TSR's 2022 Preseason D1 XC Top 25 Rankings (Men): #25 Villanova Wildcats

When it comes to cross country, the Villanova men aren't always the flashiest team.

But they don't have to be.

Every year, the Wildcats put together solid lineup after solid lineup. They are (usually) pretty consistent, typically have a standout name and, historically, probably fall behind only Ole Miss when it comes to translating mile success to the grass.

And in 2022, we have no reason to believe that they will be any different.

* * *

The fall of 2021 was a weird season for Villanova, at least from our perspective.

The Wildcats were always competitive, but the fields that they faced were somewhat limited and they always seemed to be just a few points short of a key finish over a certain team.

After an early-season rust-buster, Villanova's first test of the 2021 cross country season was the Paul Short Invite. There, they would face an up-and-coming North Carolina team and what would turn out to be a much better Princeton squad than some people realized at the time. The Utah State men, a group that was fantastic during the winter months, were also in this race.

The dynamic duo of Josh Phillips and Haftu Strintzos would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in the overwhelmingly large field. That scoring potency was huge as only Utah State, a team that had finished 4th in the team standings, could match the firepower that the Wildcats had.

With Charlie O'Donovan securing a pleasantly surprising 7th place finish, it seemed like Villanova was going to ultimately take home the win. However, with their final two scorers placing 16th and 29th, the Wildcats just barely lost to the UNC Tar Heels.

By how much, you ask?

One singular point.

If a single stride (or two) had gone differently, then Villanova takes home the win. O'Donovan and Parker Wolfe, for instance, were separated by less than a second. The same could be said for Liam Murphy and Will Coogan.

Despite the runner-up result, Villanova still had a ton to be happy about. Phillips suddenly looked like a true low-stick in a top-heavy field, Strintzos was great as expected and O'Donovan gave his team a legitimate top-three.

And with so much optimism surrounding UNC, coming within one point of that squad had to be a confidence booster for the distance group based on the outskirts of Philadelphia.

We also can't forget that they beat regional rival Princeton as well as Utah State.

Villanova would eventually head to the Princeton XC Invitational, but their competition was admittedly nothing like what they faced at Paul Short. The Wildcats didn't have Phillips or O'Donovan and when the final results were tallied, they had four men in the top-10, five men in the top-12 and six men in the top-13.

Then the BIG East XC Championships arrived.

Facing the likes of Georgetown, Butler and Providence, the Villanova men were positioned to go after a conference title or, at the very least, earn a runner-up finish.

However, Butler had the best race of their season, delivering on their full potential and bringing home the BIG East crown in fairly comfortable fashion. They scored just 35 points.

And Villanova? Well, they didn't even earn silver.

Instead, it was Georgetown that finished ahead of the Wildcats, forcing them to finish 3rd.

Strintzos' runner-up result was excellent, but that was what we expected of him. Jack Jennings also had a surprisingly great finish, placing 10th after a poor outing at the Princeton XC Invitational.

But then things fell apart. O'Donovan faltered to 15th place in a field that was largely no better than the one he faced at Paul Short. Usual backend contributor Justin Weber was the team's fourth scorer in 16th place while Ryan Cutter placed 20th to close out the scoring.

Josh Phillips, the breakout star from Paul Short, placed 21st.

There was no way to sugarcoat Villanova's conference meet performance.

In comparison to a meet like Paul Short, it was bad.

At the Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Championships, the Villanova men would aim to rebound from their BIG East showing. Once there, Strintzos would earn yet another runner-up result while Jennings would continue to build on his breakout postseason campaign, placing 9th overall and earning a national qualifying spot.

Josh Phillips would rebound from his BIG East performance with a 12th place finish, although his Paul Short race was still the best result of his season. The same could be said about Charlie O'Donovan who placed 14th overall to end his season.

Liam Murphy closed out the scoring with a 20th place finish.

In the end, Villanova would score 57 points, just eight points behind the Georgetown men and 17 points behind the regional winners, Princeton.

A 3rd place team finish at the Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Championships likely stung, but there was a silver lining. At the national meet, Strintzos would go on to place 9th overall while second-year freshman Jack Jennings placed a fantastic 73rd place overall. Josh Phillips would also qualify for the national meet, but he would settle for a 167th place finish.

* * *

As you can see, trying to properly analyze Villanova's up-and-down 2021 season is a challenge. They were excellent at Paul Short, but didn't do much else during the rest of the regular season. Then, in the postseason, they were underwhelming at the BIG East XC Championships before rebounding (slightly) at the Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Championships.

But here's the thing: As a collective whole, this team looks really dangerous.

Allow me to explain.

We could sit here and talk about how great Haftu Strintzos is, but we already know all about him. He's a name who was listed in the top-10 of our individual rankings and he never fell outside of the top-three in any race last fall until the national meet.

Instead, it's everyone else who, on their best days, could put together one of the better cross country lineups in the NCAA.

Despite being a second-year freshman, Jack Jennings was outstanding in the postseason last fall. He got better with each meet and appeared to be at the caliber of a few front-runners from other top teams when he was on the national stage.

