TSR's 2023 D1 Outdoor Top 25 Individual Rankings (Men): Update #1

Written by Garrett Zatlin & John Cusick

---

Do you have an interest in writing for The Stride Report? We're looking for high school coverage writers and potentially NAIA coverage writers. Want to know more? Read this and send us an email at contact@thestridereport.com to let us know!

---

Click here to see our Just Missed and Honorable Mention names.

Listed eligibility takes redshirts and Covid-related extensions into consideration.

TFRRS is used as a general guide when determining eligibility.

---

NOTE: Because we are in a new season, we are treating this week's rankings update as a new series of top-25 names. Therefore, we are not indicating any movement from our winter lists.

---

25. Ed Trippas, Senior, Washington

The Stanford Invitational was Ed Trippas’ first official track race as a Washington Husky and his first collegiate race on the track in nearly a year. Naturally, there was some rust for the steeplechase star.

Trippas posted a mark of 8:40 for the steeplechase two weekends ago which landed him a 4th place finish in the event behind Kenneth Rooks, Jordan Macintosh and Joel Mendez.

We certainly would have liked to see a stronger opener from Trippas, but knowing that he’s run 8:20 for the event doesn’t have us immediately concerned. Combining that knowledge with the fact that he’s risen to the occasion on the national stage ultimately keeps Trippas inside our top-25 to start the spring months.

24. Matthew Wilkinson, Senior, Minnesota

Matthew Wilkinson has raced two times during this outdoor track season, posting marks of 8:29 for the steeplechase and 3:48 for 1500 meters.

Both of those times are four seconds off of his personal best in each respective event. That's important to note because it’s only April and usually, some rust is implied, especially when you haven’t (officially) raced on the track in nearly a year as Wilkinson has.

And when you tack on his 13:35 (5k) PR, there is enough value on his resume for him to crack the top-25 portion of our rankings.

It’s also worth noting that Wilkinson’s steeplechase time is the fastest in the country (collegiately) as of right now. Sure, there will be faster marks as we approach May, but there’s a reality where Wilkinson runs faster than his 8:25 (steeplechase) personal best and becomes a legitimate national title threat in the event.

23. Ryan Schoppe, Sophomore, Oklahoma State

Ryan Schoppe has not yet competed this season.

Yes, he is dropping in our rankings after a successful indoor track campaign, but that's for a variety of reasons. Between the introduction of 10k specialists, the introduction of steeplechase specialists and the return of athletes with only outdoor track eligibility, this Oklahoma State star was one of the guys who simply had to falter for reasons (mostly) outside of his control.

Plus, Schoppe's favoritism towards the 3k during the winter months (which isn't contested on the outdoor oval unless there's water pits and barriers), along with his not-so-great showing at the NCAA Indoor Championships, forced us to place him at TSR #23.

22. Handal Roban, Freshman, Penn State

It’s been quite the freshman campaign for Handal Roban as the Nittany Lion star continues to prove that he’s one of the best half-milers in the country.

Roban has raced three-straight weekends after taking just one week off after his impressive bronze medal performance at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 800 meters. Since that race, he has contested the 800 meters twice, running 1:48.63 and 1:47.29. The latter of those two efforts is a quarter of a second off of his personal best, signaling that a sub-1:47 mark is coming sooner rather than later.

Seeing Roban build off of such a successful indoor track season immediately makes him a viable threat for the rest of his competitors when postseason racing begins. He’s already proven to be tactically sound at a young age and will only get better with experience.

We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but you could be looking at Penn State’s next half-mile superstar if he continues to improve and race as he has been. And frankly, he may already be at that point.

21. Nico Young, Sophomore, Northern Arizona

Nico Young has not yet competed this season.

20. Brian Fay, Junior, Washington

Brian Fay has not yet completed a race this season. The Washington run recorded a DNF result at the Stanford Invitational a little over a week ago.

19. Nathan Green, Rs. Freshman, Washington

Nathan Green has not yet competed this season.

18. Sam Ellis, Senior, Washington

Sam Ellis officially made his Washington debut in a Husky singlet at the Stanford Invitational where he contested the 800 meters and the 1500 meters. His results were good, but not necessarily great, as he ran 1:49.70 and 3:40.81 for those distances, respectively.

Of course, when that 1500 meter time produces a win, it's hard to be too critical.

This past winter, Ellis ran 1:46.77 (800 meters) and 3:53.13 (mile) just in the month of February as an unattached athlete. He was dominant over the last few months, taking down superstar teammates Nathan Green and Joe Waskom in the middle distance events, specifically the 800 meters and the 1000 meters, respectively.

