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Three Sentences Or Less: 2023 D3 NCAA Outdoor Championship Men's 10k Preview
- Hannah Thorn
- May 24, 2023
- 7 min read
Updated: May 25, 2023
Written by Hannah Thorn, 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 outdoor national meet. Stay tuned!
The below list is ordered by seeding
1. Alex Phillip (John Carroll)
Depending on who you ask, this looks like a two-man race between Alex Phillip, the defending 10k national champion, and Ethan Gregg, the reigning 3k national champion. Phillip has the advantage of having the fastest time in D3 history with his 28:31 (10k) mark that he ran at the Payton Jordan Invite. He’ll be looking to get revenge on Gregg and this time around, the John Carroll star will likely know when/how to respond to certain moves from his opponent(s).
2. Ethan Gregg (UW-La Crosse)
With the third-fastest 10k time in D3 history, normally Ethan Gregg would be the standalone national title favorite in this race, although Alex Phillip changed that narrative. We saw during the winter months that Gregg is not afraid to take a race out hot and try to hang. That’s tougher to do in the 10k, but it's worked once and it may be his strategy regardless of the final result.
3. Matthew Kearney (MIT)
There is a title contention gap after the top-two runners in this field, but look for Matthew Kearney to lead the chase pack. Admittedly, the MIT veteran makes us a little nervous given that he has only run two races this spring and the last one was a month ago. Either he is coming in fresh or coming in not at 100%, making him a bit of a wild card.
4. Max Svienty (North Central)
The breakout year for Max Svienty continues as this is his first outdoor national meet. His 10k national qualifying time came from the Washington U. Distance Carnival in early April, so it will be interesting to see if he still has that same fitness. He clearly showed at the indoor national meet that he can produce an All-American finish comparable to his resume, but this will be a big validating opportunity.
5. Gunner Schlender (UW-Whitewater)
Last year, Gunner Schlender finished 10th place overall at the national meet in the 10k, just shy of All-American honors. The same thing happened at the indoor national meet where he finished 9th over 5000 meters. But this year, Schlender looks like has taken that next step forward and has seemingly evolved into a far more refined distance talent.
6. Jacob Green (Wartburg)
Jacob Green has never made it to a national meet on the track as an individual, so this is his chance to make a statement. He has raced everything from the 800 meters up to the 10k this spring and has set new personal best in three different races (800 meters, 5000 meters and 10,000 meters). There may actually be some untapped upside still within him going into Thursday's race.
7. Spencer Moon (Simpson (IA))
Spencer Moon was the American Rivers champion in the 10k this spring, beating out Jacob Green for that honor. He will hope to do that again this weekend even though his 29:27 (10k) PR is slightly behind Green’s best. Moon has not had great national meet experiences, but he's very clearly talented enough to be a top All-American contender (or even an All-American favorite).
8. Enrique Salazar (Manchester)
Manchester isn’t known as a distance running powerhouse, but Enrique Salazar has been leading this team with his great versatility for a while. He finished 13th place overall in the 10k at last year's outdoor national meet, experience that could prove to be valuable in a field that will likely be fairly quick.
9. Ryan Kredell (Haverford)
Ryan Kredell’s 10k national qualifying time of 29:35 came all the way back in the first weekend of this season. The Haverford standout has been very consistent this spring, even running a nice PR of 3:48 in the 1500 meters at a "last chance" meet. That last performance shows us that he has been working on his speed and could be one to watch in the final laps of this race.
10. Logan Bocovich (St. Olaf)
Logan Bocovich went out west to the Bryan Clay Invite to grab his 10k national qualifying time of 29:35. That time is right around eight to 10 guys in this field, so Bocovich is going to need to find himself an extra gear to separate himself from the field. That said, this is someone who placed 8th at the NCAA XC Championships this past fall and this race will be the same distance as that tremendous top-10 effort.
11. Elias Lindgren (Williams)
Elias Lindgren has had a rough go of things since a disappointing cross country national meet finish last fall, but he is looking to make a rebound this weekend. He finished 4th over 10,000 meters at this meet last spring and despite his seed, he may actually be favored to replicate that result. His end-of-race struggles over the last year or so haven't been great, but this field should, in theory, play into his aggressive front-running tendencies.
