TSR's 2022 Preseason D1 XC Top 25 Rankings (Men): #14 Portland Pilots

The Portland men, on paper, aren't the flashiest cross country team as we look at their 2022 roster. They don't necessarily have a ton of star power and many of these men are fairly new to the program.

But history suggests that the Pilots will be a problem for their competitors this fall. While they still need to refine certain aspects of their projected lineup, one could argue that Coach Rob Conner's squad probably has one of the higher floors in the country in terms of potential.

And if one or two men emerge as All-American-caliber talents, then Portland may be the last team that anyone wants to face over the next few months.

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Throughout last fall, the Portland men proved to be formidable, although their upside seemed limited at times.

At the Dellinger Invite, for instance, the Pilots faced a handful of talented teams such as Oregon, Gonzaga and Air Force. But despite the sneaky-good field, the Pilots were able to remain competitive.

Former high school standout Matt Strangio recorded an excellent 9th place finish and was followed closely by a supporting cast of Jacob Klemz, Evert Silva and Bradley Peloquin who finished 12-17-19 in the overall results.

However, Portland's final scorer surprisingly faded to 40th place, a finish that sent the Pilots' team score soaring to 98 points, 13 points behind 3rd place Air Force.

While the fifth spot in Portland's lineup proved to be vulnerable, the Pilots still had to be happy about their first four scorers who, as a whole, ran very well. And in theory, that lineup structure would benefit the team in a larger field like Nuttycombe...right?

Well, not quite.

The Pilots toed the line in Madison, Wisconsin with a lineup that was slightly altered, fielding men like Jonas Gertsen and Stan Niesten, neither of whom raced at Dellinger.

But despite the lineup additions, Portland still struggled to close out their scoring.

The combination of Peloquin, Klemz, Gertsen and Niesten recorded some unexciting, but solid performances, going 56-69-79-82 in the overall results. Through four runners, the Pilots had more men across the finish line before a large handful of teams that would end up beating them.

The problem, however, is that Portland's fifth scorer faded 140th place overall.

In the end, the Pilots would settle for a 16th place finish in the best non-national meet field of the year, a less-than-ideal result which didn't properly reflect Portland's fullest potential.

At the West Coast Conference XC Championships, the Pilot men would face the likes of BYU and Gonzaga, two teams that had proven to be formidable opponents earlier in the season.

Portland would ultimately rebound from their Nuttycombe showing, putting together a much more complete top-five. Veteran Zak Kirk, who had struggled a bit earlier in the season, landed a great 9th place result while Niesten placed 10th.

Peloquin, sub-four miler George Duggan and Klemz rounded out the scoring by going 12-15-17, a nice string of results with great support after those five.

BYU easily trounced the competition and Gonzaga still got the edge over the Pilots, 50 points to 63 points. Still, it felt like there were more positives than negatives for Portland as they walked away from that conference meet.

After securing one of the final at-large bids to the NCAA XC Championships via a 3rd place finish in the West region, Portland ventured to Tallahassee ready to prove themselves.

And much like they have in the past, the Pilots peaked just in time for the postseason.

Kirk secured a very strong 52nd place finish while Gertsen had a nice outing as well, placing 64th overall. Stan Niesten would give the Pilots a third man in the top-100 by placing 93rd overall, rounding out a trio of results that left us thinking, "Huh, that's pretty darn good."

Unfortunately, Portland's bottom two scorers finished 146th and 149th overall, creating a scoring gap that likely moved the Pilots back roughly three to four spots in the overall standings.

Still, it's not like Portland's backend scoring avalanched out of control. Two top-150 finishes aren't necessarily bad. And when the final points were tallied, the Pilots had come out with a middle-of-the-pack 16th place result, a highly respectable end to their season.

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As we look deeper into the 2022 cross country season, there's a good chance that Portland will replicate their 2021 national meet success on a more consistent basis. However, they'll likely do it with a lineup that looks VERY different.

Allow us to explain.

Stan Niesten, George Duggan and Jacob Klemz are all out of cross country eligibility, a collective scoring loss that could prove to be very challenging for Portland as we enter the fall months.

Duggan was a consistent fourth or fifth scorer, Klemz was a valuable second scorer in the regular season and Niesten was Portland's third scorer at the national meet.

Most programs wouldn't be able to rebound from those kind of departures over the course of a single season. But then again, most program don't have a coach who is more active in the transfer portal than Rob Conner.

The Pilots are going to be entering the 2022 cross country season with a lineup that will likely be revamped in numerous areas.

