TSR's 2023 D1 XC Top 50 Individual Rankings (Men): Update #4

NOTE: These rankings are based on how an individual fared throughout the entirety of a season, not just how they ran at a singular meet or (eventually) at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships. Click here to learn more about our ranking criteria.

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KEY

(Unranked):

Was not ranked in our last update.

(#/#):

First number indicates how much the athlete has moved in our rankings.

The second number indicates where the athlete was ranked in our last update.

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ANOTHER NOTE: The Stride Report does not typically put much ranking weight on the regional meet results. Oftentimes, certain teams/individuals will not place much emphasis on these races and will simply run with the goal of advancing to the national meet. This is not to say that all regional results are negligible (as you'll see below). However, you may notice less movement within our top-50 lists than usual in this update.

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50. Nicholas Bendtsen, Junior, Princeton (Unranked)

It's been hard to dislike anything that Nicholas Bendtsen has done this season. The Princeton runner has gone from being a strong lead scorer to someone who you could legitimately say is a true low-stick.

A 56th place finish at the Virginia Invitational was far from exciting, but since then, the Tiger junior has slowly improved as the season has progressed. He was 42nd at the Nuttycombe Invite and 4th at both the Ivy League XC Championships and the Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Championships.

Sure, Bendtsen is the flashiest low-stick in the country and there isn't necessarily an overwhelmingly impressive result that stands out on his 2023 resume. And yet, his ability to remain highly reliable while improving as a low-stick was enough to give him the nod for our TSR #50 spot.

49. Joshua DeSouza, Senior, Iona (Unranked)

Seeing Josh DeSouza produce a 9th place finish at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational was solid, but that performance didn't necessarily scream, "top-50 runner in the nation." However, a 38th place finish at the Nuttycombe Invite certainly put this Iona veteran in contention to crack our list.

Yes, a 9th place finish at the MAAC XC Championships was far from great, but the Gaels were easily cruised through that meet. And after seeing DeSouza place 3rd at the Northeast regional meet last Friday, it feels like the Iona talent has done enough to join his teammate, Damien Dilcher, inside our top-50 list.

Sure, we may not place a ton of emphasis on the regional meets, but a bronze medal at a meet that features three national qualifying teams deserves respect.

48. Tom Brady, Rs. Junior, Michigan (Unranked)

We've wanted to give Tom Brady a spot in our top-50 rankings for the last few weeks, but couldn't find enough justification to make room for him. However, after seeing him finish 3rd at both the BIG 10 XC Championships and the Great Lakes Regional XC Championships, the value that this Michigan veteran has displayed over the course of this season has simply been too good to ignore.

When you pair those two bronze medals with a 28th place finish at the Virginia Invite and a 37th place finish at the Nuttycombe Invitational, you begin to realize that there simply isn't a flaw on his resume. And while we're not even sure if Brady is favored to be an All-American on Saturday, he has still done enough to be in that conversation.

47. Corey Gorgas, Rs. Junior, Northern Arizona (+2 / 49)

Has not competed since our last rankings update.

46. Santiago Prosser, Junior, Northern Arizona (+2 / 48)

A 15th place finish at the Mountain Regional XC Championships isn't a result that we're looking too closely into. Santiago Prosser has been great in both of his major tests this season (the Virginia Invite and the Nuttycombe Invite) and after seeing how clutch he was on the national stage last year, we don't have much reason to doubt him.

45. Chris Devaney, Senior, Loyola (Ill.) (-9 / 36)

It wasn't the prettiest race, but Chris Devaney qualified for the NCAA XC Championships after placing 11th at the Midwest regional. The Loyola (Ill.) standout cut his qualifying chances awfully close as the fourth and final at-large individual qualifier from the region.

For someone who seemed like a realistic All-American pick this fall, Friday's performance was not encouraging in his first 10k race of the season. Even so, Devaney has done enough this season to remain within our top-50.

44. Victor Kibiego, Rs. Sophomore, UTEP (-6 / 38)

An 9th place finish at the Mountain regional meet isn't exactly a bad result, but it's not all that exciting for someone who was previously ranked inside our top-40.

It's been hard to rank Victor Kibiego this season. He has been consistently near/at the top of the results in every race he has run, but he also hasn't toed the line for any major invitationals such as the Virginia Invite, Joe Piane, Nuttycombe or Pre-Nationals.

With others simply being more proven going into the national meet, we opted to move Kibiego back as we head into the 2023 cross country season finale. Of course, just because we're moving him back doesn't mean that he's done anything wrong this fall. For the most part, he's been plenty solid over the last two and a half months.

