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It's Early, But The Men Of Notre Dame, Wake Forest & Syracuse Are Winning The 2024 Recruiting Battle
- Donald Speas
- Oct 18, 2023
- 16 min read
Written by Donny Speas, additional analysis, commentary and edits via Garrett Zatlin
Recruiting at the NCAA level never stops -- it's an exhaustive ongoing exercise for many of the most prestigious cross country and track and field programs in the nation. All of these schools are fighting to land the same elite-level talents in order to sustain their already-proven greatness.
When it comes to cross country and distance running, many recruits make their college announcements prior to the start of the new year. And while commitments are by no means finished by that point, we already have a fairly strong idea of where things currently stand among the best distance-centric recruiting classes in the NCAA.
Below, we explained how these three programs have caught our attention in the recruiting space before we even reached November...
Last Updated 9/26/23
Syracuse Orange
Coach Brien Bell decided to make a splash this fall -- and not just in the cross country results. On September 24th, four new commits for the Syracuse men all announced within an hour of each other that they would be running for the Orange starting next year.
And suddenly, the already-competitive upstate New York distance program has an even brighter future.
The quartet of Drew Zundell (WV), Sam Ricchiuti (OH), Ben Gabelman (OH) and Connell Alford (MI) hold tremendous recruiting value which perfectly meshes with the long distance identity of Syracuse's roster. And yet, many of these prep talents can simultaneously offer competitive mile prowess as well.
In many cases, each of these soon-to-be collegiates would actually be the focal headliners of numerous top-tier recruiting classes at many other schools.
Drew Zundell is something of an outlier, largely due to geographical reasons. We’ve only seen him race against his future teammates once, specifically at the Mason Rod Russell Invitational where he ran his mile PR of 4:09.95, just barely edging out Gabelman.
In addition to his 4:09 mile effort, the West Virginia native also ran exceptional marks of 1:56 (800), 3:57 (1500), 4:08 (1600) and 9:06 (3200). On the cross country course, Zundell is still plenty strong, but not quite at the same level as he is on the track. However, he’s certainly no slouch, having run 15:33 (5k) and most recently winning the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational in Pennsylvania.
Even if he doesn’t end up in Syracuse’s top-seven at some point in his career, Zundell's clear lean towards the mile offers nice event diversity to an aerobic-centric roster.
With just a short two-and-a-half hour drive to the northwest across the Ohio river, you reach Dublin Jerome High School, the stomping grounds of the OHSAA D1 XC Championship runner-up finisher, Sam Ricchiuti.
Ricchiuti is a true long distance runner who thrives on the grass, holding a 5k PR of 15:05. He also boasts a resume with multiple top-10 finishes at the state level as well as a top-15 performance at the NXR Championships.
On the track, Ricchiuti has run 1:57 (800), 4:16 (1600), 8:30 (3k), 9:06 (3200) and 9:02 (two-miles). He’s yet to win an individual state title, but he has just as good of a shot as anyone as we inch closer to the championship portion of the season.
All in all, Ricchiuti is a seriously good cross country runner with solid track times who consistently puts out good results. As far as his skillset is concerned, he's an ideal fit for the Orange who favor the longer distances. In fact, it feels fair to suggest that this Ohio native is probably better than what his track times would suggest -- and they're already really good!
Right across town from Ricchiuti is another incredibly consistent runner in Ben Gabelman of Westerville North High School.
Here's a fun fact: In 2022, Gabelman never finished outside of the top-four in any race inside the state borders of Ohio. And so far this fall, the distance ace has kept that streak alive, winning all four of the meets that he has competed in.
That, in turn, has also resulted in a brand new 5k PR of 14:49 on a fairly difficult course.
I’d say that Gabelman is arguably the most well-rounded runner who Syracuse has signed so far this year. His personal bests of 1:53 (800), 3:53 (1500), 4:08 (1600), 4:09 (mile) and 9:13 (3200) highlight impressive turnover for someone who is also a sub-14:50 (5k) runner. That's pretty rare to see at that level of competitiveness.
However, perhaps more importantly, Gabelman finished 8th overall at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in the mile last spring. Seeing him run fast times and showcase great range is impressive, but knowing that he can be competitive on stages like that is incredibly encouraging.
