2022 D3 Indoor Top 15 Rankings (Men): Update #1

TSR Collaboration
Jan 26, 2022
9 min read

Written by Brett Haffner & Kevin Fischer, additional contributions by Garrett Zatlin

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.

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.

15. Sam Craig, Junior, U. of Chicago (Unranked)

Along with teammate Henry Myers, Sam Craig jumps into our rankings after continuing his momentum from this past fall where he earned a 9th place finish at the cross country national meet.

Craig's opening marks of 4:17 in the mile and 8:23 in the 3000 meters are very solid, but given his more distance-oriented background, he should be ready to do serious damage in the 5000 meters. If he's opening his season as strong as he just did, then we'll be very excited to see what happens when he enters his supposed ideal event.

After earning a spot on the line at last year’s outdoor national meet in the 5000 meters, Myers looks primed to give another shot at earning All-American honors this winter. However, the biggest question for him is...what event(s) might we see him in?

We could very well see Myers in anything from the mile to the 3000 meters to the 5000 meters with the range that he has shown thus far. That versatility is a big reason why he is ranked.

14. Spencer Moon, Sophomore, Simpson (IA) (Unranked)

Having always been a solid talent in the American Rivers Conference, it’s been difficult for someone like Moon to shine when guys like Christopher Collet and Joe Freiburger have earned most of the spotlight.

Since running 8:18 for 3000 meters, which led to him pulling off an upset and beating Freiburger, this Simpson sophomore has risen to the occasion, quite brightly.

He qualified for the outdoor national meet in the 5000 meters last year where he placed 13th. Now, he’s a guy that is definitely in the All-American conversation, proving that he can not only contend with, but defeat, some of the top talents in the country.

His 5000 meter debut later this season and his future battles against the Wartburg contingent should be fun to watch.

13. Bill Daily, Junior, Otterbein (Unranked)

After jumping onto the national D3 scene last week with his 4:12 (mile) and 2:30 (1k) season opening double, Daily earned his first appearance in our rankings.

Since then, he has continued to solidify himself as the guy to watch this year, running an impressive time of 8:21 (3k) right alongside underrated D3 studs like Jaime Dailey and Simon Heys.

It’ll be interesting to see if Daily will jump up to the 5000 meters or step down to the 800 meters at all this season. It’s clear that he has the range to be effective at almost any distance which is a major reason why he secured a spot in our Top 15.

12. Ryan Harvey, Freshman, Loras (0 / 12)

As one of the few middle distance-centric names on this list, Harvey still maintains his NCAA #3 spot on the D3 national leaderboard with his quietly impressive 4:10 mile that he ran back in December.

Harvey was an underrated talent as a freshman last year, qualifying for the outdoor national meet in the 1500 meters. From the looks of it, this rising Loras star has found a way to capture and carry that momentum over to the indoor oval.

In the new year, Harvey has thus far run 2:31 in the 1000 meters as well as 1:56 in the 800 meters.

Being listed in some 4x400 relays means that Harvey is continually working on his speed as well, giving us reason to believe that he'll go after a fast 800 meter time this winter thanks to a quick mile already being under his belt.

11. Joe Freiburger, Senior, Wartburg (-3 / 8)

As a continual national-level threat and a highly decorated D3 harrier, Freiburger suffered a rare in-season defeat to fellow D3 athlete by the name of Spencer Moon. The caveat? Freiburger still ran 8:19 for 3000 meters – a very impressive mark for this early in the season.

Being a 4:12 miler and 14:00 (5k) talent still is evidence that this Wartburg veteran is one of the biggest threats in the distance events this season. His loss isn't ideal, but his past resume and quick 3k this winter doesn't leave us too concerned about any of his January results.

10. Henry Myers, Junior, U. of Chicago (Unranked)

Entering our rankings along with fellow teammate Sam Craig, Myers has capitalized on his mile and 1500 meter speed, opening up this year's winter track campaign with marks of 4:14 in the mile and an impressive 8:21 result in the 3000 meters. This was a good rebound for Myers after he placed an unexciting 54th at the cross country national meet this past fall.

Both Myers and Craig are fairly underrated, but they have the potential to make some additional noise this season. Myers, specifically, has the potential to further evolve into one of the most dynamic distance talents in D3 this season.

His 3000 meter performance suggests that he could be fairly competitive in the 5000 meters while his mile PR (and 1500 PR) indicate that Myers could be due for a reset to his 800 meter PR which currently stands at 1:57.

9. Steven Potter, Junior, UW-Oshkosh (+5 / 14)

A perennial challenger over the 800 meters and the mile, Potter’s 800 meter mark of 1:52.40 still holds strong on the D3 national leaderboard, holding the NCAA #2 spot. Now, admittedly, that result came back in December and we are still waiting for the Wisconsin-Oshkosh star to return to the indoor oval.

However, the upper-tier of the men's 800 meters this year hasn't really been scared by any recent performances. Despite not racing as of late, Potter is still one of the most elite middle distance talents in all of D3.

In a set of rankings that is flooded with men who have run the mile, 3000 meters and 5000 meters, improving the stock of a top half-miler seems fair.

8. Tyler Morris, Sophomore, Colby (0 / 8)

Morris sits at NCAA #3 for 5000 meters on the national leaderboard, having run a time of 14:23 back in December. This national ranking in the event will likely hold for quite a while, although the 7th place finisher from the cross country national meet hasn’t raced since.

Regardless, Morris' time is too good for him to be bumped out of our rankings. When he returns to competition, he'll be a solid threat over the 3k and 5k distances.

7. Miles Christensen, Junior, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (+2 / 9)

Based on his monster 8:13 effort for 3000 meters back in December, Christensen is evidently going to be one of the top 3k/5k studs in D3 this year.

