TSR's 2022 D2 XC Top 25 Individual Rankings (Men): Update #4

Written by John Cusick

Additional edits and commentary by Garrett Zatlin

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NOTE: These rankings are based on how an individual fared throughout the entirety of a season, not just how they ran at the NCAA XC Championships or at a singular meet.

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KEY

(Unranked):

Was not ranked in our last update.

(#/#):

First number indicates how much the team has moved in the rankings.

The second number indicates where the team was ranked in our last update.

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25. Rory Abberton, Junior, Chico State (Unranked)

Rory Abberton has proven to be the low-stick that Chico State has been looking for throughout this season.

He has led the Wildcats in three-straight meets dating back to D2 Pre-Nationals where he finished in 10th place overall. He won the CCAA XC Championships before finishing 3rd at the West Regional XC Championships two weeks later.

Abberton was someone who we listed in the “Just Missed” portion of our preseason rankings and he’s finally come full circle by now cracking our top-25. He’s quietly improved his fitness level from just a middle distance athlete to a full-blown long distance talent. It’s clear that this experience on the national stage on the oval has translated to the grass.

This Wildcat standout could very well help Chico State secure a top-five team finish and prove to everyone just how talented he is.

24. Joshua Chepkesir, Rs. Senior, UNC-Pembroke (Unranked)

We initially had Joshua Chepkesir in these rankings before ultimately dropping him from our list following a handful of uninspiring performances.

But sure enough, Chepkesir is back inside our top-25. While his ranking remains "only" at TSR #24, we’d like to preface his analysis by saying that Chepkesir might be the scariest runner ever ranked at our TSR #24 spot.

The UNC-Pembroke ace won the Conference Carolinas XC Championships and then earned a win at the Southeast Regional XC Championships. That’s the fourth-straight conference title that he’s won (two in the Peach Belt and two in the Coast Carolina) and the third overall Southeast regional title that he’s claimed.

The long-time D2 veteran has also finished 8th at the national meet twice throughout his career and it wouldn’t totally shock us if he did it again. He’s an experienced athlete who has maneuvered the elite fields of Division Two multiple times throughout his career.

Chepkesir has proven that he has the talent level to keep pace with the top men in the nation and with this being his fourth national meet, his experience may prove to be more valuable than we can anticipate.

23. Caleb Futter, Sophomore, Grand Valley State (Unranked)

Caleb Futter just needed some time to get his feet underneath him before proving how valuable of a scoring asset that he can be in the postseason.

He was 5th at the Bradley Pink Classic, finished 3rd at the GLIAC XC Championships, most recently posted a 3rd place result at the Midwest Regional XC Championships.

Futter led his team at the Bradley Pink Classic while Tanner Chada took that weekend off. He was then the second scorer for the Lakers in his last two races as Chada resumed his low-stick role. And based on that recent streak of performances, it seems like Futter is finally putting together a cross country season that resembles what we have seen from him on the track.

The Lakers’ success largely depends on how Futter runs at the national meet. While we have him at TSR #23 at the moment, his true talent level likely outweighs this ranking. If he continues to be GVSU's second scoring option on Friday, then Lakers will almost certainly be locks for a silver medal on the team podium.

22. Cameron Allan, Junior, Adams State (-9 / 13)

21. Awet Beraki, Junior, Adams State (-15 / 6)

These are two of the most interesting men for this installment of our top-25 rankings.

Cameron Allan was the top runner for Adams State at the South Central Regional XC Championships, finishing in 25th place overall. Awet Beraki finished in 33rd place overall and was the second scorer for the Grizzlies.

Those are not great results...at all, especially when you consider how these two men raced just three weeks ago. Allan was 3rd at the RMAC XC Championships and Beraki was 7th in that same race as both men beat some athletes who are currently ranked ahead of them.

Neither runner will get a chance to improve their stock later this weekend (as they didn't qualify for the national meet), but removing them after one bad result doesn’t necessarily feel like the right thing to do, either.

We’ll adjust accordingly after the NCAA XC Championships have been completed on Friday.

20. Matthew Storer, Rs. Freshman, Colorado Christian (Unranked)

Matthew Storer only has three races to his name during his short college career, but finding him inside our top-25 shouldn’t come as a surprise after his performance at the South Central Regional XC Championships.