Ben Gabelman's remarkable consistency and outstanding performances in both cross country and on the track make him a standout athlete for Syracuse. It may take a redshirt season and a developmental year (or two) before we see Gabelman enter the Orange's top-seven on the grass. Even so, his talent reminds us a lot of for Syracuse talent, Nathan Henderson.
The final runner who Syracuse has signed is Chelsea High School standout, Connell Alford.
This Michigan native is talent who is at his best on the grass. After all, he is the defending MHSAA LP Division Two cross country champion. In fact, that’s not even his best performance! Last December, at the Champs Sports XC National Championships, he had what I would consider the best race of his career, placing 14th overall in a stunning, borderline elite result.
So far this fall, Alford has raced three times, securing two wins and settling for 3rd place behind an underrated name in Thomas McMahon (OH) and future teammate, Sam Ricchiuti. And just like Ricchiuti, Alford is a cross country-focused runner who has solid track times, but finds himself at a new level when racing on the grass.
As I now reflect on the commitments of these men, I can't help but think, “this seems familiar."
Well, that's because last year, Syracuse also grabbed two incredibly talented runners also out of the midwest, Connor Ackley (OH) and Benne Anderson (MI). Both of those young men were extremely successful in the high school ranks, flexing aerobic firepower which made them puzzle piece-like fits for the Orange.
Anderson had some of the best range in the country with PRs of 1:49 for 800 meters and 14:29 for 5000 meters. Meanwhile, Ackley never ran slower than 4:11 (1600) and 9:08 (3200) during the spring of his senior year.
Oh, and both athletes were top-10, nationally, on the grass at their respective national meets. Anderson scored a 9th place finish at the NXN Championships and Ackley took home a 5th place finish at the 2022 Champs XC National Championships.
The recent signings of Drew Zundell, Sam Ricchiuti, Ben Gabelman and Connell Alford further bolsters Syracuse roster with exceptional talent and a strong focus on cross country excellence. They add high-quality depth to the explosive recruiting punch that Anderson and Ackley made up last year.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The Notre Dame men have, yet again, truly separated themselves from the rest of the NCAA in both the quantity and quality of the recruits who they have signed in the recent months.
The Fighting Irish coaching staff has made sure to get a little bit of everything in this recruiting class such as quality track times, key wins on the grass and record-breaking performances.
Let's begin our conversation about this team with Colin Whitaker, a Pennsylvania native who boasts impressive track PRs of 4:12 (1600), 8:30 (3k) and 9:00 (3200). However, his true strength lies on the cross country course. Last year, he secured a 32nd place finish at the Champs Sports XC Championships and a 4th place finish at the top-heavy PIAA State XC Championships.
This season, Whitaker has only raced twice, but he has wasted no time in leaving his mark both regionally and nationally. In September, the future Fighting Irish runner clocked a 14:42 (5k) mark, earning him 2nd place at the Adidas XC Challenge in North Carolina. Following that, he clinched a 2nd place finish at the Lehigh Paul Short Run, being narrowly bested by his future teammate, Ryan Pajak.
On paper, Whitaker is very clearly a cross country-first talent, although his recent jump in fitness hasn't fully had a chance to translate to the track yet.
Oh, and speaking of Ryan Pajak, yet another Pennsylvania standout, he brings valuable national meet experience to the table, boasting two top-15 finishes on the national stage -- 9th in the mile at the New Balance Outdoor National Championships and 12th at the Champs Sports XC Championships.
It's one thing to be experienced on those stages and it's another to have success when faced with top-tier competition. But multiple instances of productive, nationally competitive racing before his senior year suggests that Pajak has the ability to be incredibly special in the NCAA.
However, one could say that Pajak's personal bests on the oval are equally as impressive as his cross country results -- and they would have a good argument. The Keystone State star has posted an excellent string of times during the winter and spring months, including marks of 1:54 (800), 4:09 (1600), 8:48 (3200) and 14:40 (5k), the latter of which actually came on the grass last week.
With such an explosive skillset, a lethal range of competitive times and the ability to consistently be competitive against the best of the best, Pajak could impact this Notre Dame team as soon as his rookie year.
But...he may not even be the best Pennsylvania recruit in this class.
The Fighting Irish coaching staff seems to have a keen eye for talent in Pennsylvania as Drew Griffith marks the third runner from the Keystone State to be signed this year. Of course, it isn't entirely unusual for the Irish to recruit out of Pennsylvania -- CJ Singleton is already emerging as a key scorer for the Irish in his second year with the program.
