2022 D3 Outdoor Top 15 Rankings (Men): Update #4

TSR Collaboration
May 19, 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. Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos, Freshman, Williams (-1 / 14)

Has not competed since our last update.

14. Sam Verkerke, Sophomore, UW-Eau Claire (Unranked)

Verkerke makes his first appearance in our rankings following a massive breakthrough race over the last two weeks. After winning a loaded 1500 meter final at the WIAC Championships in 3:46, he went on to run 1:50.01 for 800 meters at the St. Francis Fighting Chance Invite.

Keep in mind that going into the month of May, Verkerke had collegiate bests of 1:55 and 3:54. It’s not often that you see someone burst onto the scene as suddenly as Sam Verkerke has.

Now that he’s here, it doesn’t look like he’s going away anytime soon, especially with a very quick 800 meter race validating his incredibly promising 1500 meter mark.

13. Christian Patzka, Sophomore, UW-Whitewater (Unranked)

At the WIAC Championships, Patzka won the steeplechase and dipped under the nine minute barrier with an outstanding mark of 8:56. He now sits at NCAA #2 in the country for the event behind only TSR #3 Colin Kirkpatrick.

Patzka has been a force to be reckoned with since he arrived at UW-Whitewater. He has been an All-American in every full season that he has contested and now he has reached the level where he can contend for a national title, an admittedly challenging task given how strong Kirkpatrick looks.

Either way, younger guys like Patzka aren't supposed to be as poised and as reliable as this. This UW-Whitewater star runs like a veteran and peaks better than almost anyone in Division Three. That's a rare combination, but the postseason reliability paired with the upside of his youth makes him very dangerous.

12. Tor Hotung-Davidsen, Sophomore, Lynchburg (-5 / 7)

Hotung-Davidsen has flexed a little bit of range since our last update with a 3:50 mark for 1500 meters at the Liberty Twilight Qualifier. Then, he came back down to the 800 meters and ran 1:50-low at the Lee Last Chance meet.

His season best so far in the 800 meters came a month ago while others have run similar marks more recently. However, Hotung-Davidsen has been consistent enough where his fitness isn’t really in doubt, so that shouldn’t be much of a concern for the Lynchburg star.

The recency of seasonal bests from other athletes does influence this ranking a little bit, but for the most part, the major jumps that we saw from Jasa and Ruggles, paired with everyone else doing enough to stick near their previous ranking, contributed to this five-spot drop.

11. Ben Kuxmann, Junior, Millikin (+1 / 12)

It seems like a sub-1:50 mark for 800 meters has been a long time coming for Ben Kuxmann.

Between this year and last year, he has run 1:50.12, 1:50.16 and 1:50.48 (which came in a national meet prelim where he eased up before the line). Well, last weekend, he finally dipped into the 1:49 range with a promising win at the Carius/Gregory Invitational.

Kuxmann has finished 3rd in the 800 meters at two national meets and he looks to be in a great position to earn All-American honors again. His proven ability to race his absolute best in the postseason paired with a milestone PR right before the national meet means that all signs are pointing up for Kuxmann.

10. Steven Potter, Junior, UW-Oshkosh (Unranked)

The indoor national runner-up is back in a big way.

After a start to the season that was fairly pedestrian by his high standards, he won the WIAC title in the 800 meters and finished 2nd in the 1500 meters in a lifetime best of 3:47. The next week at the St. Francis Fighting Chance Invitational, he came back to the 800 meters and ran 1:49.51.

The fact that an 800 meter time like that is only listed at NCAA #7 in the country is pretty crazy given that, prior to this season, nobody in D3 had run under 1:50 on the outdoor oval since 2018 (although the pandemic may have played a partial role in that).

The 800 meters is historically competitive at the top end and will probably be one of the tougher races to call at the national meet. Even so, I wouldn’t be shocked if Potter ends up stealing the title.

He's a veteran, he's consistent, he's had major postseason success before and he's familiar with his competition. For the most part, he feels like a pretty safe bet.

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

Dailey had a solid showing at the OAC Championships, finishing 2nd place in the 10k, 3rd place in the 1500 meters (with a personal best of 3:53) and 4th place in the 5k. He is one of the better long distance talents in the country and also has some speed to him, which was showcased in that 3:53 performance.

Dailey drops slightly in our rankings, but not because our evaluation of him has changed. Rather, he has simply fallen because other guys have dropped more eyebrow-raising marks since our last update.

8. Christopher Collet, Sophomore, Wartburg (+1 / 9)

Collet won both the 1500 meters and the 3000 meter steeplechase in a very competitive American Rivers Conference Championship last weekend.

In the 1500 meters, he ran a personal best of 3:46 which puts him at NCAA #6 on the national leaderboard. We already knew that he was one of the best steeplechasers in D3, but he has shown this year that he can be highly competitive in the events without barriers. His added mile/1500 speed makes him a sneaky-good threat in certain steeple scenarios.

It will be interesting to see what Collet will choose to contest at the national meet. He will almost certainly run the steeple, but he could potentially double in either the 1500 meters or the 5000 meters as he should be comfortably qualified for both.

