2022 D3 Outdoor Top 15 Rankings (Men): Update #3

TSR Collaboration
May 4, 2022
8 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 (0 / 15)

Since our last update, Csiki-Fejer has been collecting wins left and right. First with a 1500 meter race at MIT, then following that up with an impressive 800/1500/5k triple at the Commonwealth Coast Championships.

Bringing down his 1500 meter PR to 3:54 was a great step in the right direction for the Suffolk star, who is more known for his 5000 meter prowess. His recent efforts in the middle distance events aren't going to change the national picture in those races, but they are good races to show that he's refining his speed.

On the national stage, that will likely be a necessity.

14. Graham Tuohy-Gaydos, Freshman, Williams (-2 / 12)

Competing in the 5k/10k double at the NESCAC Championships, Tuohy-Gaydos ran yet another sub-30:00 mark in the 10,000 meters, posting a mark of 29:52 for the win and further solidifying himself as the long distance juggernaut that we already knew he was.

Tuohy-Gaydos also took home a 2nd place finish in the 5000 meters with Williams teammate Elias Lindgren earning the win.

If anything, his 10k performance was a good indication that Tuohy-Gaydos is building consistency and that he can potentially be a factor on the national stage in that event despite his youth.

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

Wilson competed in his second meet of the outdoor season at the NEWMAC Championships, running 4:01 in the 1500 meters to take 3rd overall behind two WPI runners.

However, this time was posted from the slower section of the two, so he likely ran most of this effort solo, considering he won the section by five seconds.

On paper, this performance isn’t blazing fast, but his 1:50 season opener in the 800 meters still weighs heavily in our minds as proof that he’s fit and ready for some fast races in these final few weeks of the season.

12. Ben Kuxmann, Junior, Millikin (Unranked)

Kuxmann earned a huge win at the 29th Annual Meet of Champions, defeating the perennial star in Mike Jasa over 800 meters and also running a PR of 1:50.16.

This Millikin star has been so solid over the last few seasons in the 800 meters, and his season thus far has proven that yet again. With the way he’s been running, he’s certainly a big dark horse to look out for in championship season.

It’ll be exciting to see if he can eclipse the 1:50 barrier in his marquee event this year. If he does and if he can catch Cargile on an "off" day, then is there a chance that Kuxmann could win a national title this spring?

11. Michael Obroin, Senior, Carnegie Mellon (-1 / 10)

Obroin has been consistently running at a very high level since his breakthrough performance at the Indoor UAA Championships. He went on to establish himself as a national elite at the indoor national meet.

Even though his most recent performance at the Outdoor UAA Championships doesn’t look great on paper -- running 15:04 (5k) to place 9th -- it was only his first sub-par race in a few months.

The fact that Obroin still ran 14:08 in the 5000 meters and has been competing strongly all season long leaves us with the believe that he needs to keep a spot in our rankings.

We would still consider him to be one of the main contenders in the 5000 meters for the outdoor national meet this spring, even with one uncharacteristic performance under his belt. In fact, it's probably a good thing that he got that sub-par result out of the way now rather than on the national stage.

10. Scott Sikorski, Junior, Rochester (Unranked)

Making his first appearance in our rankings, Sikorski has been having himself a remarkable season in the middle distances, running 1:51 in the 800 meters and 3:46 in the 1500 meters.

Sikorski has qualified for national meets in the past, but has never earned an elusive All-American performance. He took 10th in each of his two appearances at the national meet on the track.

That, however, could change this spring, especially with his 1500 meter strength potentially signaling that he may have more to offer in the 800 meters. Meanwhile, his 800 meter prowess gives him some extra turnover which could be useful at the end of this month.

He’s clearly made a big jump in fitness since the indoor season, and he’s also one of the few guys near the top of the middle distance Division Three rankings who did NOT chase after a fast time in California.

He’s going to be one to watch out for in the coming weeks of the season, with variability to choose either the 800 meters or the 1500 meters this postseason.

9. Christopher Collet, Sophomore, Wartburg (Unranked)

Having been running solidly all year, it seems as though Christopher Collet’s 14:12 mark in the 5000 meters at the Drake Relays was a true indication of his fitness this year.

It's not that his previous performances were sub-par by any means, but it felt like there was a little more to be desired from the national runner-up in the steeplechase. However, his 14:12 feels like we are seeing a good step in the direction for the Wartburg ace who is also an electric miler.

If his performances continue in this direction over the next few weeks, it would be no shock to see Collet finally eclipse the sub-9:00 barrier in the steeplechase. He's got an all-around resume that makes it hard to dislike him and a steeplechase mark that may put him in contention for the title.