12. Andrew Guimond (North Central)
A rookie in this field, Andrew Guimond is making his national meet debut on the oval. Admittedly, the 10k is not an easy event to do that in, but luckily, he has his teammate in the field to make him feel more at home. Thursday will be a good moment for him to gain some experience if he chooses to use his extra eligibility next year.
13. Jack Begley (Case Western)
One of many men who got their national qualifying times at the Washington U. Distance Carnival, Jack Begley has raced sparingly this spring. He ran a national qualifying time in the 5k and was then a double champion in the 5k and the 10k at the UAA Championships. This is his first outdoor national meet, but he also has a sneaky-large amount of championship experience as well.
14. Andrew Mah (MIT)
This is probably Andrew Mah’s last track race at the collegiate level, so the long-time MIT veteran could be willing to be more aggressive than usual. His experience might help him navigate the main pack that he should fall in with based on his 29:42 (10k) seed time. He hasn't always been great in slower/tactical races (see 2023 NEWMAC Championships), but this race should be fairly quick and that is probably a better scenario for Mah.
15. Simon Heys (Wilmington (OH))
After a 12th place finish in the 10k at last year's outdoor national meet and then a 13th place finish on the same stage a year prior, Simon Heys has a plethora of national experience. Yes, his 10k national qualifying time of 29:45 is seven or so seconds off of his personal best, but few men are built to race at this distance more than him.
16. Jeffrey Love (Connecticut College)
After a surprise 8th place finish in the 10k at the last outdoor national meet, Jeffrey Love has had an up-and-down year, although his spring campaign has been far stronger than his winter efforts. A new 10k PR of 29:48 from the Silfen Invitational and a streak of top finishes and personal bests this season make Love one of the more quietly dangerous backend seeds in this field.
17. Lucas Florsheim (Pomona-Pitzer)
While many runners went out west to chase fast times this spring, Lucas Florsheim is one of the only runners who is actually representing the west coast in this event. His 29:50 (10k) mark from the Bryan Clay Invite is a new PR by five seconds for the junior. Normally a cross country star, this Sagehen ace could be peaking at the right time after posting an excellent 14:03 (5k) PR just two weeks ago!
18. Vedang Lad (MIT)
This is the first season where Vedang Lad has contested the 10k and clearly, it is a good event for him. In fact, it was his first-ever 10k race at the Sean Collier Invite where he got his national qualifying time of 29:51. His inexperience in this event isn't ideal, especially with so many veteran in this field, but having teammates who will be in different packs could help.
19. TK Berhe (La Verne)
TK Berhe finished 14th in this event at last year's outdoor national meet, so he is very familiar with the feeling of racing a championship 10k. Berhe is very much a long distance guy and will have to use his strength to better last year's result. It feels like he has a high floor, but it's hard to know his ceiling for Thursday's race despite his extra year of experience.
20. Alec Gironda (Middlebury)
After a long break from racing, Alec Gironda is back this year and is looking better than ever. He has bounced back in a big way as has set new PRs in the 5k and the 10k. While his 29:56 mark for this distances sit towards the back of the field, we think Gironda has untapped potential and we could see a big result from him this weekend.
21. Charles Namiot (Williams)
Brand new to the national scene, Charles Namiot will look to use this race to gain experience. His 29:57 (10k) national qualifying time came at the Bison Outdoor Classic and is a good 15 seconds faster than what he ran last year. If he can keep taking chunks off of his PR and learn to race in a championship event, then he is a name to look out for in the future.
22. Vince Simonetti (RPI)
Another Bison Outdoor Classic national qualifier in this event, Vince Simonetti is only a sophomore with two 10k races under his belt. The fact that his marks over this distance are 29:59.95 and 30:00.44 show extreme consistency which is always a good quality in a race this tough. He also set a new 5k PR of 14:18 at a "last chance" meet, so his fitness is peaking at the right time.