Either way, his all-around distance prowess and his ability to be a legitimate top contender in the steeplechase boosts him into our TSR #8 spot in these rankings.

7. Bennett Booth-Genthe, Sophomore, Pomona-Pitzer (-3 / 4)

Racing at the College/University 2022 Oxy Invitational, Booth-Genthe put up a respectable 3:50 mark in the 1500 meters, placing 4th in his race.

Akin to Cargile, we would describe this as a “decent” performance from the Pomona-Pitzer star. At the same time, it certainly wasn't his best and he could certainly do more.

Even so, his breakout season as a whole has been trending in a good direction heading into the outdoor national meet. His versatility is amongst the best in the country and in a tactical race, one has to think that he has a shot at the title.

However, the question remains...what will he run at the national meet?

We would not be surprised if Booth-Genthe only runs one event and doesn’t decide to double. When you consider that it’s his first national meet, this will serve as a good learning experience for whatever event(s) he decides to contest.

6. Tucker Cargile, Senior, Redlands (-3 / 3)

Cargile has raced just once since our last update, running 1:49.40 in the 800 meters at the College/University 2022 Oxy Invitational.

This was a decent performance for the Redlands ace, although for 1:49 to only be qualified as a “decent” performance really shows us the kind of season that he’s been having. He still sits right in the front as one of the best 800/1500 runners in Division Three.

Might we see Cargile pull off the challenging 800/1500 double at the outdoor national meet? He may be one of the few guys who could successfully do it.

While he did drop a few places in the rankings, similar to Dailey, this was only due to some guys running some jaw-dropping performances. Cargile could win a national title before the end of the month and I don't think we would necessarily be surprised if he did.

5. Ezra Ruggles, Sophomore, SUNY Geneseo (Unranked)

Prior to just a few days ago, Ezra Ruggles has been having a solid season of competition in the outdoor season, with personal bests of 1:52 in the 800 meters and 3:49 in the 1500 meters. While neither of those marks would qualify him for the national meet, they are still very solid times in Division Three.

Then, out of seemingly nowhere, Ruggles exploded to the top of the national leaderboard in the 1500 meters, running 3:44.90 at the Nazareth ROC City Final Qualifier. He also destroyed the field, winning by seven seconds.

It’s extremely evident that Ruggles is peaking at the right time, which bodes super well heading into the outdoor national meet. When you consider that he hasn’t lost a race in the last month, his tactical prowess seems to be on par as well.

All things considered, his latest performance certainly puts him right into the mix to compete for a national title in the 1500 meters.

4. Mike Jasa, Junior, Loras (+4 / 8)

Over the last two weeks of competition, Mike Jasa has proven once again that he is the main man of the Division Three middle distances.

Jasa finally had his breakthrough performance in the 800 meters, running a wildly impressive mark of 1:48.70 at the Dr. Tucker Open. However, what may be even more impressive was his 3:47 mark in the 1500 meters at the American Rivers Conference Championships.

Considering that his 3:47 mark was only the second 1500 meter race of his career, this could prove to be another strong event for the Loras star to add to his already-impressive wheelhouse.

Even so, as we head into the final weeks of the season, it’s safe to say that Jasa has re-established himself as the national title favorite in the 800 meters. His experience and past history of running ultrafast times is hard to ignore, even if he hasn't been that exact version of himself earlier in the season.

Either way, Jasa seems to be peaking and that's what makes him so dangerous.

3. Colin Kirkpatrick, Sophomore, Pomona-Pitzer (+2 / 5)

Seriously, what can’t this guy do?

Kirkpatrick threw down a wildly impressive 8:46.96 mark in the steeplechase earlier this month, which is getting dangerously close to the national record of 8:43.78.

I think we will see a national record attempt from Kirkpatrick at the outdoor national meet. Even though he’ll first have to navigate a preliminary round, he still has all the tools and talent to chase after the record.

Even though guys like Christian Patzka and Christopher Collet are running very well at the moment, Kirkpatrick is the outright favorite heading into the NCAA Championships. Patzka and Collett are great postseason performers, but just trying to stick with Kirkpatrick is a different story.

He currently has a qualifying mark in the 1500 meters as well, but that double would be extremely tough and I’m not so sure that we’ll see him contest that event as well.

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

Has not competed since our last update.

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

Phillip completed a hefty triple at the OAC Championships, winning the 10,000 meters in 30:12, winning the 5000 meters in 14:26 and winning the 1500 meters in 3:51.

Yet another impressive set of performances from Phillip who has sat at the top of our rankings for quite some time now.

At last year’s outdoor national meet, Phillip had some breakout races that earned him a 5th place finish in the 10,000 meters and a 2nd place finish in the 5000 meters. We’ve seen him be a clutch performer time and time again since then, winning every national meet race he’s contested this academic year.

Alex Phillip is going to be very tough to beat at the SPIRE Institute later this month. Right now, it doesn't look like he has a single weakness on his resume.