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Three Sentences Or Less: 2024 D2 NCAA Indoor Championship Men's DMR Preview
- Gavin Struve
- Feb 29, 2024
- 5 min read
Written by Gavin Struve, edits and additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin
Editor's Note #1: Our TSR writers were asked to produce three sentences or less of analysis on every entrant in every distance event for every division.
Editor's Note #2: At the D2 indoor national meet, the NCAA allows each relay only one "alternate." An alternate is considered someone who will run in the DMR on the national stage, but is not qualified for the national meet in any other event. The NCAA also allows a lineup to replace someone on their relay with a "substitute." A substitute is considered to be someone who will run in the DMR on the national stage and is also qualified for the national meet in another event. In short, each DMR on the national stage will have at least two members of the original relay that helped their team qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
The below teams are ordered by seeding (via qualifiers list)
Predictions are coming next week!
1. Adams State Grizzlies
While they won't be entirely fresh, James Dunne and David Cardenas are as strong of a tandem as any DMR group possesses, making Adams State the clear national title favorites. Dunne and Cardenas have been one of the flat-out best in all of Division Two at their respective specialties this season (mile and 800 meters) and Andrew O'Keefe seems built for the unconventional 1200-meter distance. Fresh or not, the Grizzlies are strong picks for gold.
2. Pittsburg State Gorillas
This is an unconventional lineup, but one that has worked extremely well for the Gorillas, leading to victories over NW Missouri and Nebraska-Kearney this winter. Distance veterans Mason Strader and Braden Zaner bookend their freshmen teammates, Dylan Sprecker and Caden Williams, who will be running the shorter middle legs. Don't forget that Strader is a 3:58 miler who has won a D2 DMR national title before, making him one of the biggest threats of any leg in this field.
3. Grand Valley State Lakers
The Lakers are perhaps the only team that can truly challenge Adams State for the best top-half of their lineup, although they could be even deeper than the Grizzlies in this relay. Caleb Futter may be able to hawk down anyone on the anchor leg as a true sub-4:00 miler and Scott Spaanstra is a half-mile All-American. The projected other half of this group, Patrick Lyell (800 meters) and Myles Rhodes (400 meters), each finished as the GLIAC runner-ups over their respective distances, giving this relay some solid stability going into next weekend.
4. Charleston (WV) Golden Eagles
This is a youthful lineup with freshmen headlining the lead-off and anchor legs. That lack of experience is a bit concerning, but George Couttie is among the best middle distance runners in the nation in spite of his youth and is not someone you want receiving the baton in the vicinity of your team with a mile to go.
5. NW Missouri Bearcats
While the other members of this relay team are talented, it's Nate Mueller (anchor) and Maxime Touron (likely the half-mile leg) who figure to make or break NW Missouri's shot at success. Both are blossoming stars, but neither runner boasts any national meet experience on the oval. The good news, however, is that Riley Witt was on this same stage last year and across their three major distance legs, the Bearcats don't seem to have a glaring flaw.
6. Cedarville Yellow Jackets
Cedarville finished just a second behind the Lakers at the GVSU Big Meet a few weeks ago, indicating that the Yellow Jackets have to be taken seriously as a potential top-half team in this field. Nobody particularly stands out among this group -- although anchor Ramen Felumlee has really established himself this winter -- but there's something to be said about a cohesive group building synergy to the point where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
7. Fort Hays State Tigers
This is a group that, thanks to a strong lead-off leg in Trever Medina and a solid half-miler in Ethan Lang, could be in the thick of things heading into the last handoff. The question, however, is whether the expected anchor, 4:10 miler Grant Bradley, can find the juice to hang near the front of the pack. The Tigers weren't particularly competitive with Pittsburg State at the Gorilla Classic, but they did defeat Nebraska-Kearney in that setting.
8. Wingate Bulldogs
On paper, the defending national champions carry a level of potency that their seed might not suggest. However, that analysis assumes that Hamza Chahid will be racing on the anchor leg, an unlikely possibility given that he's entered in the 5k. The good news is that 4:02 miler Soheil Boufrizi will be completely fresh on day one, making him a near-perfect replacement for his Moroccan teammate.
9. West Texas A&M Buffaloes
It's hard not to like this versatile group, even if the 1200-meter and 800-meter legs may have too much of a burden on them. Aziz Mohamed and Prince Mcabelo are the best half of this team, but they will have to contend with more accomplished adversaries. If cross country All-American Louis Moreau can take another chunk off his new 4:10 (mile) PR, then the Buffaloes look like an All-American lock.
10. Western Colorado Mountaineers
It's not like the rest of the men in this relay are slouches, but focal star Tyler Nord may have some significant gaps to make up by the time that he gets the baton on the anchor leg. It was a similar story last year when the Mountaineers also didn't race at sea level ahead of the indoor national meet and then finished outside the top-10. Luckily for Western Colorado, Nord will be fresh on the anchor leg, something that many of his opponents won't be able to say.
11. Tiffin Dragons
This Tiffin group seems capable of cutting a sizable chunk off of its 9:45 seasonal best. Nathaniel Ondracek and Lewis Cotterill have each run 1:50 for 800 meters while Talel Khalfi has shown multiple flashes of brilliance. Can he put it all together on the anchor leg and run within a few seconds of 4:00 to power his team home?
12. Nebraska-Kearney Lopers
The Lopers snagged the final All-American DMR position last season and a similar outcome seems likely this winter. Payton Davis and Micah Swedberg return for the first-half of this relay, as does megastar Wes Ferguson to anchor this team. And with newfound (converted) 1:50 half-miler, Zach Van Brocklin, stepping into the lineup, this group comprised entirely of Cornhusker State natives could significantly outperform their seeding.
