TSR's 2022 Preseason D1 XC Top 25 Rankings (Men): #9 Wake Forest Demon Deacons

It's been a slow and gradual process, but Coach John Hayes and his staff have elevated the Wake Forest men to a level that now makes them one of the best distance teams in the country.

The Demon Deacons have recruited well and have strategically positioned their top scorers to return for the fall of 2022, effectively going all-in for a cross country season that could (maybe) end in a podium finish.

Of course, a lot needs to go right in order for that to happen.

But before we talk about the future, let's revisit the past.

* * *

The Demon Deacons had a highly encouraging winter cross country season, one that ended with a runner-up finish at the ACC XC Championships and a 15th place finish at the NCAA Winter XC Championships.

Wake Forest's pandemic-altered cross country campaign was a massive success. But when looking at their returners, the fall of 2021 was primed to be even better for them.

And for the most part, it was.

Following a few rust-busters, the Wake Forest men wouldn't have their first real challenge of the season until they reached Pre-Nationals, a meet that proved to be way too overwhelming for a limited varsity squad.

Star front-runner Zach Facioni held his own with a 22nd place finish and underclassman standout Luke Tewalt ran well by posting a promising 46th place result.

But from there, things began to spiral downwards.

The final three scorers in Wake Forest's lineup would finish 77th, 109th and 151st, racking up points that would keep the Deacons well outside of the top-10. The rising ACC program fell to just 15th overall in the final standings, an extremely disappointing result considering the success that they had experienced during the winter months.

There was, however, a catch.

Wake Forest only fielded five men at Pre-Nationals. They had no sixth or seventh runners. More so, top scoring prospects like Aaron Las Heras, Joaquin Martinez De Pinillos and Coen Roberts didn't toe the line, either.

So while Wake Forest certainly had a poor outing, there was still so much room for them to be better, something that they would go on to prove in the postseason.

The ACC XC Championships was Wake Forest's chance at redemption. Not only did they need their Las Heras, Martinez De Pinillos and Roberts to return to this lineup, but numerous men from Pre-Nationals simply needed to be better.

And luckily for Wake Forest, most of that happened.

Facioni rallied to earn a 6th place finish, giving his a team a fairly solid, but admittedly expected, low-stick scoring presence. And while there was a drop-off after Facioni crossed the line, the next four Wake Forest scorers all finished in quick succession.

Las Heras placed 18th in his season debut while Vanoppen held his own with a very solid 23rd place result. With Tewalt and Coen Roberts finishing 29th and 31, respectively, Wake Forest had a good enough top-five to take down a few respectable squads.

Notre Dame and Syracuse would earn the top-two spots of the meet, but Wake Forest would still take down the likes of North Carolina and Florida State, two talented programs that went on to finish in the top-20 of the national meet.

All in all, Wake Forest was taking a step in the right direction. While their final four scorers did need to close the gap on Facioni, the pieces were very clearly there for the Demon Deacons to have success over 10,000 meters.

And sure enough, Coach Hayes' squad entered the national meet with a 2021 Southeast regional title under their belts.

At this point in the season, Wake Forest was firing on all cylinders. They had returned their top scorers, they were making progress as a team, they clearly thrived at the 10k distance and from an outsider's perspective, this team was seemingly peaking at the right time.

Just as we suspected, the Demon Deacons were fantastic in Tallahassee. Facioni delivered a huge 19th place All-American result, giving the Wake Forest men a true low-stick to rally around once again.

Aaron Las Heras would post a very promising 74th place finish, bringing strong scoring value to the second position in that lineup. We also saw Vanoppen have his best race of the season, posting a better-than-expected 88th place finish despite being labelled as more of a 1500 meter runner.

And with Martinez De Pinillos locking down a 101st place finish, the men from Winston-Salem almost had no glaring weak points within their top-five.

Admittedly, the team's fifth scorer did place 132nd overall, but that was hardly a terrible result, especially with Wake Forest's top-four men all finishing in the top-101 overall and top-90 team scoring placements.

In the end, the Demon Deacons' pleasantly surprising depth complemented Facioni enough to get the team a 10th place finish. And those early-season expectations that we mentioned earlier? Well, they were fully matched at the end of last November.

* * *

The revitalization of the Wake Forest men over the last few years has been an absolute pleasure to watch. Coach John Hayes has built a roster that has clearly gotten better with each passing year. His recent recruiting class also reflects how high schoolers are recognizing the success that this program has had as of late.

And here's the best part: They only lose their fifth runner from last year's national meet.

The departure of Justin Robinson shouldn't be brushed aside or viewed as insignificant. He consistently played a role in the success of this team last fall. However, this Wake Forest team should have enough pieces to not only replicate his value, but build upon it as well.

Let's start our conversation with Zach Facioni, the guy who we probably have the least to talk about. That's because, for the most part, Facioni has been a reliable top-tier scorer. He's been a two-time All-American on the grass and was excellent this past spring in the longer distances.

You know what you're getting from Facioni every time he toes the line. Now it's time to see who can support him at the front of this lineup after carrying Wake Forest's scoring potency over the last few years.

The guy who will most likely complement Facioni at the front of this lineup and potentially emerge as an All-American is Aaron Las Heras. The postseason standout from last fall delivered strong results when it mattered the most. A runner-up finish in the Southeast region paired with a 74th place finish at the national meet was very encouraging to see.

However, those aren't the reasons why we are so high on Las Heras, a guy was who listed in the "Just Missed" portion of our preseason individual rankings.

We're high on Las Heras because he was an absolute animal on the track.

Last winter the Spaniard ran a respectable 7:55 mark for 3000 meters on the indoor oval before advancing to the outdoor season.