Griffith, arguably one of the most underrated runners in the Class of 2024, achieved an impressive 8th place finish at the 2022 Champs Sports XC National Championships. Moreover, his track PRs of 4:07 (mile) and 8:48 (two-mile) are stellar, as is his jaw-dropping 14:21 (5k) result from the MileSplit XC Invitational.
But it is Griffith's course record at the challenging Marty Uher Vulcans Invitational that sets him apart. At the time of writing, he has earned the second-highest speed rating in the country this year from that effort, per Tully Runners.
And it is at this point that you realize that this isn't just a standard top-50 distance recruit. In fact, this is someone who could reach CJ Singleton's current fitness level (a top scorer for Notre Dame this fall) as soon as next year.
The Butler runner, who was teammates with Singleton in high school, has the potential to be a key focal name for the Irish next fall, especially with certain veterans expected to graduate. And if he can be a legitimate year-one contributor, then his skillset could theoretically translate well to demanding courses such as the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course, a venue slated to host the 2024 cross country national meet.
Outside of the Pennsylvania men, someone like Jason Parra seems poised to become a 3k/5k ace in college based on his current resume.
While the California native may "only" hold a 1600 meter PR of 4:12, he still excels in races ranging from two to three miles long. The future Irish runner boasts shockingly great times of 8:12 (3k), 8:46 (3200) and 13:56 (three-mile XC), the latter of which he achieved with a 4th place finish at the 2022 Woodbridge XC Classic.
Of course, Parra has demonstrated that he can run fast even without the "Woodbridge magic". So far this season, the aerobic-centric star has posted three-mile cross country marks of 14:10 and 14:04.
While he narrowly missed an NXN Championship berth last year (individually), Parra will have another shot to secure a spot to Portland in 2023. Doing so would afford him a genuine national meet experience where he can better showcase his elite distance marks against other upper-echelon stars.
Admittedly, some of Parra's cross country efforts are better than others. However, his track times, specifically over 3000 meters and 3200 meters, suggests that he can be a legitimate, high-octane scoring threat on the grass in the NCAA after some development.
We then come to Jack Henzke, a strong option who has a variety of decent marks across the board, although it feels like he is still waiting to truly break out.
There is certainly potential in this senior from Seattle Prep, particularly in championship settings. Henzke has participated in four WIAA State Championships on the track, and in three out of those four instances, he has earned new PRs. That is a massively positive sign which potentially signals that this Washington native has some untapped upside.
Currently, his PRs stand at 1:57 (800), 4:11 (1600), 9:00 (3200) and 15:29 (5k XC), all of which are respectable times. He still needs to find his sweet spot in terms of event choice, although that could very easily be the 3k based on what we're seeing.
But out of all of the commitments in Notre Dame’s incoming group of rookies, Cameron Todd's addition perhaps makes the most sense in the Class of 2024 (with the possible exception of Danny Simmons to BYU).
Todd attends a Catholic high school just two-and-a-half hours away from South Bend. And outside of the logistics, both geographically and denominationally, the athletic pairing is also ideal. One side is a top-level distance running program and the other is a top distance star.
Todd's accomplishments on the grass are certainly impressive. Last year, he secured a 6th place finish at the Champs Sports XC Championships. And just a couple of weeks ago at the Nike XC Town Twilight Invitational, he earned the overall victory in a 5k PR of 14:48.
On the track, the Brebuef standout maintains impressive PRs of 1:57 (800), 4:08 (1600) and 8:55 (two-miles). And while those results demand respect, it's hard to be surprised by those times when you see how competitive and dangerous this Indiana standout has been on the grass as of late.
Truthfully, nothing about this year's Notre Dame recruiting class is all that different from what we've seen from them in recent years. They have multiple high-level stars, a small handful of superstars and tons of depth -- all before the month of November.
The Fighting Irish will soon lose top talents like Josh Methner and many of their veteran graduate transfers that they often bring in each and every year. And while certain underclassmen such as CJ Singleton and Ethan Coleman have been promising, the need for more potent firepower over the next few years is going to be absolutely necessary. That's especially true if the Notre Dame men want to reset their roster for another podium run in cross country.