Not only that, but Jennings also threw down strong times this past winter and spring, running 8:03 (3k) and 14:00 (5k) on the track. If he continues his progression -- and we don't know why he wouldn't -- then he'll be another low-stick for this Villanova team in the fall of 2022.

Then there is long-time veteran Josh Phillips. The end of his fall season, while not necessarily awful, wasn't great, either. Even so, his Paul Short performance was outstanding. That runner-up result against squads like North Carolina, Princeton, Utah State and even his own team was extremely impressive.

Much like Jennings, Phillips also thrived on the track. He ran a 7:58 personal best for 3000 meters and ran under the eight-minute barrier three different times this past winter. Phillips also ran 13:49 for 5000 meters, although his 13:48 PR still stands from the spring of 2021.

Charlie O'Donovan, who is predominately known as a miler, also held his own last fall. Like Phillips, his best race during the 2021 cross country season came at Paul Short, but the potential that he has shown on the grass is exciting.

Running 3:57, 3:58 and 3:59 in the mile during the following indoor track season doesn't hurt, either.

Liam Murphy, another second-year freshman, didn't have the year that Jennings did. However, he did provide sneaky-good value. Placing 16th at Paul Short is a very respectable result for someone who was as inexperienced as he was. A 20th place finish at the Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Championships is also far from bad.

And after running 3:59 in the mile and 8:07 in the 3000 meters this past winter, Murphy is very clearly taking a step up in his fitness. Youth is still driving his improvement and that will likely be reflected in this upcoming cross country season.

On paper, I just listed five men who could put together a cohesive and highly effective lineup. No, they won't be perfect, but if everyone runs their best on the same day, then Villanova could win their conference, win their region and earn a top-20 finish at the national meet.

However, we do have to acknowledge one thing.

Everything I just said is a very big "if".

* * *

At The Stride Report, we really like Villanova. Individually, each of the five men who I listed above have proven that they can be highly effective scorers for most Division One programs.

The problem, however, is their consistency. This team just couldn't put it altogether on the same day last year. Their effort at Paul Short was outstanding, but Jennings had yet to reach the peak of his powers. And when he did rally in the postseason, the rest of the team faltered ever so slightly.

In 2022, everyone on this team has to run well on the same day. If everyone is able to race at (or near) their fullest potential, then it will be hard for any conference or regional rival to upend the Wildcats.

However, if just one name falters, then Villanova could be vulnerable to some excessive scoring. And according to TFRRS, backend lineup contributors like Justin Weber, Ryan Cutter, Nick Steele and Paul Nichols are all gone.

This means that based strictly on last year's lineup, there is absolutely ZERO room for error within Villanova's top-five this fall.

Luckily, reinforcements are on the way.

The Wildcats will be adding one of the best recruits in the country to their roster this fall.

Recent high school graduate Marco Langon has emerged as one of the most elite young distance runners in the nation. The New Jersey native ran other-worldly times of 4:04 in the mile and 8:48 for 3200 meters this past year. He also finished a phenomenal 9th place overall at the Eastbay XC National Championships last fall.

Langon is a true juggernaut talent who may not have gained the proper attention that he deserved in a nationwide group of incoming freshmen that was extremely deep at the highest levels of competition.

Now, admittedly, Coach Marcus O'Sullivan hasn't been afraid to redshirt some of his incoming freshmen in the past. In fact, that's a fairly common occurrence within this program.

Even so, given the limited depth that this team has, it may be in Villanova's best interest to field their superstar rookie once he steps foot on campus.

But wait, there's more!

The Villanova men are also adding graduate transfer Evan Addison to their roster, a strong steeplechase talent from the University of Pittsburgh.

The 8:44 steeplechaser has also run 4:03 in the mile and has a few respectable results scattered throughout his resume. However, the grass has produced less acclaim for the former Pitt runner than the track has.

Last fall, the incoming Villanova runner finished 69th at the Joe Piane Invitational, 12th at the Penn State National Open and 34th at the Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Championships.

Those were fine results, but Addison will need to make noticeable improvements this fall if he's going to offer reliable scoring insurance at the backend of this lineup. He doesn't need to be a star, he just needs to be enough.

And after an outdoor track season where he ran 8:44 in the steeplechase, we think he'll be exactly that...and maybe a little more.

* * *

When it comes to Villanova, we actually have less questions about this team than we do with most other programs in this portion of our rankings. We know what most of their lineup is capable of and we also know what their range of possible outcomes is.

Yes, it's true, trying to get their top-five to deliver their best results on the same day is hardly a guarantee, and that makes the Wildcats a bit of a risky team at this spot in our rankings.

But still, their depth shouldn't be too big of an issue with the introduction of Langon and Addison. Heck, they might even have additional impact names who we simply aren't aware of!

Jennings and Murphy should continue to improve as they get older, standout milers like Sean Dolan and Sean Donoghue could make the jump up to be effective cross country runners and the potential firepower of this team at their absolute best is way too good to leave out of our top-25 rankings.

Georgetown will absolutely create some challenges for this team over the next few months. However, in a year where both the BIG East and the Mid-Atlantic region seem to be in a reloading period, the 2022 cross country season will be Villanova's time to shine.