Storer was the second scorer for the Colorado Christian men and finished in 6th place overall. We were impressed when was the 9th place finisher at the Lewis Crossover earlier this season, although that wasn’t enough to merit a top-25 spot.

Despite being a (redshirt) freshman, he’s shown savvy racing tactics and has the fitness to go along with it. He’s clearly not afraid of his opponents and after the gun goes off, Storer is just as talented as most of his counterparts.

You could argue that Storer’s inexperience might play to his advantage. He may not know any better than to run where he thinks he belongs and that could very well be inside our top-20 of the national meet on Friday if you ask us.

19. Ransom Allen, Junior, Wayne State (MI) (0 / 19)

Ransom Allen doesn’t move up or down in our rankings after his 6th place finish at the Midwest Regional XC Championships.

Two weeks prior to that effort, he finished 4th at the GLIAC XC Championships and his performance at his most recent regional meet confirms that he’ll be a threat on the national stage.

Allen improved his placement from last year’s GLIAC XC Championships by two spots and improved by a single spot at the Midwest Regional XC Championships. He’d later finish 25th at the NCAA XC Championships in 2021.

Given that he has been better this year than last, it only feels fair to believe that Allen will capitalize on this newfound fitness on Friday. He has proven to be a strong racer against some of the best men on the grass and he always stays within himself which will go a long way when the adrenaline starts to flow.

18. Isaac Prather, Rs. Senior, Concord (+5 / 23)

Racing on the coasts doesn’t always mean getting the same level of attention as those who race in the middle of the country. And currently, Isaac Prather has fallen victim to that this season.

Prather has finished 2nd, 1st, 1st and 1st in his last four races. Sure, that runner-up finish was in the “Brown” section at Paul Short, but it was an impressive result, nonetheless. The Concord veteran also won the Royals XC Challenge and then repeated as the Mountain East and the Atlantic region individual champion.

Prather has proven that he can consistently win despite not facing the same “elite” competition that some of the other athletes in these rankings get to face on a bi-weekly basis. He takes care of business when necessary which gives us the confidence to move him up five spots in this update.

This east coast star finished 35th at last year’s NCAA XC Championships, but has appeared to have passed that fitness level in 2022. With another year of experience under his belt, we won’t be surprised when Prather finishes better than that 35th place finish from 2021.

17. Charlie Dannatt, Sophomore, Simon Fraser (+5 / 22)

Charlie Dannatt continues to impress us here at The Stride Report.

After initially being hesitant to add him to our list of athletes who deserve to be in our rankings, we’ve fully committed to Dannatt being of the best runners in the country. Not just in the middle distances, but on the grass as well.

Dannatt took home the individual title at the West Regional XC Championships, knocking off Cole Nash of Alaska Anchorage. After finishing 2nd behind Nash two weeks earlier, it’s nice to see that Dannatt has the ability to withstand another 2000 meters of racing and remain as as a competitive force.

The improved aerobic fitness of Dannatt has done wonders for his ability to compete on the grass. If he can get in the right spot that favors his foot speed at the end of the national meet, then it would be hard to pick anyone other than Dannatt in a final dash to the finish.

The only question left to answer is if he can keep pace with some of Division Two’s best true distance talents long enough to be a threat at the end of a race.

16. Andrew Hylen, Junior, Grand Valley State (0 / 16)

Andrew Hylen didn’t race at the Midwest Regional XC Championships. We expect him to be present and on the starting line this Friday when Grand Valley State ventures to the NCAA XC Championships in Seattle.

15. Simon Kelati, Junior, Western Colorado (-1 / 14)

We've been big fans of Simon Kelati as of late.

Kelati has moved into a low-stick role this season with relative ease and has become one of the best distance talents in the country. Unfortunately, we are moving him back one spot in these rankings, but that's not necessarily his fault.

Kelati finished 10th at the South Central Regional XC Championships and was the top runner for the Mountaineers in the process. In fact, he’s been their top runner in every race that he’s toed the line for this season. We know that Kelati is more of a mile-centric runner on the track, but he’s taken well to the aerobic training that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing with the Western Colorado men.

In races against top competition, Kelati has placed 6th (D2 Pre-Nationals), 6th (RMACs) and now 10th. He’s tested himself against the likes of Colorado Mines and has come out on the other side as a better runner for it.