Daniel Racle (via England), Pedro Vazquez (via Spain), Ahmed Sado (via Trinidad State and Adams State), Teddy Buckley (via Kansas), Jakob Kintzele (via Princeton), Daniel Abdalla (via Mt. SAC), Henry Mong (via Boise State) and Estanis Ruiz (via Loyola Marymount) are all joining the Pilots with marks that could alter the trajectory of this team for the better.

Racle is joining Portland after placing 16th at the 2020 British University Cross Country Championships. He also owns times of 8:12 (3k), 14:22 (5k) and 29:55 (10k). The English graduate transfer could offer respectable scoring support and depth for the Pilots this fall, although he'll have to fight just to make the varsity lineup.

Vazquez, meanwhile, comes to Portland as only a freshman, but owns an 8:10 personal best for 3000 meters. If he's already having that much success at such a young age, then how much more can he improve in his first year under Rob Conner?

Ahmed Sado, who raced for Adams State and then Trinidad State JC, was an All-American at the Division Two level, finishing 18th overall at the 2021 cross country national meet and placing 8th in the mile at the indoor national meet. He would later go on to run a 4:04 altitude-converted mile mark as well as 14:07 (5k) and 8:52 (steeple).

There is clear evidence that Sado can be a realistic scorer for Portland this fall. However, trying to figure out where in their top-seven he fits in is our biggest uncertainty. But if he continues to build upon these promising performances, then he could have excellent scoring value.

Jakob Kintzele may end up being the most underrated pickup of this entire group. The former Princeton runner had a very promising regular season during the fall of 2021. He was 63rd at Pre-Nationals, 5th at the Ivy League XC Championships and then 5th in the Mid-Atlantic region. Yes, he did struggle a bit at the national meet, placing 171st overall, but his performances on the track are what really caught our attention,

Kintzele went on to run 28:55 for 10,000 meters back in May and then improved upon that mark even further by running 28:47 at the Portland Track Festival, unattached.

This soon-to-be Pilot has already proven that he can be a very strong contributor for most top-tier NCAA teams on the grass. However, if his 10k performances are any indication of what he can do later this fall, then Kintzele will significantly improve this already-deep roster.

Henry Mong also deserves some attention. The former Boise State runner has run 4:04 in the mile and 8:08 for 3000 meters, very solid marks that show plenty of promise. Mong emerged as a scorer for the Broncos over the last few cross country seasons, although his talent may be best utilized on the track.

It's a similar story for Teddy Buckley. The former Kansas runner has a decent 3k time of 8:11, but will need to develop over time in order to make a true splash on this team.

Even so, additional depth never hurt anyone.

How about Daniel Abdalla? The former JUCO standout could be lethal for the Pilots this fall.

The former Mt. SAC runner posted excellent times of 13:58 (5k) and 29:19 (10k) this past spring. And on the grass, Abdala ripped off three-straight wins to cap his JUCO cross country season, ultimately winning the California Community College Athletic Association XC State Championships.

History suggests that Abdala will thrive under Coach Rob Conner who has developed his fair share of international stars and JUCO standouts. Not only that, but Abdala's momentum is sky-high right now, something that could exponentially grow stronger in a program that perfectly favors his strengths and skillset.

Of course, we can't talk about new Portland transfers and not mention Estanis Ruiz. The former Loyola Marymount superstar had an unbelievable breakout track season this past spring, running 8:29 in the steeplechase and advancing to the finals at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

What Ruiz did this past spring was mind-boggling, mainly because he had never done anything to suggest that he was going to make that jump.

Now, as we enter the 2022 cross country season, we're left wondering just how good this incoming transfer will be. An 8:29 steeple mark will absolutely translate to Ruiz being a scorer, but where in this Portland lineup will Ruiz settle in?

A backend scorer? A middle-lineup contributor? A true low-stick? An All-American?

We're not entirely sure what his role will be, but we do know that he will make a noticeable impact for Portland this fall.

There's one additional name who we haven't even mentioned yet: Isaac McGill.

The Class of 2022 high school graduate from the state of Texas has credentials that put him amongst some of the more valuable recruits in the country.

McGill has run 9:00 for 3200 meters and 14:48 for 5000 meters on the track. Not only that, but he was also the runner-up finisher at the 2021 Texas State XC Championships after placing 9th the year prior.

On a roster loaded with elite depth and high-upside distance talents, we're not expecting McGill to toe the line in Portland's top-seven this fall...but it's not an unrealistic scenario, either.

By this point in the article, you're probably exhausted from reading through all of those names. But let's not forget, those are just the new guys who are coming into this program.

