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TSR's 2022 Preseason D1 XC Top 50 Rankings: #30-21 (Men)
- Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
- Jul 21, 2022
- 12 min read
30. Emmanuel Cheboson, Senior, Arkansas
Ever since joining the Arkansas Razorbacks as a transfer from Louisville, Emmanuel Cheboson has been a fascinating name. He's admittedly had some lows, but his highs are just as impactful, if not more so.
Consistency has been a major challenge for Cheboson throughout his career, something that was heavily apparent during his 2019 season at Louisville. And since joining the Razorbacks, Cheboson has continued that same trend, although his athletic upside has been taken full advantage of.
During the altered 2020 fall cross country season, Cheboson earned highly promising finishes of 2nd place at the LSU SEC Preview, 4th at the Blazer Classic and 8th at the SEC XC Championships. At the NCAA Winter XC Championships, he would earn a modest 63rd place finish.
That was a solid season, but it didn't necessarily tell us anything new about Cheboson.
However, the fall of 2021 was a different story.
A 31st place finish at Pre-Nationals was respectable, but it was hardly an All-American-caliber result and it didn't put Cheboson in our XC Top 50 conversation. The same could be said about his 12th place finish at the SEC XC Championships.
And then, out of nowhere, he placed 17th at the NCAA XC Championships.
Wow.
Cheboson, undoubtedly, has some of the best raw firepower in the country. Not only does his monumental 17th place All-American finish prove that, but so do his 13:41 (5k) and 28:38 (10k) personal bests on the track.
In theory, cross country is Cheboson's sweet spot. The longer the race becomes, the better he is. And when you look at his resume, there aren't any performances that are better than what he posted at the 2021 fall cross country national meet.
Still, Cheboson's consistency needs to improve. You're never quite sure what you're going to get from him and for that reason, we pulled him back in our rankings to a still-very solid TSR #30 position.
29. Colin Sahlman, Freshman, Northern Arizona
Ah, yes. Colin Sahlman. Probably one of the most heavily anticipated names in our rankings.
Let's trying to evaluate the thought process behind this ranking.
Sahlman is an all-time high school superstar. What he accomplished as a prep runner is beyond incredible. He ran the fastest 5k time ever by a high school boy on a cross country course (14:03). He also recorded jaw-dropping marks of 1:48 (800), 3:56 (mile) and 8:33 (3200).
Simply incredible.
However, despite his all-time accolades, The Stride Report has historically been conservative with how we rank true freshman. It rarely happens and when we do rank true freshmen, we make sure not to get caught in the never-ending hype train that Sahlman has rightfully earned.
In 2020, we ranked Nico Young at TSR #38.
Naturally, we would expect people to point to Young's rookie ranking as evidence for why Sahlman should be ranked so much higher. Not just at TSR #29, but maybe within our top-20.
After all, Sahlman has a similar caliber resume of high school results that Young once held. Sahlman is also leaving the same high school powerhouse (Newbury Park) and is joining the same Northern Arizona program.
Personally, I'm very high on Sahlman, but we have to remember that he's inexperienced when it comes to NCAA cross country. Plus, Nico Young's freshman cross country debut didn't come until the winter, six months after classes began. This means that Young had half a year to adjust to the training, the altitude and the collegiate environment before he even toed the line.
And unfortunately for Sahlman, he won't be afforded that same luxury.
Either way, Sahlman deserves to be in our top-30. He could be a massive problem for his competitors this fall if he's firing on all cylinders and it's hard not to be excited about someone who, on paper, is already one of the best runners on a powerhouse program.
28. Abdirizak Ibrahim, Junior, New Mexico
This former JUCO runner, who has run for the New Mexico men over the last few seasons, may be the most underappreciated distance runner in the country.
Ibrahim has been outstanding on the grass, emerging as one of the more clutch distance runners in the country. His winter cross country season was highlighted by an unexciting 10th place finish at the Mountain West XC Championships before he surprised everyone with a stunning 34th place All-American result.
Luckily, the fall of 2021 showed a bit more consistency from Ibrahim. The New Mexico ace earned a decent 25th place finish at Joe Piane and a respectable 5th place finish at the Mountain West XC Championships. After cruising through his region, Ibrahim would end his fall with another excellent 33rd place All-American finish.
