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Three Sentences Or Less: 2023 D2 NCAA Outdoor Championship Men's 5k Preview
- Grace McLaughlin
- May 25, 2023
- 7 min read
Written by Grace McLaughlin
Edits and additional commentary by John Cusick & Garrett Zatlin
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Editor's Note: Our TSR writers were asked to produce three sentences or less of analysis on every entrant in every distance event for every division. We will be slowly rolling out these previews leading up to the indoor national meets. Stay tuned!
The below list is ordered by seeding.
1. Hamza Chahid (Wingate)
Hamza Chahid won NCAA gold in the 3000 meters back in March and has only built up his momentum and fitness since then. His recent PRs of 13:33 in the 5000 meters and 3:44 in the metric mile indicate that he has the aerobic strength and the leg speed to thrive this weekend. He’ll have altitude working against him, but his overall firepower and talent will make things interesting in the race for the national title.
2. Miguel Coca (Adams State)
Miguel Coca ended his indoor track campaign with a national title in the mile and a silver medal in the 3000 meters, showcasing his overall talent and turnover, but he is a serious dark horse in the 5000 meters this weekend. He may not have as much experience or history of success in the longer events as some of the names who he’ll be up against, but his 5k PR of 13:36 from April, his closing speed and the altitude advantage make him a clear national title contender depending on how he doubles back from the 1500 meters.
3. Loic Scomparin (Colorado Mines)
Loic Scomparin placed 8th in the 3000 meters at the indoor national meet, but he’s made a huge jump in fitness in the endurance events this year. Similar to a few of his teammates, the Oredigger veteran hasn’t raced a ton this season, but when he has, he has run PRs and proven that he’s tactically sound. Scomparin goes into this weekend with plenty of experience and has altitude to his advantage, but can he use his current momentum to propel him to a top-three finish?
4. Cameron Allan (Adams State)
Cameron Allan has progressed beautifully during his time at Adams State, most recently running PRs of 13:50 over 5000 meters and 28:37 in the 10k. His 10th place finish in the 3k at the indoor national meet isn’t particularly flashy, but his results from this outdoor track season and current momentum make him an athlete who you want to buy stock in. The Grizzly ace is a wildcard this weekend, but he’s one of my top picks for taking home All-American honors.
5. Awet Beraki (Adams State)
Awet Beraki is the third Adams State athlete in this race, but don’t let his teammates’ recent successes overshadow his dynamic talent and history of excellence. Beraki was the silver medalist in both the 5k and the 10k at this meet last year. And while he hasn’t run particularly close to his PRs of 13:36 and 28:12 at those respective distances this spring, the Grizzlies are known for being some of the more reliable postseason talents in D2.
6. Reece Smith (NW Missouri)
Reece Smith is just one of two non-altitude athletes seeded in the top-10 of this race which will be a difficult challenge to overcome, especially as he comes off the double from the steeplechase. However, he has the experience of running this event at the outdoor national meet, a solid 5k PR of 13:50 and a national title in the steeplechase from last year. This display of aerobic fitness and dynamic racing ability puts him in the mix for All-American honors this weekend as long as his legs aren't too tired.
7. Afewerki Zeru (UC-Colorado Springs)
Afewerki Zeru returns to the outdoor national meet in this event as the reigning national champion and the bronze medalist over 10,000 meters. Combined with his 5th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships and two All-American honors from the winter months, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where his consistency and brilliant race IQ don't put him in the top-five. While he is seeded 7th overall and will face fierce competition, Zeru is the ultimate sleeper pick who has been rising ever since maintaining an injury back in January.
8. Simon Kelati (Western Colorado)
Simon Kelati is a dynamic runner with an impressive resume who recently set PRs of 13:51 over 5000 meters and 3:46 in the metric mile. He finished 8th in this event at the indoor national meet and his current momentum, as well as his increasingly impressive aerobic strength, indicate that he can better that finish this weekend.
9. Josh Pierantoni (Colorado Christian)
Josh Pierantoni is a bit of a question mark this weekend due to his absence during the indoor track season and limited racing this spring. That said, his 11th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships back in December and his national qualifying time of 13:52 (5k) are impressive. He’s proven to be talented enough to be an All-American in this event and he may actually fare better at altitude than a lot of his fellow RMAC rivals.
