2022 D3 Outdoor Top 15 Rankings (Men): Update #2

TSR Collaboration
Apr 20, 2022
7 min read

Written by Brett Haffner and 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. Matyas Csiki-Fejer, Junior, Suffolk (Unranked)

Nowadays, we talk a lot about this year’s unprecedented depth of D3, but the fact that running 14:09 is almost not good enough for a ranking really is a testament to how spoiled we’ve been.

This Suffolk standout, who ran 14:09 for 3rd place at the Duke Invitational just days before announcing his intent to move to Duke as a graduate transfer, has put his name among some of the elite distance talents in the country.

Csiki-Fejer certainly has the potential to record a very high finish at the outdoor national meet and although we haven’t necessarily seen him excel in a national championship setting yet, that may just be because he hasn’t had that many opportunities.

On paper, he's certainly talented enough to hang with high-level paces and his race at the Duke Invitational would a good example of that.

14. Steven Potter, Junior, UW-Oshkosh (-6 / 8)

The 2nd place finisher in the 800 meters at the indoor national meet, Potter hasn’t had any eye-catching performances during this outdoor season, but that isn’t necessarily a discouraging sign.

Potter has only contested one 800 meter race and one 1500 meter race this season, winning in both instances. Admittedly, some of his mid-indoor season times looked pedestrian by his standards, but he put it all together when it counted and almost won a national title.

Steven Potter knows how to peak for the postseason and is an experienced veteran. He's also pretty strong tactically. So as of now, there isn’t too much to be worried about. Still, for the sake of rewarding a few other top D3 athletes, he needed to move backwards a bit.

13. Jacob Ridderhoff, Senior, Washington U. (-6 / 7)

Ridderhoff has raced once since our last update and in that race, he had a tough day by his standards, only running 1:56 over 800 meters.

However, this Washington U. veteran is in a similar boat as Potter (mentioned above). We know what Ridderhoff can do in the postseason, so we won't penalize him much for a one-off race in the regular season.

We'll need to see something in the coming weeks to better solidify his ranking, but for now, he sticks around in our Top 15 list.

12. Graham Tuohy-Gaydos, Freshman, Williams (Unranked)

Tuohy-Gaydos has bounced back from a tough indoor national meet, posting a very strong start to his outdoor season. The Williams youngster followed up his strong 29:47 (10k) season opener with a 14:08 (5k) this past weekend at Bucknell University.

He now sits at NCAA #2 in the 5k and NCAA #11 in the 10k on the D3 national leaderboard.

Tuohy-Gaydos will absolutely contend for (and likely win) national titles in future years, but the question is whether he can do it now?

We think he is just a little bit outside of that title-contention level right now, mainly because of his inexperience (which is hardly his fault). Still, he is knocking on the door of being something incredibly special.

11. David Fassbender, Senior, UW-Whitewater (-5 / 6)

Fassbender finished 2nd in the 5000 meters at UW-Platteville this past weekend against a field loaded with big D3 names. He is now ranked at NCAA #9 and NCAA #12 in the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters on the Division Three leaderboard which, admittedly, doesn’t necessarily sound like it should merit a ranking

However, Fassbender's top-five finishes in both the 3000 meters and the 5000 meters at the indoor national meet this past winter keep him as high as he is...for now.

Additionally, the fact that he has faced -- and beat -- multiple All-Americans and national qualifiers this season holds just as much value as his raw times do. Fassbender is plenty experienced and his times certainly don't tell the full story of his talent.

10. Michael OBroin, Senior, Carnegie Mellon (Unranked)

After OBroin’s breakout performance at the indoor national meet, we were wondering how he would be able to back that up throughout the outdoor season.

Well, this weekend, he emphatically gave us our answer with a 14:08 mark for 5000 meters at the Bison Outdoor Classic to finish just behind TSR #12 runner Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos in 5th place.

OBroin has already shown us how well he can handle the big stage, so now that he already has a mark that will comfortably get into the national meet, he can focus on prepping for the postseason and will be a threat to almost anybody in the country come May.

9. Jamie Dailey, Senior, John Carroll (Unranked)

Dailey ran an exceptional race at the Mt. SAC Relays, recording a 10k time of 29:28 that sits at NCAA #2 on the D3 national leaderboard behind teammate Alex Phillip who ran an NCAA #3 All-Time D3 mark of 28:48.

In addition to his impressive 10k prowess, Dailey is also a 4:11 indoor miler and earned All-American honors in the 3000 meters this past indoor season. So even though the 10k is likely his best event, his range and speed is a little underrated.

In theory, that versatility and athleticism is something that can help his chances of earning a high finish in the 10k -- or even potentially the 5k -- at the national meet this May.

8. Ryan Wilson, Sophomore, MIT (-5 / 3)

Has not raced since our last update.