If you were to look at Ibrahim's non-national meet performances, you wouldn't think that he would be a top-50 cross country runner, much less a top-30 runner. Although, admittedly, his impressive track times of 3:57 (mile), 7:48 (3k) and 13:32 (5k) could persuade you otherwise.
Still, when it came to the grass, most of Ibrahim's results, while certainly not bad, don't necessarily jump off the page.
But two All-American finishes in back-to-back cross country national meets is impressive. Ibrahim has validated his talent with nearly-identical All-American results and that clutch factor is simply too valuable to ignore for this portion of our rankings.
27. Barry Keane, Rs. Senior, Butler
A personal favorite of mine, Barry Keane is far better than his 2021 fall cross country resume suggests. Throughout his career, the Butler veteran has consistently put together excellent performances and has fought for east cost supremacy in the longer distances.
And after his most recent outdoor track season, we have every reason to believe that he'll be a problem for his competitors (once again) in 2022.
Keane was a fine distance talent in the early portions of his career, but he didn't truly elevate his game until the winter cross country season where he placed 2nd at the BIG East XC Championships and then 43rd at the NCAA Winter XC Championships.
And all things considered, that was pretty darn good!
However, Keane's performances last fall left us wanting a little bit more.
His 10th place finish at Joe Piane was really strong, but it didn't dramatically change our perception of how good Keane actually was. A 66th place finish at Nuttycombe was hardly exciting and a 3rd place at the BIG East XC Championships, while solid, simply made you shrug your shoulders and move on.
Finishing 2nd place at the Great Lakes Regional XC Championships counterbalanced a not-so-great showing at the NCAA XC Championships where Keane finished 100th overall.
Based on those results alone, Keane is on the line of being a top-50 cross country runner. He has shown flashes of brilliance, specifically during the winter months, but his full potential has yet to truly shine on the grass.
But on the track? Well, that's a different story.
This past year, Keane dropped a monster 5k personal best of 13:25 on the indoor oval. He secured himself a spot to the indoor national meet where he finished 11th overall and he later ran a personal best of 28:15 for 10,000 meters on the outdoor oval.
That result earned him a 2nd place finish at the Raleigh Relays.
From there, Keane used that newfound momentum to qualify for the outdoor national meet where he would place 9th overall.
Much like Gabby Hentemann or Amelia Mazza-Downie in our women's rankings, Keane's success on the track in the longer distances is too good to ignore. He never earned All-American honors on the track, but he was fairly close on two occasions.
We struggle to believe that Keane's fitness from the oval won't translate to the grass. And while his cross country resume suggests that we are taking a bit of a risk by ranking him here, we feel like he's a bit more of a sure-thing than some may believe.
26. Duncan Hamilton, Senior, Montana State
How can you not love Duncan Hamilton? We knew this Montana State veteran was talented, but we have seen a completely new (and improved) version of him over the last 365 days.
The fall cross country season was when Hamilton began his ascent to national contention. His first major meet of the season (Pre-Nationals) ended with an eyebrow-raising 12th place finish, taking down numerous top-tier names in the process.
Hamilton, unfortunately, wouldn't excite for the rest of the season. A 10th place finish at the BIG Sky XC Championships was underwhelming and his 59th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships, while solid, wasn't the All-American result that his Pre-Nationals finish suggested that he could reach.
But the indoor and outdoor ovals is where Hamilton went from good, skipped great and went to elite. During the winter months, the Bobcat star ran a converted 3:56 (mile) PR as well as a 7:45 (3k) mark.
And on the outdoor oval? Well, Hamilton posted a monster weekend double, running 13:30 (5k) and 3:39 (1500), at the same meet! He would later go on to earn the World Championship qualifying standard in the steeplechase with an incredible 8:18 mark. That time would result in a narrow 2nd place finish at the outdoor national meet.
Hamilton was one of the best all-around distance runners in the country this past spring. His leap into the next echelon of aerobic greatness was wildly impressive. And frankly, there aren't a ton of men in the entire NCAA who were better on the track than Hamilton was this past year.