He’ll put all those lessons to the test later this Friday as he looks to lead the Mountaineers to a strong team finish while trying to secure a top-25 spot in the process.

14. Ryan Riddle, Senior, Missouri Southern (-5 / 9)

Ryan Riddle is another tricky name for us to rank.

He’s been a consistent secondary scoring option for Missouri Southern all season long and that didn’t change after the Central Regional XC Championships. He finished 4th place overall and was just two seconds back of Pittsburg State’s duo of Diego Contreras and Matthew Oglesby.

It’s a bit odd to see Riddle be so inconsistent on the grass in 2022, especially considering that Riddle won every race that he competed in last year with the exception of when he finished 20th at the national meet. He’s finished runner-up a couple of times this year to his teammate Gidieon Kimutai, but we would be hard-pressed to say that this is the same athlete that we saw in 2021.

While a 4th place finish at his regional meet is very strong, we’re going to be a bit more reserved in where we predict Riddle to finish going into Friday’s national meet.

13 Loic Scomparin, Sophomore, Colorado Mines (-5 / 8)

12. Luke Julian, Rs. Senior, Colorado Mines (+9 / 21)

11. Chris Cathcart, Senior, Colorado Mines (+8 / 19)

It’s rare that we get to talk about three of the same teammates in one blurb, so we will take advantage of it while it’s possible.

This trio of Loic Scomparin, Luke Julian and Chris Cathcart is arguably the best supporting cast in all of the country. Yes, Scomparin is moving down five places after his 13th place finish at the South Central Regional XC Championships. And yes, Cathcart and Julian are moving forward after their 4th and 5th place finishes at the same regional meet.

Still, when looking at their seasons as a whole, these rankings seem about right.

Scomparin had not raced since he finished 2nd at the D2 Pre-Nationals meet in late October. We could chalk his most recent result up to a bit of rustiness, especially in his first 10k of the season. Regardless, his history has shown us that he’s a legitimate threat to finish inside the top-10 of the national meet if everything is clicking for him.

Meanwhile, the duo of Cathcart and Julian are having the best seasons of their cross country careers while in an Oredigger singlet. Cathcart now has back-to-back top-five finishes while Julian continues to find himself inside of his team's scoring five, making him one of the most reliable racers in the country.

All three of these athletes have demonstrated strong racing abilities while understanding their objectives. They have proven that they put themselves in the proper situations for optimal success and their race plan won’t change at the national meet. Expect them to cover every move that Grand Valley State makes as that will be what it takes to knock off the reigning champions.

All three of these athletes have a legitimate chance at finishing inside the top-10 on Friday. Of course, whether or not that means Colorado Mines places all five scoring athletes inside the top-10 is another question, entirely.

But if there was a team that was able to do that this season, our money would be on the Orediggers.

10. Dayton Brown, Rs. Junior, Saginaw Valley State (0 / 10)

We proclaimed that Dayton Brown’s stock was as high as it ever had been after his runner-up finish at the GLIAC XC Championships and it’s safe to say that our assesment was mostly accurate as he stands pat here at TSR #10.

Brown finished 5th at the Midwest Regional XC Championships which matched his regional finish from the 2019 season, the last time that we saw him on the grass prior to this fall. And while those placements match, we don’t think his fitness is the same level.

Instead, we think that Brown will be much better than what that 5th place finish indicates.

For what it’s worth, Brown has lost to Zach Kreft (TSR #6), Tanner Chada (TSR #2), Caleb Futter (TSR #23) and Evan Leist from Cedarville who is now in our “Honorable Mentions” list.

The fact of the matter is that the talent pool that Brown is racing against this year is better than the one that he raced against in 2019. It’s also true that he is in better shape than he was in 2019. This is the third season that Brown has made his way through the fields of the GLIAC and the Midwest region and he’s come away stronger each time.

As we head into the NCAA XC Championships on Friday, the expectations for Brown are as high as his newfound stock. He’s been one of the country’s best distance talents since his first season on the grass and he’ll look to back that up with the best performance of his career on Friday.

9. Josh Pierantoni, Senior, Colorado Christian (+9 / 18)

As each week went by, it became harder and harder to keep Josh Pierantoni in our rankings.

And boy, are we glad that we did.

Pierantoni led the Colorado Christian men into battle at the South Central Regional XC Championships which ended with him earning a 3rd place finish overall. While it was just his second race of the season, it’s clear that Pierantoni is one of the best distance talents in Division Two. He bided his time, waited to make his move and seized the opportunity that was in front of him.