Ellis is just as dangerous as his teammates are, meaning that he is a legitimate national title contender if he continues this incredible streak of performances. He has clearly elevated his fitness to the elite tier competition.

17. Kenneth Rooks, Junior, BYU

So far during this outdoor track season, Kenneth Rooks has raced just one time. But in just that one race alone, the BYU ace ran 8:33 for the steeplechase at the Stanford Invitational as he logged a six-second victory over the likes of Jordan Macintosh, Joel Mendez and Ed Trippas.

Rooks finished the 2022 outdoor tack campaign as the 6th place finisher in the steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Now, he looks primed to replicate that result, or even better that placing, early-on during this spring campaign.

Rooks ran 3:59 (mile) and 7:55 (3k) during the indoor track season, telling us he has taken a leap in fitness. And when you combine that with his six second victory at the Stanford Invitational, where he looked unbelievably smooth, there’s good reason to believe that Rooks could run faster than his 8:22 (steeplechase) personal best.

That, in turn, would make him one of the country’s top steeplechasers and a legitimate national title threat to a few of the men who are ranked ahead of him.

16. Alex Maier, Junior, Oklahoma State

Gosh, Alex Maier is such a tricky name to rank.

The Oklahoma State superstar ran 7:43 (3k) and 13:11 (5k) this past winter before recording 5th and 8th place All-American finishes at the indoor national meet, respectively. Moving to the outdoor circuit, in theory, benefitted Maier who was the runner-up finisher in the 10k at the NCAA Outdoor Championships last spring.

But then the Cowboy ace had a brutal season opener at the Stanford Invitational, fading to a time of 28:55 over 10,000 meters.

Maier would probably be closer to our top-10 had he not struggled in his latest effort. Still, his favoritism towards the 10k distance does give him a slightly higher ranking than where he was listed originally.

15. Parker Stokes, Junior, Georgetown

We'll admit, the winter months and the first few weeks of this outdoor track season haven't exactly been super exciting for Parker Stokes. The Georgetown star never ran faster than 4:04 in the mile on the indoor oval and he has only run times of 1:53 (800) and 3:46 (1500) this season.

If Stokes was a bit sharper over the last five months or so, then he'd be ranked slightly higher. But for now, he'll stick at TSR #15. However, the reason why he does crack our rankings is simply because of his incredible 2022 spring campaign.

Let's not forget, Stokes finished 3rd in the steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Championships last spring en route to a PR of 8:18 in the event, a time that sits tied for NCAA #3 all-time (with Duncan Hamilton).

This Georgetown ace has also been a nationally competitive standout steeplechaser since his freshman year, making it impossible to exclude him from our rankings.

14. Ky Robinson, Sophomore, Stanford

After a fine, but admittedly unexciting, showing at the NCAA Indoor Championships where Ky Robinson simply looked exhausted, it was hard to know what to expect from this Stanford star in his season debut at the Stanford Invitational over 10,000 meters.

But in a race that ended with fireworks, the Aussie distance star finished 3rd overall behind Charles Hicks and Victor Kiprop in a very promising time of 27:58 for the 10k distance. That was a highly encouraging bounce-back performance, simply showing us at The Stride Report that the Stanford ace is still one of the more dangerous men in the NCAA.

When you consider that Robinson has run 27:44 for 10,000 meters and 8:32 in the steeplechase, the simple introduction of the outdoor track season should naturally boost his stock -- at least to a ranking higher than we have now.

But when you look at the men ranked above him, it's hard to list Robinson at a spot better than TSR #14...at least for now.

13. Charles Hicks, Junior, Stanford

The indoor track season wasn't as kind to Charles Hicks as it was to a handful of other long distance stars. Even so, running 13:22 for 5000 meters on the indoor oval is hardly bad and neither was a 9th place finish at the indoor national meet in that same event.

But then Hicks returned to a season where he could contest the 10k, a distance which somehow changes who he is as a runner. And in a dramatic finishing kick, the Cardinal megastar barely edged Victor Kiprop to secure the 10k win at the Stanford Invitational with a time of 27:57.

Over the years, Hicks has very quietly improved his closing speed, but this was clearly the best display of a finishing kick that I have ever seen from the defending cross country national champion.

Hicks will probably crack the top-10 portion of our rankings sooner rather than later. And when that happens, we'll have to view him as a legitimate contender for the 10k national title.

12. Isaac Basten, Junior, Drake

Isaac Basten has not yet competed this season.

11. Casey Clinger, Sophomore, BYU

Casey Clinger has not yet competed this season.

