John Cusick
- Feb 7, 2019
- 4 min read

D2 Top 15: Update #3 (Men)

KEY

(Unranked): Was not ranked the week before

(#/#):

First number indicates the change in a runner's ranking from week prior

Second number indicates where the runner was ranked last week

15. Leakey Kipkosgei, American International (-6 / 9)

Idle. Kipkosgei is an interesting name to keep here. His range means he can be a top athlete in any event he runs.

14. Rowan Doherty, Simon Fraser (Unranked)

Doherty continued his strong season this past weekend, setting a personal best in the mile with a time of 4:08.27. The time currently has him ranked #12 in the country while he also sits at #6 in the 3000 meters with a time of 8:12.35. Doherty has continued to impress after his strong cross country campaign and he has put himself in the conversation for competing in multiple national events.

13. Taylor Stack, Western Colorado (Unranked)

Stack is currently ranked #7 in the 3000 meters after his performance this past weekend at the Colorado Invitational. He also ranks #10 in the 5000 meters from his effort prior to Christmas break. The sophomore has transitioned well from his 5th place finish in cross country to the track. He jumps into this list in large part because Marcelo Laguera looks to be redshirting this indoor season.

12. Benoit Campion, American International (+3 / 15)

Idle.

11. Dennis Mbuta, Grand Valley State (+2 / 13)

Mbuta recorded another personal best at the Meyo Invitational. He ran 4:07.70 to drop four seconds off of his best time from last year. Mbuta now finds himself within the top eight of the two middle distance events. He’s continuing his strong breakout season and is showing that Grand Valley State has more than just their distance/cross country team.

10. Josh Hoskinson, Colorado Mines (+2 / 12)

Idle.

9. Austin Anaya, Adams State (Unranked)

Anaya moves into these rankings for two reasons. He was 3rd overall at the Colorado Invitational where he ran 4:06.99, which converts down to 4:00.97. He sits at #2 on the performance list. The second reason is because he ran 8:29.21 last weekend for 3000 meters at the Power 5 meet. It converts down to 8:05.20 and is #3 on the performance list. It's hard to leave a guy out of the rankings with top positions on the NCAA leaderboard.

8. Shaquille Dill, St. Augustines (0 / 8)

Idle. Dill remains on this list for now due to his past performances and my belief that he’s a top five 800 meter runner.

7. Brett Meyer, Fort Hays State (0 / 7)

Meyer continues to race and continues to impress. After a personal best in the mile last weekend, he followed it up with yet another one this weekend at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational. Meyer ran 4:04.23 which was almost a full two-second improvement over what he ran last weekend. The Fort Hays State product is a name to keep an eye on as the season winds down.

6. Elias Gedyon, Adams State (0 / 6)

If you believe in converted times, then you’ll consider what Gedyon (and Anaya) did this weekend impressive. He ran 4:06.77 at the Colorado Invitational and it converts down to 4:00.75. After that performance, he and Anaya are now four seconds clear of Meyer in regards to season bests. Gedyon has really flexed his range as a runner which is a big reason why we have him ranked at #6. He was a top performer in cross country, currently #2 in the 3000 meters, and is now #1 in the mile. Whatever he decides to run, he’ll be a threat.

5. Enael Woldemichael, Grand Valley State (0 / 5)

Idle. Odd that he didn’t run this weekend when Panning did. Hopefully he's not injured...

4. Dustin Nading, Western Oregon (0 / 4)

Idle. Still no opener for Nading. I'll give him one more week, but there's not much time left for him to race...

3. Zach Panning, Grand Valley State (0 / 3)

Panning finally raced for the first time of the 2019 season. He ran the mile at the Meyo Invitational this past weekend where he ran 4:08.39. He’s just a second off of his personal best that he set a couple of years ago. This isn’t Panning’s primary event obviously, but he still can hold his own if it came down to it. He is ranked #13 on the performance list right now.

2. Sydney Gidabuday, Adams State (0 / 2)

Idle. Gidabuday was idle this weekend, but we can bring up last weekend’s performance again. His time of 7:54.77 bettered his own collegiate record that he set two years ago (7:56.88). Any chance he goes at the 5k record? It’s 13:41 and he’s run 13:44 indoors. Be on the lookout...

1. Thomas Staines, CSU-Pueblo (0 / 1)

Breaking the British National Record over the course of 600 meters is something that probably locks down the number one spot for a little bit longer. That’s what Staines did this past weekend at the UNM Classic with a time of 1:15.31. He currently holds the number one time in the world after his effort this weekend. He also helped the Thunderwolves run to the #8 fastest 4x400 time in D2 this year.

Rankings broken down in each event (new additions are bolded)...

800

1. Thomas Staines (CSU-Pueblo)

2. Shaquille Dill (St. Augustines)

3. Dennis Mbuta (Grand Valley State)

4. Hugo Arlabosse (Franklin Pierce)

5. Juman Randall (Western State)

Mile

1. Dustin Nading (Western Oregon)

2. Elias Gedyon (Adams State)

3. Brett Meyer (Fort Hays State)

4. Austin Anaya (Adams State)

5. Benoit Campion (American International)

3000

1. Sydney Gidabuday (Adams State)

2. Zach Panning (Grand Valley State)

3. Enael Woldemichael (Grand Valley State)

4. Elias Gedyon (Adams State)

5. Rowan Doherty (Simon Fraser)

5000