The South Central region is chock-full of top-tier talents and we watched Pierantoni solidify himself as one of the best in the country against that field. He was 29th at the national meet last fall and that was after he finished 7th at the Lewis Crossover and 9th at the regional meet.

The poise in which Pierantoni has approached each race of his this fall makes him worthy of a top-10 spot in our rankings. There are far greater things on the line than just the individual success of Pierantoni and he’s fully aware of that.

Expect him to push the edge of his comfort zone as a top-10 finish from Pierantoni might lead the Cougars to their best finish as a team in school history on Friday.

8. Cole Nash, Sophomore, Alaska Anchorage (-1 / 7)

After fending off Charlie Dannatt three times this season, Cole Nash couldn’t quite hold on for the fourth time as he finished 2nd to Dannatt at the West Regionals XC Championships.

The fact that he has already beaten Dannatt three times this fall is a big part of why Nash will only fall one spot to TSR #8 heading into the national meet on Friday. There were some questions about Nash early in this season about his ability to compete with the best of Division Two that we hoped would be answered.

Since then, he’s answered those questions convincingly all while coming into his own as an athlete. He was able to snag a conference title and his 2nd place finish at his regional meet the other weekend is the highest finish for a Seawolf athlete since 2018 when Felix Kemboi finished in the same spot.

Nash has another opportunity to prove he’s more than just a west coast talent at the national meet. He mixed it up with the Colorado Mines athletes early in the season at the D2 Pre-Nationals meet and we fully expect him to do the same when the gun goes off on Friday.

7. Jan Lukas Becker, Senior, Mississippi College (+5 / 12)

It doesn’t matter who Jan Lukas Becker is competing for.

All that matters is that he is a top-10 athlete in Division Two.

Lukas Becker took home the South Regional XC Championship individual title the other weekend, making it the second-straight regional title that he has won (he was 1st at the Southeast Regional XC Championships in 2021 for Queens). After winning that regional title in 2021, he would go on to finish 10th at the NCAA XC Championships two weeks later.

It appears that Becker is on that same track once again here in 2022. The Mississippi College star has made himself one of Division Two’s best talents and that’s no longer something that can be argued. He’s a veteran low-stick who understands how to race when it matters.

We’re fully expecting him to finish inside the top-10 again on Friday and anything outside of that might be considered a disappointment for the Choctaw harrier.

6. Duncan Fuehne, Sophomore, Colorado Mines (-1 / 5)

Duncan Fuehne did not race at the South Central Regional XC Championships. We expect him to be a vital component of the Orediggers' roster on Friday as they try and take home the national title as a team.

5. Zach Kreft, Senior, Walsh (+6 / 11)

When Zach Kreft announced that he would transfer to Walsh from Notre Dame, TSR initially wasn’t sure where to rank him in our D2 list. And while we were cautious about moving him forward with each update, Kreft has forced our hand this time.

His victory over Tanner Chada at the Midwest Regional XC Championships turned heads within the Division Two scene and for good reason. Kreft has experience at the Division One level when it comes to racing on the grass and he got the best of Chada when they met at their regional meet two weeks ago.

Plenty of people may be asking if that result was a fluke, to which we would respond with a comment of, "absolutely not." This is the fourth victory of Kreft’s season and he can add an 8th place finish in the “Gold” section of the Lehigh Paul Short Run to his resume as well.

Kreft is a unique athlete. He has the necessary experience to be competitive with the best men in the nation all while being somewhat unknown to his D2 competitors. He looks to have used that to his advantage with back-to-back postseason victories.

He’ll now look to the biggest stage and see how high he can finish and how high he can help Walsh finish as a team.

4. Gidieon Kimutai, Rs. Junior, Missouri Southern (+1 / 5)

Another weekend, another victory for Gidieon Kimutai.

Kimutai has finished worse than 1st place once this season and that came at the Chile Pepper XC Festival. There’s no real analysis of Kimutai’s racing plan as we’ve watched him push the pace while leading each time that he reaches the national meet.

That tactic hasn’t always worked out for him, but it has left him walking away with top-five finishes in 2018 and 2019 and he’s trending in that same direction yet again in 2022. There’s no doubting the talent level that Kimutai is at right now.