However, much like a few other top names in these rankings, Christensen hasn’t raced since that performance. The western schools, after all, usually have a limited racing schedule leading up to the indoor national meet.

Regardless, this west coast star will be a big name to watch come March.

6. Elias Lindgren, Junior, Williams (-1 / 5)

As part of the unheralded, most potent 1-2 punch in all of Division Three, Lindgren’s 5000 meter mark of 14:15 from last December still holds a spot right near the top of the national leaderboard, with his converted mark putting him at NCAA #3.

The national runner-up in cross country is likely remembered for his incredible performance on the grass, but don’t forget – he is one of three runners, along with Aidan Ryan and Alex Phillip, to boast a sub-14:00 personal best for 5000 meters.

His only track performance in 2022 so far wasn’t anything spectacular, but we’ll likely see some magic from the Williams star in the coming weeks as he and teammate Aidan Ryan work to peak for the indoor national meet.

5. Christopher Collet, Sophomore, Wartburg (Unranked)

Leaving Collet out of our Preseason Top 15 Rankings was a highly difficult decision. After all, he was coming off of a spring season where he earned All-American honors in both the steeplechase and the 5000 meters, and a cross country season where he was in the top-two of every race before having a tough day at the national meet and finishing 81st.

But ultimately, he began the season as one of our five “Just Missed” names.

So far this indoor season, Collet is showing that he deserves not only a ranking, but a high one. After opening with a very solid 8:25 effort for 3000 meters, he went to the Larry Wieczorek Invitational and put in a true breakout performance, going 4:06 in the mile in a field where he was the only non-D1 competitor.

His previous mile best was 4:12, and while he did go 3:52 for 1500 meters during outdoors, he displayed more speed on Saturday than he ever has before.

With Alex Phillip likely contesting the 3000 meters and 5000 meters at the indoor national meet later this season, is it crazy to think that Collet could potentially win a national title in the mile come March? His 4:06 not only showed off plenty of strength, but it gave him experience running against a very competitive field, something that he'll be happy to have at the indoor national meet.

4. Henry Pick, Junior, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (0 / 4)

Pick retains a top-five spot in our rankings despite not racing since the preseason edition. His 8:11 effort for 3000 meters at the Boston University Season Opener remains as one of the more impressive distance performances across D3 this season.

CMS has the Husky Classic listed on their schedule in February, so it will be interesting to see if Pick competes there, what event he will be able to contest and how fast he will run.

3. Mike Jasa, Junior, Loras (-1 / 2)

Jasa has not run any open races since his flat-track 1:50 effort for 800 meters paced by Erik Sowinski. However, he did unofficially split 3:04 on the 1200 meter leg in the DMR (closing in 58) followed by a 48.8 split in the 4x400 meter relay at the Karl Schlender Invitational.

This Loras veteran remains as the clear favorite to win the 800 meter national title this winter. In fact, we think it’s only a matter of time before he dips under the historic 1:50 barrier.

We think he’s capable of running 1:49 or faster, although Loras only has meets hosted at 200 meter flat-tracks listed on their schedule, so he may have to wait until the national meet or until the spring to run a time like that.

The Duhawks also look to have the potential to compete for a DMR national title, so that has to be taken into consideration as well.

Mike Jasa is undeniably the top mid-distance talent in all of Division Three and it will be exciting to see what he does over the next few months. If you prefer these rankings to be based on the likelihood of winning NCAA gold, then Jasa would likely be listed at TSR #1.

2. Alex Phillip, Sophomore, John Carroll (-1 / 1)

After an incredible fall season where he won the cross country national title, followed by a 5000 meter season opener of 13:58 at Grand Valley State, John Carroll superstar Alex Phillip showed he hasn’t lost a step in his return to the oval this past Saturday.

He ran a 4:05 mile at the Michigan Invitational, finishing runner-up against largely D1 competition. His 1500 PR is 3:53, so this was a big jump and it shows us that he has some serious speed to go with his cross country and 5k ability...as if he wasn't dangerous enough already.

In most years, these recent performances would be more than enough for a TSR #1 ranking. However, he loses that spot (for now) solely because of Aidan Ryan’s massive 3k performance in Seattle.

Nonetheless, Phillip is certainly carrying a ton of momentum from his consistently remarkable racing over the past few months, and he is primed to challenge for a national title on the track to complement the one he earned on the grass.

1. Aidan Ryan, Junior, Williams (+2 / 3)

Aidan Ryan finds himself at the very top of the D3 distance scene after running 7:55 for 3000 meters, the fastest in D3 history (although technically not an official record), at the 2022 UW Preview. The 2019 1500 meter national champion is looking to add more titles to his resume this season, and is in a great position to do exactly that.

In addition to his recent 3000 meter performance, Ryan holds personal best times of 4:05 in the mile and 13:51 for 5000 meters (outdoors). To put it simply, every aspect of his resume is elite.

Ryan looks to be the most fit that he’s ever been right now, so it will be interesting to see how much time he can drop from those already-ridiculous marks during the regular season.

Ultimately, the most likely racing scenario for this Williams star in March is probably a 3k/DMR double at the indoor national meet. Even with how strong the D3 distance events are this year, I don’t think there is anyone who would beat Ryan in a championship 3000 meter race right now, especially if Alex Phillip runs a 5000 meter race the night before.

ADDED

Sam Craig (U. of Chicago)

Christopher Collet (Wartburg)

Henry Myers (U. of Chicago)

Spencer Moon (Simpson (IA))

Bill Daily (Otterbein)

KICKED OFF

Jacob Ridderhoff (Washington U.)

Nicholas Hoffman (Hope)

Simon Heys (Wilmington (OH))

David Fassbender (UW-Whitewater)

Gabriel Pommier (North Central)

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Jamie Dailey (John Carroll)