43. Arturs Medveds, Senior, California Baptist (-3 / 40)

A 9th place finish at the West Regional XC Championships is slightly underwhelming for someone like Arturs Medveds, but that's not a result that we should look at too heavily. This California Baptist ace was 4th at the Griak Invitational, 23rd at Nuttycombe and the winner of the WAC XC Championships. Those results are much more indicative of his fitness than what we saw from him on Friday.

42. Haftu Strintzos, Rs. Senior, Villanova (+2 / 44)

There isn't much to chat about when it comes to Haftu Strintzos. The Villanova veteran cruised to a runner-up result behind teammate Liam Murphy at the Mid-Atlantic regional meet which was arguably the most unsurprising result of all the regional championship meets.

41. Florian Le Pallec, Senior, Butler (+2 / 43)

A 4th place finish at the Great Lakes regional meet isn't exactly surprising, but it's still solid, nonetheless. At that race, Florian Le Pallec lost only to the Wisconsin duo of Bob Liking and Jackson Sharp as well as Michigan's Tom Brady.

We didn't learn anything new about Butler's low-stick ace and the regional field that he was facing wasn't the best way to gauge his talent. Saturday, obviously, will be a different story.

40. Damien Dilcher, Junior, Iona (Unranked)

When Damien Dilcher finished 13th at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational, I thought, "Oh, that's nice," and then moved on. That result didn't necessarily catch our attention in any major way. But a 28th place finish at the Nuttycombe Invite forced all of us at The Stride Report to reevaluate how we view this Iona standout.

At the time, Dilcher's resume just wasn't established enough to garner a spot inside of our top-50 rankings. And truthfully, a MAAC individual title didn't really tell us anything new about his competitive prowess. But after a runner-up finish at the Northeast regional meet last Friday, it's hard to deny that this Gael low-stick isn't one of the 50-best men in the country.

Yes, I do believe guys like Paul O'Donnell (who didn't race on Friday) and Perry Mackinnon are simply more proven across the entirety of this 2023 cross country season. Even so, Dilcher looks like a much sharper runner than he was a month and a half ago.

39. Theo Quax, Rs. Senior, Northern Arizona (-2 / 37)

Has not competed since our last rankings update.

38. Will Anthony, Sophomore, Virginia (Unranked)

Few men have been more reliable as a low-stick this fall and have fallen under the radar more than Will Anthony this season. The Virginia sophomore was great to start the year, but has only gotten better since then.

A 29th place finish at the Virginia Invite was respectable, a 13th place finish at Pre-Nationals was a step in the right direction and a 7th place finish at the ACC XC Championships hinted at legitimate top-50 potential.

After finishing 7th at the Southeast regional meet, Anthony has put together a resume that holds zero flaws, constant improvement and a clear inclination to peak for the postseason. Naturally, you can see why he now sits at TSR #38 heading into Saturday.

37. Lukas Kiprop, Freshman, New Mexico (+9 / 46)

A strong 3rd place effort at the Mountain Regional XC Championships only bolstered the resume of Lukas Kiprop, although it's hard to know what kind of emphasis we should put on that result.

The New Mexico men were clearly putting forth an aggressive effort, and Kiprop was VERY competitive with Nico Young...but does that really matter at the Mountain Regional XC Championships? While I do believe that Kiprop is a different (and better) runner than he was at the Griak Invitational, gauging his fitness at a meet where NAU and BYU cruised towards national qualification seems superfluous.

36. Luke Houser, Rs. Junior, Washington (-11 / 25)

Coming into this season, we knew that Luke Houser could be a true low-stick for the Washington men. However, trying to figure out just how potent of a scorer he would be for the Huskies wasn't something that we had figured out.

But during a season where the Washington men struggled, it was Houser who was fantastic. He looked like a true cross country ace who could do no wrong regardless of the field that he was in.

That is, until he reached the West regional meet.

Friday's race, which resulted in Luke Houser fading to 25th place, ultimately kept the Huskies' top star out of the national meet. And while that was a brutal time to have an "off" day, it is undeniable that Houser should still be viewed as one of the top cross country runners in the nation this fall.

One fluke race should not negate his entire fall campaign.

35. Ethan Strand, Junior, North Carolina (-1 / 34)

Nothing to chat about here. North Carolina's Ethan Strand secured a 6th place finish at the Southeast Regional XC Championships on Friday. That result was on par with how he has performed throughout most of this season.

34. Nickolas Scudder, Senior, Charlotte (+1 / 35)

A 4th place finish at the Southeast regional meet shouldn't surprise anyone who is familiar with Nickolas Scudder's resume -- he is clearly an All-American favorite. However, the postseason has not been too kind to this Charlotte star over the last two years.