When he toes the line on Friday, he will be as good of a choice as anyone else to be an upset pick for the national title.

3. Afewerki Zeru, Rs. Senior, UC-Colorado Springs (0 / 3)

Afeweri Zeru is one of our favorite athletes to watch race, mainly because of his decision-making and in-race navigation.

Dating back to 2021, we’ve watched Zeru face off against the likes of Colorado Mines’ Dillon Powell numerous times. That’s two conference championships and two regional championships, with this Friday marking their second national meet battle.

In 2021, Zeru calculated the risk/reward of going out with the aforementioned Powell and decided to take the “safe” route. That same thing has seemingly transpired here in 2022, making it four-straight 2nd place finishes for the Mountain Lion senior in postseason racing (conference and regionals). Expect Zeru to make those same calculations at the national meet.

We saw Zeru break through the wall (results-wise) on the track during the winter and spring seasons and we'll be watching to see if he can do the same thing on the grass this Friday.

2. Tanner Chada, Senior, Grand Valley State (0 / 2)

Tanner Chada finally lost a race during the 2022 cross country season and that might have been the best thing to happen to him before the national meet.

In certain instances, we believe that it’s better to have lost once before it really matters than to lose when everything truly matters. And that’s how we are viewing the Midwest Regional XC Championships results. Chada finished 2nd the other weekend behind the earlier mentioned Zach Kreft by three seconds.

That loss, however, doesn’t change our opinion of the Laker veteran.

Since Chada was a freshman, he’s proven that he can compete on the national level. That hasn’t changed and it won’t change in the next five days, either.

Chada is the biggest threat to upset our current favorite Dillon Powell, but it will take a perfect performance for that to happen.

1. Dillon Powell, Junior, Colorado Mines (0 / 1)

Alright, so we’ve finally made it to the end of the season and Dillon Powell is still standing at TSR #1.

Powell most recently won the South Central Regional XC Championships over Afewerki Zeru by 45 seconds. That’s an emphatic end to his season heading into the national meet and it should remind everyone of just how dominant he has been this fall.

We all know how this race will play out on Friday and the only question left on our minds is this: How much will Powell win the national title by? If it is anything more than 30 seconds with the field as talented as this, then there will be some serious questions about where Powell lies within Division Two lore.

We won’t get ahead of ourselves today, but we’re ready to have that conversation whenever you are.

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ADDED

Rory Abberton (Chico State)

Joshua Chepkesir (UNC Pembroke)

Matthew Storer (Colorado Christian)

Caleb Futter (Grand Valley State)

KICKED OFF

Clement Duigou (Adams State)

Ryan Hartman (Augustana)

JP Rutledge (Missouri Southern)

Clayton Sayen (Michigan Tech)

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

JP Rutledge (Missouri Southern)

Clayton Sayen (Michigan Tech)

Pierre Galbourdin (Wingate)

Paul Kraemer (Embry-Riddle)

Nixon Korir (Azusa Pacific)

Bryan Banuelos (Fresno Pacific)

Matthew Oglesby (Pittsburg State)

Diego Contreras (Pittsburg State)

Will Stone (Lee (TN))

Sam Wilhelm (Alabama-Huntsville)

Jack Emanuel (Chico State)

Joao Pereira (Charleston (WV))

Myles Bach (Nebraska-Kearney)

Benjamin White (Biola)

Paul Knight (Colorado Mines)

Andrew Amor (New Mexico Highlands)

Thomas Termote (Charleston (WV))

Ryan Hartman (Augustana)

Matt Steiger (Augustana)

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)

Noah Fisher (Findlay)

Koby Fraaza (Grand Valley State)

Trent Cochran (Colorado Christian)

Souheil Boufrizi (Wingate)

Oliver Way (Wingate)

Silas Eckenroad (Lee (Tenn.))

Drew Kolodge (Michigan Tech)

Emeric Arnaud (Davis & Elkins)

Luke Stuckey (Nebraska-Kearney)

Evan Leist (Cedarville)

Nathan Moore (Walsh)

Joseph Leventry (Montevallo)

Donald Kibet (Benedict)

Gabe Poulin (Mississippi College)

Steven Goldy (Colorado Mines)

Harry Louradour (West Texas A&M)

Ricardo Vargas (Cal Poly Pomona)

Michael Zapherson (Alaska Anchorage)