Admittedly, we still need to see more from Hamilton on the grass before we improve his ranking. None of his results from last fall were bad, but it was clear that the Montana State ace simply hadn't delivered on his full potential yet.
Luckily, we saw him do exactly that on the track and if his 12th place finish at Pre-Nationals is any indication, then Hamilton should be able to translate most of his newfound fitness to grass later this fall.
25. Eliud Kipsang, Sophomore, Alabama
Eliud Kipsang was a point of contention for our TSR staff. Some wanted him higher, others wanted him lower. In the end, we agreed (read: reluctantly settled) to meet in the middle, putting Kipsang at our TSR #25 spot.
The Alabama superstar was one of the better non-national meet performers in the NCAA last fall. Kipsang secured a very solid 14th place finish at Joe Piane, but later boosted his resume in a much more significant way with an excellent 13th place finish at Pre-Nationals.
And if you still had any questions about Kipsang's cross country prowess, then an SEC title over Amon Kemboi, Emmanuel Cheboson, Mario Garcia Romo, Victor Kiprop and Cole Bullock certainly put him amongst the best of the best.
Unfortunately, Kipsang would falter (slightly) at the national meet, earning a solid 48th place finish which didn't truly reflect the potential that we thought he held. And in theory, that Tallahassee course favored his middle distance speed.
We all know that Kipsang's identity belongs on the track. His 3:33 collegiate record in the 1500 meters was flat-out unbelievable and it proved to everyone that no one in the NCAA held more raw talent than him.
Still, Kipsang has left us wanting more at his past three national meet appearances (across all three seasons). And while we certainly find tremendous value in the SEC cross country title that he won last fall, this portion of our rankings needs to see a bit more success on the national stage if he's going to move any higher in our preseason list.
Nonetheless, Kipsang is the name us at TSR should be the most scared of. His upside is some of the best in the NCAA and on paper, he's going to be a top returner in every field he toes the line for.
24. Shea Foster, Senior, Oklahoma State
Remember when Shea Foster came out of absolutely nowhere during the summer of 2020 and hopped on the transfer portal with some sneaky-good unattached personal bests?
Maybe you don't remember, but if you didn't know Foster two years ago, then you likely know him now.
Since joining the Oklahoma State men as a graduate transfer, Foster has been everything that the Cowboys and Coach Dave Smith could have asked for.
The veteran breakout star was 7th at the FSU Winter XC Classic (while racing for Southeastern Louisiana) and then earned 6th place All-American 5k honors at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships en route to a 13:32 personal best.
Foster would later finish 45th at the NCAA Winter XC Championships a few days later.
As an Oklahoma State runner, Foster's 2021 fall cross country season was fairly quiet. He didn't race during the regular season, earned an unexciting 14th place finish at the BIG 12 XC Championships and later secured a decent 9th place finish at the Midwest Regional XC Championships.
However, Foster would once again come through in the clutch. A 27th place performance at the NCAA XC Championships validated the meteoric rise of Foster. He proved that his prior All-American performance on the track was no fluke and he delivered another highly-valuable scoring result for Oklahoma State.
After running 28:25 (10k) this past spring, there is A LOT to like about Foster. He's generally pretty consistent, is a weapon across all three seasons and has proven to be very clutch in the postseason.
Now, admittedly, his limited 2021 fall cross country season certainly left us wanting more. And when you look at his entire resume on the grass, it's hard to say that he's a top-20 runner, nationally (at least not at the moment).
Still, Foster continues to deliver on his exceptionally high ceiling all while proving that he has a very high floor (meaning that he has very little downside).
23. Sam Gilman, Rs. Junior, Air Force
Death, taxes and Sam Gilman just being really freaking good.
That's pretty much the best way to summarize the talent and accolades of this Air Force star who has been quietly competitive in most races that he has run over the last year.
During the winter cross country season, Gilman was a fine talent, but he didn't necessarily wow you. He finished 12th at the Silver State XC Challenge, 2nd at the Mountain West XC Championships and struggled at the NCAA Winter XC Championships with a 193rd place finish.
After a solid year on the track, the start of Gilman's 2021 fall cross country season did not go well...at all. He was 41st at the Dellinger Invite and 42nd at Nuttycombe a few weeks later.