7. Tor Hotung-Davidsen, Sophomore, Lynchburg (Unranked)

Hotung-Davidsen has frequently been on the cusp of our rankings for a good while now, but he earned this spot after making a major statement this past weekend.

Running 1:49.04 in the 800 meters is no joke, especially when you consider that his previous PR was 1:51.47, giving way to a huge breakthrough performance.

The fact that this time is only the NCAA #2 mark in Division Three is pretty unbelievable. If Hotung-Davidsen can replicate this kind of performance again in the postseason, then he will be a strong contender to compete with the wide array of mid distance star in Division Three come the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

He's bring great for a while, but it looks like this Lynchburg ace has truly reached the elite tier.

6. Colin Kirkpatrick, Sophomore, Pomona-Pitzer (+6 / 12)

If there’s anyone who could step up to the task of challenging Christopher Collet in the steeplechase come the outdoor national meet, then Colin Kirkpatrick may have just established himself as an early-season favorite of doing so.

Running a spectacular 8:53 time at the Bryan Clay Invitational, Kirkpatrick now has an 11-second lead over all of Division Three in the steeplechase. Dominance at its finest.

To make matters even more impressive, he also ran 3:47 for the 1500 meters, also at Bryan Clay, giving him not one, not two, but THREE events (if you include the 5000 meters) that Kirkpatrick is nationally competitive in.

As we’re seeing with Booth-Genthe, Jack Rosencrans, Nathaniel Getachew and now Kirkpatrick, the firepower of Pomona-Pitzer’s distance squad comes from having expansive range over various distance disciplines.

5. Mike Jasa, Sophomore, Loras (-1 / 4)

Stepping up in distance, Jasa contested a 1500 meter race at the University of Dubuque Open, running 3:55 to bring home the win.

He hasn’t run a whole lot of races over 800 meters in his time as a Duhawk, so I’d say that this is an impressive performance for being truly oriented around the middle distances.

Jasa has yet to break out in the 800 meters this outdoor track season, but that performance will likely come within due time.

4. Bennett Booth-Genthe, Sophomore, Pomona-Pitzer (+5 / 9)

We mentioned in our last update that Booth-Genthe already demonstrated some incredible range from the 400 meters all the way up to the 5000 meters, making him a great talent who has soared in our rankings.

Then, over the last two weeks, he managed to rise even further, running wild marks of 1:49.15 in the 800 meters (NCAA #3 in Division Three) and 3:45 in the 1500 meters (NCAA #2 in Division Three).

We said it once, but we'll say it again: When you consider that Booth-Genthe was a name who had not been discussed prior to this outdoor season, this big of a rise to stardom has been shocking and extremely impressive.

Booth-Genthe is explosive, dynamic, versatile and nationally competitive in everything. This is unreal range which, in turn gives him unreal value. For that reason, he sits at TSR #4 in our rankings.

3. Tucker Cargile, Sophomore, Redlands (+8 / 11)

If there’s any guy in Division Three who knows how fit he is, look no further than to Tucker Cargile, the middle distance specialist who has been calling his shot week in and week out and continually living up to his own public expectations.

He has the Division Three lead in the 800 meters, having run 1:48.89 AND 3:46 in the 1500 meters, putting him NCAA #3 in Division Three.

After finishing as a national runner-up in the mile at during the indoor national meet, Cargile is on a completely different level in the outdoor season. His speed and dominance in the middle distances is unmatched right now.

With local rivals like Booth-Genthe to push him, along with the plethora of opportunities to chase times out in California, Cargile is going to continue to be a menace to the rest of Division Three.

2. Aidan Ryan, Junior, Williams (0 / 2)

In all of my time covering Division Three here at The Stride Report, it never would have occurred to me that a male distance runner in Division Three could run 14:01 for 5000 meters and it would be considered an underwhelming performance.

Aidan Ryan shot for the moon at the Bryan Clay Invitational, tagging along with the likes of Division Three alumnus Matthew Wilkinson right near the front of a very fast section. However, he would ultimately fade and finish 27 seconds back of the leaders.

For a guy whose 5000 meter PR is 13:52, we were admittedly expecting a little more from Ryan this past weekend. This, of course, is just the state of Division Three right now – we now have to expect insanely fast times to be run pretty much all the time.

If Ryan can put together the right race over 5000 meters, there’s really no limit as to how fast he can run.

1. Alex Phillip, Sophomore, John Carroll (0 / 1)

Phillip’s long-awaited distance debut finally arrived and it sure lived up to expectations as he threw down a wildly impressive 28:48 mark in the 10,000 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays.

Considering there are only 17 guys in Division Three who have run faster than 14:22 in the 5000 meters, the fact that Phillip did that TWICE IN A ROW is extremely telling of where he stands compared to the rest of the division.

I’ll just say it now, and if someone proves me wrong then so be it, but...nobody in Division Three can touch Alex Phillip over 10,000 meters. Lock it in.