10. Navasky Anderson, Rs. Senior, Mississippi State

Navasky Anderson has not yet competed this season.

9. Joe Waskom, Junior, Washington

Joe Waskom has not yet competed this season.

8. Luke Houser, Junior, Washington

Luke Houser has not yet completed a race this season. The Washington run recorded a DNF result at the Stanford Invitational a little over a week ago.

7. Crayton Carrozza, Senior, Texas

Crayton Carrozza has not yet competed this season.

6. Anass Essayi, Sophomore, South Carolina

Anass Essayi has not yet competed this season.

5. Yusuf Bizimana, Sophomore, Texas

It's weird to think that running 1:46.83 for 800 meters is a (slightly) underwhelming performance. But after finishing 4th overall (and as the third collegiate) at the Texas Relays over the half-mile distance, I think some people (myself included) were expecting just a little bit more from the indoor national champion.

Regardless, no one should be looking too deeply into this result. Running 1:46 is still phenomenal and tactically, Bizimana has proven to be just as dangerous as any other collegiate in the country.

4. Drew Bosley, Senior, Northern Arizona

Despite running 13:37 (5k) and 28:18 (10k) so far during this still-young outdoor track season, there really isn't too much to talk about for Drew Bosley. Both marks, while competitive, were clearly meant to be regional qualifiers that this Northern Arizona superstar could quickly get out of the way.

We probably won't truly learn anything new about Bosley until the latter-half of this season.

3. Duncan Hamilton, Senior, Montana State

In terms of performances that we've seen so far this season, Duncan Hamilton hasn't surprised us in the slightest. In his season opener, he ran 3:53 (1500), 14:35 (5k) and 8:47 (steeple) all at altitude and all en route to victories.

Each of those marks gained conversions, but not enough to really catch our attention in any major way.

Of course, the reason why Hamilton is ranked this high is for reasons other than his season opening triple. This is, after all, someone who ran 8:18 for the steeplechase last spring and narrowly settled for a silver medal in that event at the 2022 outdoor national meet.

With wildly impressive versatility in basically every other distance event, the value of Hamilton's resume is arguably just as good as anyone else in our top-five.

2. Fouad Messaoudi, Sophomore, Oklahoma State

Fouad Messaoudi has not yet competed this season.

1. Dylan Jacobs, Sophomore, Tennessee

Dylan Jacobs has not yet competed this season.

---

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Tiarnan Crorken (Ole Miss)

Jonathan Jones (Texas)

Victor Kiprop (Alabama)

Eliud Kipsang (Alabama)

Jason Gomez (Iowa State)

Liam Murphy (Villanova)

Anthony Camerieri (Ole Miss)

Scott Beattie (Tulsa)

Patrick Kiprop (Arkansas)

Parker Wolfe (North Carolina)

Devin Hart (Stanford)

Bob Liking (Wisconsin)

Tarees Rhoden (Clemson)

Conor Murphy (Virginia)

Camden Marshall (Indiana)

Sam Austin (Florida)

Baylor Franklin (Ole Miss)

Thomas Vanoppen (Wake Forest)

Sam Gilman (Air Force)

Yaseen Abdalla (Tennessee)

Jackson Sharp (Wisconsin)

Cole Sprout (Stanford)

Ethan Strand (North Carolina)

Michael Power (Tulsa)

Estanis Ruiz (Portland)

Levi Taylor (Montana State)

Yasin Sado (Virginia)

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)

Sean Dolan (Villanova)

Dayton Carlson (Arizona State)

Ayman Zahafi (Miami (FL))

Cebastian Gentil (Iowa State)

Samuel Rodman (Princeton)

Elliott Cook (Oregon)*

Nick Foster (Michigan)

Adam Spencer (Wisconsin)

Graham Blanks (Harvard)

Acer Iverson (Harvard)

Kash Powell (Long Beach State)

Darius Smallwood (Penn State)

Ronan McMahon-Staggs (UCLA)

Chandler Gibbens (Kansas)

Theo Quax (Northern Arizona)

Toby Gillen (Saint Louis)

Ryan Johnson (Air Force)

Rory Leonard (Oklahoma State)

Kirami Yego (South Alabama)

Patrick Thygesen (Providence)

Kevin Robertson (Syracuse)

Jordan Macintosh (Portland State)

Joel Mendez (Utah Valley)

Jesse Hamlin (Butler)

Sam Whitmarsh (Texas A&M)

Sebastian Fernandez (BYU)

NOTES

• It is unclear if Elliott Cook will be racing for Oregon this spring given his recent entry into the Bryan Clay Invitational as an unattached runner.