On paper, neither of those results would have even put Gilman in our "Honorable Mentions" list. But then, something happened.
Gilman repeated his 2nd place finish at the Mountain West XC Championships. And after struggling at the Mountain Regional XC Championships, where he placed 34th, Gilman stunned the nation with a huge 26th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships.
Now, if that was the end of our analysis, then Gilman wouldn't be ranked in our top-30. His regular season wasn't great and his regional meet, which admittedly holds the least weight in our rankings, didn't look all that good, either.
That said, Gilman would go to the track and validate his All-American result from the grass. During the winter months, he ran a monster 13:25 (5k) personal best during indoors to qualify for the indoor national meet. He later ran 7:47 (3k) to beat Wesley Kiptoo on his home track and during the spring, he advanced to the outdoor national meet in the 5k where he earned a huge 5th place All-American finish.
And when you put all of his best accolades together, it is admittedly hard for someone to argue that they should be ranked ahead of Gilman.
If they had a better regular season in cross country, then Gilman has the trump card of being an All-American. If they had better performances on the track, which would be challenging to do, then Gilman can once again flex his cross country All-American result.
And if someone had a surprise breakout performance at the NCAA XC Championships and beat Gilman on that stage, then the Air Force veteran can show a resume of six to seven months of consistent, long distance success on the track that other names might not have.
Is Gilman perfect? No, far from it. His regular season performances have to improve.
Still, with everything else on his resume looking so good, it's hard not to be high on this Air Force star.
22. Patrick Kiprop, Sophomore, Arkansas
We are super high on Patrick Kiprop this season.
We also haven't seen him compete at the D1 level in cross country before.
Kiprop joined the Razorbacks last winter as a transfer. The long distance star was originally at Fresno Pacific before venturing to Fayetteville. And he was at the D2 level, he was a problem for his competitors on the grass.
In his five meets leading up to the NCAA D2 XC Championships, Kiprop won every. single. race. he toed the line for. Yes, it's true, he was facing less competition than he would have at the D1 level, but that undefeated streak needs to count for something.
Unfortunately, Kiprop would record a DNF at the NCAA D2 XC Championships, leaving us with a lack of closure about what he could truly do at the highest levels of competition.
That said, Kiprop would join the Arkansas men and proceed to go on an absolute tear. On the outdoor oval, Kiprop (unsurprisingly) found himself thriving in the longer distances. He ran 13:35 (5k) and 28:21 (10k) that season and won the SEC outdoor 5k title as well. Kiprop would end his season with a 14th place finish at the outdoor national meet in the 10k.
We'll admit, the limited results on Kiprop's resume does make it, at times, challenging to rank him over certain names. However, what we know about Kiprop is that he can get on hot streaks, he thrives in the longer distances, has tons of upside driven by his youth and now has some D1 experience under his belt.
Say what you will, but few men in the NCAA have the same upside that he does.
21. Parker Wolfe, Sophomore, North Carolina
Parker Wolfe had a fantastic freshman campaign. The Colorado native raced well beyond his years and he proved to be a lethal front-runner for a North Carolina squad that was still fairly young.
Wolfe's 5th place finish at Paul Short and 24th place finish at Nuttycombe were extremely encouraging results. While everyone was familiar with his impressive high school accolades, seeing Wolfe effectively translate his talent to the collegiate scene so fast was exciting to see.
Wolfe would go on to earn a very clutch 7th place finish at the ACC XC Championships followed by an even more clutch 28th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships.
It was that final performance that seemingly sent a message to the rest of the NCAA that Wolfe was, in fact, the real deal. If he was able to do all of that as an inexperienced freshman, what could he do on the track?
Well, after running a flat-track converted 7:46 mark for 3000 meters, running 13:41 for 5000 meters and finishing just one spot out of qualification for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Wolfe looks like he could be a boarderline superstar in 2022.
Sure, Wolfe's regular season results don't necessarily blow you away compared to other men in our top-25. However, the youth and inexperience of Wolfe last year makes his performances so much more impressive.
The upside that comes with his age, paired with the lethal personal bests that we saw on the track, makes it challenging to even put Wolfe this low!
He still has to actually deliver on his potential, but we don't have too many reasons to believe that he wont be even better in 2022.
