaping up to be. Another season doubling down in the same events could see some solid improvements for the GVSU freshman.

In his first NCAA season, Futter clocked an impressive 4:04 for the mile, landing him at NCAA #9 on the indoor performance list. What makes it more impressive is that he only ran the mile twice prior to Nationals, with the other mark being a 4:06.

Futter spent much of the 2021 indoor season jumping between events, namely the mile and 3k. While understandable given it was his first collegiate season, a great focus / more experience on one event could reap more reward in 2022. That seemed to be the case during his outdoor season, where he heavily focused on the steeplechase and went on to finish runner-up at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Between the mile (or 3k) and DMR, Futter could be looking at multiple All-American finishes this winter. He showed lots of promise during the 2021 indoor season and his steeplechase finish showed us that he can, in theory, compete for titles.

17. Seb Anthony, Senior, Queens (NC)

Anthony may not have a ton of versatility, but it turns out that he probably doesn't need it. The middle distance specialist is the reigning runner-up for 800 meters from last winter and has an added a 6th place finish in the same event from the following outdoor national meet. Despite his volatility, Anthony has the upside that makes him one of the best in the country.

In 2021, Anthony was anything but consistent. Between the indoor and outdoor regular season meets, he ran a total of eight 800 races. Two of those races he did not finish. Two of them he went under 1:50. Three of them he did not break 1:52.

Sure, his results have been a mixed bag, but when you run 1:48 multiple times, you’re granted a bit more leeway.

Similar to a number of middle distance runners on this list, seeing some consistency from Anthony would go a long way. He clearly has the top-end talent to match the best men in Division 2, but there’s always the concern he doesn’t show up when it matters. He will be a name to keep a close eye on during early season performances to get an idea of how this winter might play out.

16. Blake Jones, Junior, Illinois-Springfield

Blake Jones had a fairly full cross country season this year which called for some speculation heading into this indoor track season.

Jones notched two DNF results this past fall, one back in September and the other coming at the cross country national meet. When Jones did make it across the tape, however, he was stellar, winning the GLVC title and placing 5th at his regional meet.

Assuming he’s over whatever was causing those DNF results, you can count on Jones to make a strong push for an All-American finish in the 5k this indoor season. He holds personal bests of 13:46 in the 5000 meters and 8:08 in the 3000 meters.

Not to mention the last time we saw him on the track, he was finishing 3rd in the 5000 meters at the Outdoor National Championships. An improvement in the 3000 meters would be great to see this year, especially considering that his 13:46 (5k) personal bets indicates there is much more in the tank for him in that event.

Jones might become one of the better dual-threat athletes to watch over the course of this indoor season. When March rolls around, don’t be surprised if Jones finds himself in the mix for multiple NCAA titles.

15. Enael Woldemichael, Senior, Grand Valley State

It’s fair to say Woldemichael’s indoor season in 2021 wasn't great. After finishing as the runner-up in the outdoor 5000 meter final back in 2018, Woldemichael did not even qualify for the indoor national meet meet last winter. He was ranked at only NCAA #29 for the 5000 meters, running 15 seconds slower than his indoor personal best of 14:04.

However, the tide changed during outdoors as Woldemichael ran a personal best in the 5k of 13:46 and qualified for Nationals in both the 5k and 10k. He went on to finish 6th and 7th, respectively, his best performances since 2018 and earning double All-American honors in the process.

Heading into this winter, expectations for Woldemichael are high yet again. He has the credentials to compete with the best men in the NCAA at 5000 meters and consequently, he should be able to run a solid 3000 meter time as well.

In 2018, this GVSU star finished 3rd place overall for 5000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Given how well he ran last spring, another All-American finish (or two) should be within his reach if he is able to maintain that momentum.

14. Ryan Riddle, Junior, Missouri Southern

Missouri Southern’s Ryan Riddle almost pulled off a perfect cross country season,

seemingly running out of steam at the national meet this past fall. Riddle still managed an All-American finish, but it was just the first race this year where he wasn’t the first runner across the tape.

The important thing is that, with this cross country campaign, Riddle confirmed to everybody that he can just about do it all.

Riddle cracked the 30-minute barrier over 10k at the Central Regional Championships this past fall. That mark complements his resume pretty well when you consider that he was an All-American in the mile last winter before opting for the 5k at the outdoor national meet.

It’ll be interesting to see what direction Riddle chooses to go this year, but it’s evident that he is fit and has a lot of strength to build off of.

Now might be a good time to remind everyone that Riddle finished 3rd in the mile indoors last year and had the third-fastest time on the NCAA descending order list with his 4:01. Heading into that race, he was one of the favorites to win the title and in any other year, we’re talking about his chances of repeating.