Luckily, with the addition of names like Griffith, Pajak, Todd and maybe Whitaker, the likelihood that the Irish find another home-running hitting scorer seems more likely than not.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
After this year's Virginia invitational, some coaches proclaimed that Wake Forest holds the ability to be national champions as soon as 2025. And while that is a bold statement, this incoming class of recruits, specifically one or two select names, certainly makes that goal more attainable.
Wake Forest is quickly becoming a popular destination for top prep milers -- and Florida native David Serra fits that mold perfectly.
While he can certainly hold his own on the grass with a 15:05 (5k) PR, it's the middle distances where he really shines. His personal bests 1:52 (800) and 4:09 (1600) puts him near the top of his class as far as speed-based standouts are concerned.
When you pair that resume with Florida state titles over 1600 meters and 3200 meters, the end product is a fantastic track runner with raw speed and championship experience. I don’t see a universe in which he’d get worse after putting him in a training group with athletes like Rocky Hansen and Rynard Swanepoel.
However, more importantly, the Demon Deacons will be able to reload their middle distance crew for the long term with Serra following the departure of a few veterans.
But for as good as David Serra is, one could argue that it is Jojo Jourdon who is the marquee star, domestically, for this Wake Forest recruiting class.
Looking over his resume, it’s hard to find any weaknesses or bad races. Last track season, our TSR #12 recruit put his talent on full display when he ran a mile PR of 4:08 to finish 6th at the Brooks PR Invitational.
Sure, this Utah native is plenty accomplished and has great times. But it's his intangibles that make him such a problem for his opponents. Jourdon possesses a lethal kick and never lets up until after the finish line. It’s also very hard to drop him in most race scenarios as exemplified by his aerobic strength via an 8:46 (3200) personal best.
So far this fall, Jourdon hasn’t shied away from facing top competition. After a slow start, he traveled to the Woodbridge XC Classic where he finished 4th against a loaded field in a three-mile time of 13:57. He carried that momentum to the Bob Firman Invitational where he won in a 5k PR of 14:55, beating a handful of names ranked in our TSR Top-50 Recruit Rankings.
The Olympus High School ace is an incredibly versatile athlete with seemingly no weaknesses. He may just be the best domestic runner that Wake Forest has signed this year and his unreal consistency has him primed to be a true collegiate star in the future.
Of course, for a program that is trying to be a podium team (at the very least) in the next few years, it's Jourdon's effectiveness on the grass that we will be monitoring the closest.
The coaching staff at Wake Forest seemingly likes to grab a runner from Oregon every year. They signed Wes Shipsey for their Class of 2023 group and Jackson Keefer the year before. And sure enough, Jack Meier is the next runner from the Beaver State going cross country to, well...run cross country.
Meier doesn’t have one standout championship win or wicked fast times. However, he has had a lot of high-level races and has consistently racked up solid times in events ranging from the 1500 meters to the 5k. But more importantly, this West Salem High School star is not afraid to run fast in championship settings, an approach that has yet to fail him.
I say that because Meier has set a PR at every state or national championship that he has competed in (on the track).
This fall, we’ve seen some solid improvement from the Oregon native on the grass. He hasn’t matched his 5000 meter (XC) PR of 14:46 from last fall, but we’ve seen him up front and putting himself in the mix at larger invitationals.
This season, Meier has placed 14th at Woodbridge, 10th at Bob Firman and 2nd at the Nike Portland XC Invitational. At worst, the Wake Forest coaching staff has grabbed a great depth piece and at best, they’ve grabbed a diamond in the rough who may be a dynamic athlete for a squad with podium and/or title hopes in the near future.
Foster Shelbert is essentially an outlier in the Demon Deacons' recruiting class this year; every other member of the recruiting class is either a miler or a true cross country runner.
Shelbert’s 15:46 (three-mile XC) PR indicates that he’s not an elite level talent on the grass and his 1600 meter PR of 4:18 is good, but again, not elite. However, when you cut the race from four laps to two laps, you see Shelbert come into his own. That's because his 800 meter (1:53) and 400 meter (48.90) marks are certainly among the upper-tier in the prep scene, specifically the former time.
Take a guess as to where Wake Forest’s DMR was ranked on last year’s descending order list? The answer: 54th! For a school that finished 5th at last year's NCAA XC Championships, that's fairly surprising -- and it's not like they fielded a lineup that was lacking top talent.