10. Scott Nutter (Wingate)
Despite his 22nd place finish at the cross country national meet, Scott Nutter is a surprise name in this 5k field. He ran a huge PR of 13:54 in this event at the APU Last Chance meet to qualify for the outdoor national meet which is promising. However, his lack of experience puts him outside of the All-American conversation this weekend, at least initially.
11. Matthew Storer (Colorado Christian)
Matthew Storer is an up-and-coming name in the Division Two scene who could be a major superstar for the Cougars in the future. He had a top-20 finish at the cross country national meet, snagged a 5th place finish in the 5000 meters at the indoor national meet as a freshman and has kept that momentum rolling this spring. His 5k PR of 13:54 also suggests that a top-eight honor is not just realistic, but maybe even expected, despite his youth.
12. Elliot Dotson (Anderson (SC))
Elliot Dotson is having quite the breakthrough season, qualifying for his first national meet and running 3:49 in the metric mile as well as 13:57 for 5000 meters. He lacks championship experience as a freshman and will be fighting the altitude this weekend, admittedly making his chances of earning All-American honors this weekend unlikely. And yet, despite these disadvantages, Dotson is an athlete who, over the long-term, could be a major problem, nationally.
13. Isaac Prather (Concord)
While Isaac Prather is more skilled in the steeplechase, he has developed into a strong 5k runner this season and goes into this weekend with a PR of 13:57 in this event from March. The Concord veteran hasn’t raced the distance since then, but his recent performances in the 1500 meters and the steeple make him one of the more well-rounded athletes in this field. If he can successfully handle the altitude this weekend and execute any planned race tactics, then he could be a surprise name in the top-10.
14. John O’Malley (Colorado Mines)
John O’Malley has raced once this season, but once was enough to qualify himself for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Truthfully, his attitude converted 13:58 (5k) time from the Kit Mayer Invite in early April does not give us much to go off of as we preview the outdoor national meet and historically, he hasn’t been the most consistent runner. O’Malley’s success will be predicated on patience as he’ll need to outlast his opponents to secure a top finish.
15. Davonte Jett-Reynolds (Adams State)
Davonte Jett-Reynolds has had success at the indoor national meet, placing 5th in the mile, but he had struggled to translate his dynamic talent to the 400 meter oval until this season. His 5k PR of 13:59 from the Bryan Clay Invitational isn’t anything crazy, but his consistency over 1500 meters throughout the spring months is promising and his turnover could give him a huge advantage in a tactical race, especially at altitude.
16. Steven Goldy (Colorado Mines)
Steven Goldy might be the most endurance-centric athlete in this race as he is much stronger on the grass and over 10,000 meters than in this event. That, however, doesn’t mean that he couldn’t surprise us. His altitude-converted 5k national qualifying time of 14:00 at the Kit Mayer Classic does not directly put him in the top-half of this field, but his display of aerobic strength at altitude shows promise going into Saturday.
17. Caleb Futter (Grand Valley State)
Like many of his Laker teammates, Caleb Futter has historically been an excellent cross country runner and has been fantastic in the steeplechase. He has momentum going from his 5k PR of 14:01 as well as his 8:42 mark in the steeplechase, but his ceiling for success in this event is higher than what we’ve seen so far.
18. Tyler Nord (Western Colorado)
Tyler Nord was the biggest surprise at the indoor national meet with his bronze medal in an ultra-competitive 3000 meter race. And while we haven’t seen quite the same firepower from him so far this season, we could have said the same thing prior to the indoor national meet. His recent PRs of 14:03 over 5000 meters and 3:49 in the metric mile are solid, but his biggest strength this weekend will be handling the altitude and his proven ability to peak for the postseason despite his youth.
19. Duncan Fuehne (Colorado Mines)
Duncan Fuehne was the bronze medalist at the cross country national meet back in December and an All-American in the 5k on the indoor oval, but his outdoor track campaign has been relatively quiet. The Orediggers took advantage of generous altitude conversions to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, making it difficult to analyze how they will do this weekend. Despite his spot as one of the last seeds in this field, we suspect Fuehne is hiding some serious fitness heading into this race.
20. Clement Duigou (Adams State)
Clement Duigou is a reliable talent for the Grizzlies who ended his indoor track season with All-American honors in the 3000 meters and the 5000 meters. His main priority will likely be the steeplechase, but he does hold a 5k PR of 13:53 and has proven that he can successfully double on the national stage. This makes him an absolute wildcard and a sleeper All-American pick despite being the final qualifier in this event.