During the spring, Las Heras ran personal bests of 3:41 for 1500 meters and 28:13 for 10,000 meters in the SAME weekend. That latter 10k mark also resulted in Las Heras earning an overall win at the Raleigh Relays. He would later run 13:38 for 5000 meters.

Las Heras was very good on the grass, but he was even better on the track. If that fitness from this past spring can transfer over to October and November, then there is no doubt in our minds that he's going to be an All-American...we think.

However, after Facioni and Las Heras is where things get a little less clear.

* * *

There are numerous men on this roster who could step into the next three scoring spots of this lineup. Of course, trying to figure out which order they'll be in may be a challenge.

Thomas Vanoppen, for instance, was the team's third scorer at the ACC XC Championships (23rd) as well as the national meet (88th). On paper, he should be just as good as he was last fall, especially after a huge outdoor track season where he matched his 3:37 personal best for 1500 meters and earned All-American honors.

But isn't it also fair to suggest that Joaquin Martinez De Pinillos may be better suited for the longer distances? He did, after all, post an outstanding 13:39 mark for 5000 meters this past spring.

De Pinillos was very solid on the grass in 2021, finishing 101st at the fall national meet and placing inside the top-20 at his regional meet. However, it feels like he still has more scoring potency to offer, especially after running sub-13:40 a few months ago.

Could he overtake Vanoppen for that third scoring spot?

It also feels like not many people are talking about Luke Tewalt, the promising underclassman who made tremendous strides over the past year.

Tewalt was solid last fall, but his impact in terms of scoring was somewhat minimal. It wouldn't be until the winter and spring months where he would really take his talent to the next level.

On the indoor oval, the rising Wake Forest star ran 3:59 in the mile and 7:56 for 3000 meters. That latter result allowed Tewalt to become the U20 American record holder over 3000 meters. He also ran 3:41 for 1500 meters in the spring as well as 13:43 for 5000 meters.

He may have only finished 140th at last year's national meet, but the upside for Tewalt this fall is huge. In fact, he was probably robbed of an "Honorable Mention" in our preseason individual rankings.

If this guy breaks out like we think he can, then a TSR #9 ranking may not be good enough for the Demon Deacons.

* * *

Those are the five men who The Stride Report believes will be the main scorers for this team in 2022 -- but that top-five is far from locked-in. There are numerous others, including recent recruits and underrated returners, who could absolutely crack that scoring five.

Jonathan Velasco, for example, was someone who stunned the ACC during the fall of 2020 and during the winter cross country season.

His aggressive front-running tactics led to him placing a surprising 12th place overall at the 2020 ACC XC Championships. Velasco later placed 15th at the loaded FSU Winter XC Classic and then 101st at the NCAA Winter XC Championships.

Those are VERY good results, and they would absolutely make Velasco a scorer on this team in 2022. The problem, however, is that Velasco raced only once last year. Finishing outside of the top-150 at Pre-Nationals not only ended this veteran's 2021 fall cross country season, but also his entire year of competition as well.

We don't know which version of Velasco we'll see this fall, but if he's anything like we saw during the pandemic, then this is going to be a scary Wake Forest team.

It's a somewhat similar story for Ben Mitchell and Coen Roberts.

Mitchell was a 19th place finisher at the 2020 ACC XC Championships, but he hasn't matched that performance on the grass since then. Roberts, meanwhile, was 20th at the same meet, but has yet to return to that level.

And how about the recruits? The new guys coming into this program could make a significant impact depending on who is and isn't redshirted.

We don't have the full list of incoming rookies joining the Demon Deacons this fall, but we do know about a few standout stars.

California native Bryce Gilmore, for instance, ran 8:53 for 3200 meters at the prep level. Meanwhile, Mark Trammell was a qualifier for the Eastbay XC National Championships last fall where he placed 36th. Daniel Winter is another name to watch after running 8:57 for 3200 meters.

New York native Gavin Ehlers has run 8:57 for 3200 meters and 14:55 for 5000 meters while Pennsylvania native Weber Long has run 8:58 for 3200 meters and 14:55 for 5000 meters. Oregon native Jackson Keefer has run 8:19 3000 meters.

And then we have the overseas names...a group of young men who are certainly no joke.

Joe O’Brien (Great Britain) has run spectacular times of 8:18 (3k) and 14:14 (5k) while Paul spect (Germany) has thrived in the middle distances, going 1:50 (800), 3:48 (1500) and 8:28 (3k). Charlie Sprott (Australia) has run 7:59 (3k) and 14:06 (5k), although he will not arrive to Wake Forest until January.

On paper, most of these men have the potential to be a top-seven varsity runner, some as soon as this year.

* * *

How can you not like this group? They are the full package in terms of experience, depth, potential, scoring options and proven talent. On paper, they are one of the most complete teams in the country and it's clear that they can peak for the postseason better than most.

Of course, no team is absolutely perfect.

Wake Forest only has one cross country All-American on their current roster (Facioni) and it will take some substantial improvements in order for them to get a second All-American.

While the bottom four men of this lineup seem fairly reliable, additional scoring potency will be an absolute necessity if this team wants any chance of getting on the podium.

It's also no promise that Tewalt or Las Heras will fully translate their track success to the grass. It's a similar story for Velasco, Mitchell and Roberts -- we just don't know which version of them we're going to see this fall.

But if those are the only critiques that we can find with this Wake Forest program, then they should be in a pretty good spot going into this fall.

Because for as much uncertainty as there may be with a few of those men, our predictions are that Tewalt and Las Heras will translate their track success and that one of those winter-season standouts will return to their former fitness.

The Wake Forest men have been building towards this season for years.

Now, it's time for them to go all-in and deliver a result that will keep them firmly in the mix of the NCAA's distance running elites...if they're not already there, of course.