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One Sentence Previews: 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships Men's 3k Steeple (D2)

  • Writer: John Cusick
    John Cusick
  • May 25, 2022
  • 4 min read

Additional contributions by Garrett Zatlin



NOTE: Athletes are listed in order of their seed position. Final predictions are at the bottom.

1. Clement Duigou (Adams State)

Duigou comes in as the title favorite in this event given that he has posted the second-fastest time ever in D2 and holds an eight-second lead over the rest of the field, but the fact that he has raced well on the biggest stage before only adds more confidence to his chances of postseason success.


2. Jake Mitchem (Colorado Mines)

After a 3rd place in this event finish last year, Mitchem has only gotten better in the ensuing year and while he has only raced twice during this outdoor track season, he is still very much a threat to Duigou and the rest of this field given his experience and proven firepower.


3. Reece Smith (NW Missouri)

Smith burst onto the scene this year in the steeplechase, throwing his name into the mix of genuine contenders for the title and after a successful outdoor season, he looks primed to capitalize on the fact that he's one of the more dynamic talents in this field.


4. Ryan Hartman (Augustana (SD))

Hartman is one of the most underrated runners in the country despite showing all of the necessary attributes to be competitive on the national stage such as consistency, improvement and the ability to thrive no matter the race scenario.


5. Jan-Lukas Becker (Queens (NC))

Becker is an extremely well-rounded runner and a fairly reliable athlete, but he’ll need to execute a race plan that plays into his strengths, meaning that he can't leave this to some kind of sit-and-kick race, but rather a more honest affair.


6. Caleb Futter (Grand Valley State)

It’s been a rocky season for Futter, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t be part of the men who are legitimately vying for an All-American bid, and despite his inconsistent season, his prior experience should give him an edge over most of the competitors in the field.


7. Keith Osowski (Black Hills State)

An improvement on the speed front has done wonders for Osowski in terms of breaking out this outdoor season, but the one thing that he lacks is experience, and in a race with preliminaries, we can't help but question if he can execute the necessary tactics to advance.


8. Saba Khvichava (Academy of Art)

Khvichava seemingly came out of nowhere when he ran 8:50, but with three personal bests in his last three races, it's clear that he’s trending in the right direction and that his newfound confidence can be paired with his prior experience on the national stage (NJCAA) in an effort to produce some upsets.


9. Ayrton Ledesma (Azusa Pacific)

Ledesma is another PacWest athlete who has had a very successful outdoor season, but he lacks experience on the biggest stage which, while not enough to discredit him, does mean that he will need to rely on keeping pace with whatever the leaders decide and covering moves as needed.


10. Isaac Prather (Concord)

Prather has improved in all disciplines this season except for the steeplechase which, in theory, means he's due for a notable seasonal improvement and that’s exactly what will need to happen for him to become a viable All-American pick.


11. Bryce Grahn (Pittsburg State)

There’s not much to talk about with Grahn’s season time-wise, but he hasn’t finished worse than 2nd all outdoor season and while those meets were small, they do tell us that he’s capable of racing incredibly well when things become tactical.


12. Ben Arens (Nebraska-Kearney)

Arens is another MIAA product who has times that aren’t necessarily up to par with the top-end of this field, but he's been fairly consistent and reliable this spring, meaning that he should be able to mix it up as long as the pace stays somewhat honest -- a possibility that seems more likely than not.


13. Albert Hesse (Western Colorado)

It’s better late than never for Hesse who qualified for the national meet at the last second and although his huge improvement in the steeplechase is a very encouraging confidence booster, we'll have to wait and see if that is enough to counter his limited experience.


14. Cade Michael (Western Colorado)

Michael is another Western Colorado athlete whose continued improvement should give him enough confidence to cover certain moves while his sneaky-good turnover should allow him to be competitive in certain tactical scenarios.


15. Ward Ries (Edinboro)

Ries has had his best year in an Edinboro uniform and he’s consistently been near the front of all his races, telling us that he knows how to race, but he’ll need to put together a strong racing plan to end up as an All-American given his seed/position.


16. Innocent Murwanashyaka (West Texas A&M)

We have seen Murwanashyaka compete with some of the best men in the country prior to this weekend and his three personal bests suggest that he’s in the best shape of his life, although he’ll likely need another PR to be in consideration as an All-American.


17. Remi Liberse (Queens (NC))

Liberse has continually improved since the start of 2022 with an emphasis on his turnover, something that led to a personal best the last time out in the steeple, but in order to compete with this field, he’ll need another effort like his one at Lee’s Last Chance meet.


18. Nixon Korir (Azusa Pacific)

Korir has some pop in his legs as shown by his personal bests over the middle distance events and, surprisingly, that has translated fairly well to the steeplechase where he’ll need to ensure he’s around at the end of the race in order to sneak into the final or finish on the podium.


19. Jacob Bishop (Alabama-Hunstville)

Our last qualifier is Bishop who, much like the rest of this field, has seen extreme improvements in 2022 and his race plan should be to stick with top group with the hope that he has enough of a kick to sneak past certain athletes.


Final Predictions:

  1. Ryan Hartman (Augustana (SD))

  2. Clement Duigou (Adams State)

  3. Reece Smith (NW Missouri)

  4. Saba Khiichava (Academy of Art)

  5. Jake Mitchem (Colorado Mines)

  6. Jan-Lukas Becker (Queens (NC))

  7. Keith Osowski (Black Hills State)

  8. Nixon Korir (Azusa Pacific)

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