What's not to like?

8. Mike Jasa, Junior, Loras (-3 / 5)

It feels like we've been harping on this all season long now, but Loras' Mike Jasa really isn’t all that invincible.

Since the last update, he’s run 1:50 in the 800 meters -- losing to Ben Kuxmann who ran 1:50.41 -- at the Drake Relays, taking 2nd. He also competed in a boatload of relays at the Drake Relays as well, including being a part of a Division Three all-time best 4x800 meter relay with his Loras teammates.

Jasa is getting really good at dropping his open 800 meter time down by a few tenths of a second at each meet which shows us that he’s trending in the right direction...slowly.

If this trend keeps up, then Jasa's potential to be a national title winner this spring will continue to rise to realistic expectations. However, with Cargile running 1:48 and a few others under 1:50, it will be hard to call Jasa the title lock over the next few weeks.

7. Tor Hotung-Davidsen, Sophomore, Lynchburg (0 / 7)

Hotung-Davidsen showed that his breakout 1:49 performance for 800 meters was no fluke by duplicating that time at the Virginia Challenge and then winning the ODAC Championship against some very solid competition.

This Lynchburg star has shown us tremendous consistency over the last few weeks and when you consider that he's also run a big PR, all signs are looking incredibly positive for Hotung-Davidsen.

He was an All-American during the indoor season, but he has taken another step up and looks primed to contend for the national title this spring, even if the men's 800 meters is top-heavy this year.

6. Jamie Dailey, Senior, John Carroll (+3 / 9)

After Dailey’s fast 10k at the Mt. SAC Relays, there were high expectations for how that result would translate to a 5k. Of course, this John Carroll veteran more than met those expectations with an excellent time of 14:08 at the Penn Relays.

Dailey is just clicking on all cylinders right now. While running quick times at invitationals doesn’t always translate to placing high in the postseason, that’s not a worry with Dailey as he has proven himself at big meets in the past, owning four All-American honors.

All in all, it's hard not to place Dailey this high. He's consistent, he's improving, he's running nationally competitive times in multiple events and he has proven that he can deliver on the big stage multiple times before.

What's not to like?

5. Colin Kirkpatrick, Sophomore, Pomona-Pitzer (+1 / 6)

Since our last update, Kirkpatrick has raced once, winning the SCIAC steeplechase by nine seconds in a very impressive time of 8:55.

Kirkpatrick already had the NCAA #1 steeple mark in the country by a good margin, but he is now showing that he can run like that consistently, regardless of who he is toeing the line against.

That consistency will be huge on the national stage in an event that is easily the most variable distance discipline the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

4. Bennett Booth-Genthe, Sophomore, Pomona-Pitzer (0 / 4)

Booth-Genthe hasn’t done anything crazy in terms of times since our last update, but he did secure the SCIAC title in the 800 meters over national qualifier Kai Dettman in a tight race.

His victory didn’t come as much of a surprise, but it is certainly a good sign to see him winning championship races over national-caliber athletes given that we have seen very little of him in championship settings.

3. Tucker Cargile, Sophomore, Redlands (0 / 3)

Similar to Kirkpatrick and Booth-Genthe, Cargile has only raced once since our last rankings update and appeared at the SCIAC Championships. He won the 1500 meters over Daniel Sealand, who is in our “Just Missed” section this week.

The SCIAC as a whole has been putting on a show in their return to NCAA outdoor track competition, and Cargile is the one leading the charge. We didn't necessarily learn any new from Cargile's most recent result, but his ability to consistently take down nationally competitive names makes him a very dangerous name later this month.

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

Ryan ran a quick 800 meter time at Williams' home meet the week before the NESCAC Championships where he secured wins in both the 1500 meters and the 800 meters.

The fact that as a longer distance runner is doubling back in an 800 meter race and beating a fresh Travis Martin is very impressive and super rare. That kind of speed has the potential to help him a lot in the 1500 meters or the 5k at the national meet, especially if those settings turn tactical.

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

Phillip tied his 5k personal best of 13:58 at Penn Relays, and although that was a solid performance, you can’t help but feel that he is capable of a lot more based on his sub-29 effort for 10k a couple weeks ago.

Even so, Phillip is the clear and obvious favorite right now to ultimately win the 10k at the national meet, and the 5k should be a great battle between him and Aidan Ryan.

As we mentioned earlier, Ryan boasts promising 800/1500 speed, so Phillip would likely benefit from taking that 5k race out hard and not letting it come down to a kick. But at the end of the day, what Phillip can do in the longer distances and what we saw him do this past winter makes him the top name in our rankings.