We haven't even talked about the returners yet.

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Bradley Peloquin could be very good for the Pilots later this fall. He had a breakout season of sorts in 2021, finishing 19th at the Dellinger Invite, 56th at Nuttycombe and 12th at the West Coast Conference XC Championships.

Peloquin wasn't amazing in the postseason, but he proved to be a fairly reliable scorer leading up to the regional and national meets. After running 13:58 (5k) and 29:02 (10k) earlier this year, the long-time Pilot has now matured as a runner and has taken a big step upwards in terms of his overall fitness.

However, the real test will be seeing how much better he can be over the next few months as Portland searches for greater scoring potency at the top of their lineup.

Then there is Matt Strangio, a personal favorite here at The Stride Report.

The Ohio native has done well with the Pilots over these last few years, but we think he has yet to reach his full potential. On the grass, he was Portland's top scorer at the Dellinger Invite, placing 9th overall, but the rest of his season left us wanting more. Luckily, Strangio went on to run 3:58 (mile), 3:39 (1500), 8:00 (3k) and 13:57 (5k) earlier this year.

We know that Strangio has far greater potential on the grass than what he showed us last fall. In fact, we believe that he could end up being Portland's top runner this fall -- something we would almost never say about anyone who didn't even make the team's national meet lineup last year.

We also can't forget about Zak Kirk, a true veteran of NCAA cross country who has provided great scoring value and steadiness over the last few seasons.

The former Eastern Kentucky runner struggled a bit in the 2021 regular season, but rallied incredibly well in the postseason, placing 9th at the West Coast Conference XC Championships and then 52nd at the national meet, just 12 spots out from All-American honors.

We admittedly don't know what Kirk's ceiling is as a scorer -- maybe he's already hit it.

But what we do know is that in the meets that matter the most, Kirk will always deliver a result that you can be happy about. Reliability on the grass is a huge aspect that is often overlooked.

After all, this is the same guy who finished 60th at the winter cross country national meet in March of 2021.

We also need to highlight Jonas Gertsen, the Danish distance runner who was phenomenal as a redshirt freshman last fall. On paper, he didn't jump out and wow us last fall, but he also didn't need to.

Gertsen was the team's third scorer at Nuttycombe (79th) and the team's second scorer at the national meet (64th). And although we haven't seen him race outside of that lone cross country season, the potential he brings to the table by virtue of his youth is exciting to think about.

But even if Gertsen simply reproduces the exact same results that we saw from him in 2021, then that will still be huge. In a lineup filled with unknowns, having a consistent and reliable scorer in the upper-half of this top-seven brings stability that not all teams can say they have.

And if he does get better? Well, if that happens, then maybe Portland has found their newest low-stick and All-American threat.

There's one more name who we need to mention: Cathal Doyle.

The Stride Report is anticipating that this Irish standout and redshirt senior is returning this semester. Although he didn't race in the fall of 2021, Doyle did compete on the grass during the altered winter season, finishing 118th at the national meet, a result that would have comfortably made him a scorer in November of last year.

However, there's good reason to believe that Doyle will be noticeably better on the grass should he actually toe the line this fall.

After a monster year on the track, running times of 1:49 (800), 3:38 (1500) and 13:38 (5k), Doyle could be primed for a huge cross country season as long as his performances on the oval effectively translate to the grassy terrain.

If Doyle does deliver on this exciting new potential, then having Portland ranked at TSR #14 will, in retrospect, be almost insulting.

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We could try to detail a handful of other key men such as Justin Hazell, Leo Donlea, Jona Bodirsky and Eliason Kabasenche, but that analysis wouldn't change the obvious theme of this article which is that Portland has depth. Tons of it.

It feels like there are 15 men who could realistically challenge for a top-seven spot this fall. The number of scoring options and lineup combinations that Coach Rob Conner could assemble is mind-boggling.

So...why TSR #14? Why not higher?

Admittedly, Portland didn't really wow us last year. Their regular season left us wanting more and their best race of the season was a 16th place finish at the national meet, two spots lower than where they are ranked this summer (although power rankings and national meet finishes aren't always correlated).

The Pilots lose three high-impact scorers, have no proven low-sticks and we have zero idea which of their new guys will actually deliver on the potential that they've shown on the track.

But this is Portland we're talking about. Coach Rob Conner has almost always had his best teams peak in the postseason and he has produced numerous All-Americans before.

And as we look ahead to the 2022 cross country season, it seems fair to say that this group has the rare high-floor, high-ceiling combo which will be tough for other teams to counter later this fall.