John Cusick
- Feb 28, 2019
- 4 min read

D2 Top 15: Update #6 (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. Shaquille Dill, St. Augustines (Unranked)

Dill makes his way back into the rankings after he went to Boston and took home a 2nd place finish in the 800. Finishing runner-up is great, but what’s even better is that he ran 1:49.69 which qualified him for the national meet. He currently has the #5 fastest time in the country.

14. Victor Moreau, Academy of Art (+1 / 15)

Moreau traveled to Boston this past weekend for what was essentially a tune-up. He helped the Academy of Art to a 2nd place finish in the DMR with a time of 10:02. He then ran the 1000 which was definitely a tune-up for the mile, an event he’ll run at Nationals in two weeks. His time was 2:28 and some change.

13. Daniel Wallis, Queens (N.C.) (+1 / 14)

Wallis ran at this conference meet this past weekend where he was entered in the mile and the 800. He was able to take home the mile title in a time of 4:19.60 and eventually finished 2nd in the 800 with a time of 1:57.25. It wasn't a hard effort from Wallis, but Queens didn't necessarily need him to race hard as the Royals walked away with the team title.

12. Devundrick Walker, CSU-Pueblo (+1 / 13)

CSU-Pueblo elected for relay events this weekend at their conference meet and Walker found himself on two of them. Walker helped his DMR and 4x400 relays to a pair of victories. It was a seven second victory in the DMR and a three second victory in the 4x400.

11. Benoit Campion, American International (-1 / 10)

It was an interesting move for Campion as he went to Boston and ran another mile. It was likely an attempt to improve his time as they were either worried he wouldn’t make the cut or felt he needed a tune-up before March 8th. He ended the day with a relatively underwhelming time of 4:16.

10. Felix Wammetsberger, Queens (N.C). (+2 / 12)

Just like Walllis, we saw Wammetsberger focus on placement rather than times. Luckily for him, there was a slew of Queens athletes that made it for an easier effort. He finished 2nd in the mile behind Wallis and then3rd in the 800. He ran marks of 4:19.67 and 1:57.26.

9. Rowan Doherty, Simon Fraser (+2 / 11)

The Simon Fraser boys headed to Seattle to sneak in one last attempt at qualifying for the national meet in the DMR. They did so successfully as Doherty served as the anchor leg that helped send Simon Fraser (and two other GNAC schools) to the national meet. They ran 9:49.47 and have the #8 fastest time heading into next weekend (Nationals).

8. Josh Hoskinson, Colorado Mines (0 / 8)

Hoskinson only ran one race at conference this weekend and it wasn’t the greatest showing as he finished 11th in a time of 9:08.58. There’s no real reason for concern in my opinion as he’s been strong all season. I think this was just a fluke and that he will be much better at Nationals.

7. Taylor Stack (Western Colorado) (+2 / 9)

Stack had an awesome conference meet as he was crowned the 5000 meter champion in a time of 15:15.53. He followed that up with a 3rd place finish in the 3000 as he ran 8:47.18. Stack has really come into his own this year and is a dark horse entering next weekend’s national meet.

6. Dennis Mbuta, Grand Valley State (+1 / 7)

Mbuta took home two 1st place finishes as well as a runner-up placement at the GLIAC Championships. He first helped his DMR team run 9:57 en route to a conference victory. He came back with a 2nd place finish to his teammate Zach Panning in the mile as he ran 4:10. He then ran 1:51 in the 800 meters for another gold medal. Simply put, he looks ready for Nationals.

5. Brett Meyer, Fort Hays State (+1 / 6)

Meyer helped Fort Hays State to a six second victory in the DMR and a time of 9:52.80. They were the second team out of the national meet after that performance. He came back to win the mile in a time of 4:09.98, holding off Jacob Klemz of Washburn by a slim margin. His 4x400 team also finished 9th. Overall, it was a very productive and encouraging weekend for Meyer who doesn't seem capable of having a bad race.

4. Elias Gedyon, Adams State (0 / 4)

Gedyon was the anchor leg on the Adams State DMR team that finished 2nd behind CSU-Pueblo. He came back the next day and won the 3000 meters in a time of 8:40.53 and it came down to the wire as he was able to hold off Western Colorado’s Charlie Sweeney by a second to claim the victory.

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

We saw two (unsurprising) 1st place finishes for Panning this past weekend. One victory came way of the 3000 meters which was expected from a national contender. The second win came in the mile where he edged his teammate Mbuta by two seconds. He must’ve read my prediction saying I wasn’t sure he had the leg speed to close it out (looks I was wrong). He ran times of 8:19 and 4:08, respectively.

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

Gidabuday didn’t finish the only race he was entered in this weekend, which was the 5000. He likely helped pace his Adams State teammates in order to score points...but don’t quote me on that.

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

Just like Walker, Staines didn’t race individually. Instead, he anchored the DMR team to a seven second win and then came back the next day to anchor the 4x400 to a three second victory. Not a whole lot to be said for Staines and the rest of the Thunderwolves except that it was seemingly slight work.

800

1. Thomas Staines (CSU-Pueblo)

2. Dennis Mbuta (Grand Valley State)

3. Devundrick Walker (CSU-Pueblo)

4. Shaquille Dill (St. Augustines)

5. Juman Randall (Western State)

Mile

1. Elias Gedyon (Adams State)

2. Brett Meyer (Fort Hays State)

3. Felix Wammetsberger (Queens (N.C.))

4. Benoit Campion (American International)

5. Lucas Taxter (Stonehill)

3000

1. Sydney Gidabuday (Adams State)

2. Zach Panning (Grand Valley State)

3. Elias Gedyon (Adams State)

4. Rowan Doherty (Simon Fraser)

5. Daniel Wallis (Queens (N.C.))

5000