Shelbert may not be what we think of when we hear the words, “Wake Forest commit," but the Illinois native feels like a vital piece for the Demon Deacons' middle distance group, especially when paired with David Serra. They should be nice complements to the long distances talents on this team by the time that they're upperclassmen.
While Luke Mussard has shown flashes of brilliance, there is an opportunity for him to improve his performances through increased consistency.
This past track season was a perfect example of that; Mussard only ran under 4:20 for the 1600 meters (PR of 4:14) two times in 2023, highlighted by a win at the TSSAA Division One Large Section One Championships. In addition to his 4:14 (1600) PR, his other track highlights include marks of 1:56 (800) and 9:06 (3200).
However, where I think Mussard really comes into his own is on the cross country course. Last year, he finished 4th at the NXR Southeast Regional Championships, earning himself an individual ticket to Nike Cross Nationals.
Now, in 2023, he has only gotten better.
His fall season has been highlighted by a fantastic 14:47 (5k) personal best and a 3rd place finish at the Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational, losing only to Will Conway (TSR #20 recruit) and the fastest sophomore in the country (at the time of writing), Landon Kimmell.
Mussard is one of the more interesting names to watch both in his final year of high school competition and beyond. I’d like to see him lower his track times, but he certainly has a strong aerobic engine and looks to have a strong future over the collegiate cross country distances of 8000 meters and 10,000 meters.
And frankly, Wake Forest likely cares about the latter way more than the former.
Another strong miler, Grant Morgenfeld seems primed to improve at the collegiate level, currently holding personal bests of 1:58 (800), 4:11 (mile) and 8:49 (3200).
Morgenfeld’s mile PR came at the 2023 New Balance Indoor National Championships...but so what? Tons of guys run their best times on the biggest stages. That makes sense when they're facing the best competition in the nation.
But what interests me is that Morgenfeld ran that time in heat five of the national meet, finishing 16th overall. And while he didn't win his heat, he certainly came close, and I can't help but imagine what kind of time he could have posted in a stronger heat.
However, Morgenfeld’s cross country credentials are arguably stronger than his ones on the track, highlighted by an 18th place finish at the Champs Sports XC National Championships as well as a 14:13 (three-mile XC) personal best.
In case you haven’t picked it up by this point, many of Wake Forest’s recruits fit the same mold -- they are strong milers with great resumes on the grass. This sums up Morgenfeld perfectly and I struggle to think of a better fit for him than the men in Winston-Salem.
And then there is Corey Campbell, a Scottish distance talent who I would view as the main superstar of this recruiting class.
Over the last few years, Wake Forest has had tons of success with international athletes. Men such as Zach Facioni, Thomas Vanoppen and Aaron Las Heras are just a few prominent names that come to mind. And when you look at Campbell's resume, you'll realize that a comparison to Vanoppen is fairly reasonable.
Campbell is an elite miler on the track who currently holds the age-group world best in the mile for 15 year olds (4:05). Combine that with his other elite personal bests of 3:45 (1500) and 8:06 (3k), and you get someone who should be a national-caliber contributor on the track as soon as 2025.
However, the main question that I have is...how good can he be on the grass?
We unfortunately don’t have a ton of data points to work with when it comes to racing on the grass, but we do know that Campbell was the 2023 Scottish Schools XC Championship winner (U20). It's hard to know how that kind of performance will translate to the more-competitive NCAA scene, but over time and with a base, Campbell could be a useful lineup asset for a team with podium/title aspirations.
We then wrap things up with Daniel Coyne, a middle distance talent from the northeast who mainly excels over 800 meters.
Throughout this past track season, the Simsbury high school standout has demonstrated remarkable consistency on the track. He secured top-four placements in 75% of his 800 meter competitions, culminating in a 1:53 victory at the CIAC State Track & Field Championships.
Although Coyne's other personal bests may not surpass those of his peers in the Demon Deacons' recruiting class, his addition promises a boost in consistency to what seems to be a subtly-solid middle distance group over the next few years.
This 2024 Wake Forest recruiting class presents a diverse set of talent that addresses multiple aspects of their roster and hints towards inch closer to their future aspirations.
Altogether, these incoming rookies form a promising foundation for Wake Forest's path to potential championship success.