In the fall of 2021, Scudder failed to even advance out of the Southeast region. And in the fall of 2022, the 49er ace couldn't crack the top-60 at the national meet despite winning four of his previous five races and placing 2nd in the other.

Scudder is definitely talented enough to be a top-40 finisher on Saturday, but actually delivering on that fitness will be the key thing to watch with him.

33. Dylan Schubert, Junior, Furman (+6 / 39)

In September, this Furman veteran was recovering from mono and it showed in his early-season result, a 47th place finish at the Joe Piane Invitational. But after slowly picking up steam and stringing together some great results, Dylan Schubert is now going into the NCAA XC Championships as the Southeast regional champion.

Like we've mentioned with numerous others, the regional meets hold limited weight in our eyes and that's why you're not seeing Schubert receive a massive boost into our top-30 or even our top-25.

Even so, no one can deny the fact that Schubert looks much fresher and much healthier entering the most important race of the season...

32. Perry Mackinnon, Senior, Syracuse (0 / 32)

A 4th place finish at the Northeast regional meet doesn't leave us with too much to talk about with Perry Mackinnon. He may have lost to the Iona duo of Damien Dilcher and Joshua DeSouza, but the Syracuse ace has been relatively stronger than those guys throughout the entirety of the season. And with the Orange opting to sit out a few key names, the level of urgency behind this regional meet seemed lesser than Iona.

31. Evans Kiplagat, Freshman, New Mexico (0 / 31)

Seeing Evans Kiplagat place 4th at the Mountain regional meet doesn't really tell us anything that we didn't already know about him.

The New Mexico men clearly wanted to be aggressive with their national qualifying effort on Friday and they ended up crowding the top of the Mountain regional field. But with teams like Northern Arizona and BYU clearly not going all-out for that race, it's hard to move Kiplagat up or down in our rankings.

30. Chandler Gibbens, Senior, Kansas (0 / 30)

It has been a very up and down season for Chandler Gibbens who has pulled off some huge upsets, but has also underwhelmed at times. That being said, a 6th place finish at the Midwest regional meet is the first result this season that we've seen from this Kansas star and thought, "That's pretty close to what I was expecting."

We don't truly know what we're going to get from the Jayhawk ace at the NCAA XC Championships, but his ceiling is certainly that of a top-20 runner.

29. Paul O'Donnell, Senior, Syracuse (-2 / 27)

Has not competed since our last rankings update.

28. Liam Murphy, Junior, Villanova (+1 / 29)

*Shrugs shoulders*

Seeing Liam Murphy win the Mid-Atlantic regional title is super unsurprising. He was heavily favored to do so and his greatest competition was likely going to come from his teammate (and it did). We can save time and move on to the next name in our analysis.

27. Said Mechaal, Junior, Iowa State (+1 / 28)

Yet again, Said Mechaal has put together another strong effort. A 4th place finish at the Midwest regional meet perfectly aligns with the seasonal resume of this Iowa State standout, and it further adds to his incredibly consistent fall campaign where he can seemingly do no wrong.

26. Wil Smith, Junior, Gonzaga (-3 / 23)

Sure, maybe a 6th place finish at the West Regional XC Championships isn't amazing, but it's by no means "bad" and it doesn't really change our opinion of Wil Smith. Even so, we'll be interested to see which version of this Gonzaga star we get on the national stage after his stunning, out-of-nowhere 9th place finish at Nuttycombe earlier this season.

25. Denis Kipngetich, Freshman, Oklahoma State (+8 / 33)

The true potential and talent of Denis Kipngetch remains a mystery.

The Oklahoma State freshman opened up his season at the Cowboy Jamboree with a dominant victory against some very good competition. However, a 14th place finish at the BIG 12 XC Championships was highly underwhelming for someone who was viewed as a high-octane scorer.

With a Midwest regional title now under his belt, it's clear that this Cowboy rookie has some of the best raw talent in the country. Of course, seeing how this inexperienced, fairly variable freshman handles a larger field with much stronger talent could end up being the difference as to whether or not Oklahoma State wins the national team title or not.

24. Ben Shearer, Rs. Sophomore, Arkansas (0 / 24)

Has not competed since our last rankings update.

23. Kirami Yego, Junior, Arkansas (+3 / 26)

It's hard to take the South Central regional results too seriously given how easily Arkansas and Texas always dominate the meet (although Tulane put forth a nice effort this season).

Even so, a runner-up effort behind teammate Patrick Kirop was a nice development for Kirami Yego. And with a few others falling back in our rankings, the summer-time transfer is rewarded with a three-spot boost.

22. David Mullarkey, Junior, Florida State (-3 / 19)

It feels a bit silly to move someone as accomplished as David Mullarkey back three spots in our rankings after a 4th place finish at the South Regional XC Championships. However, this is now the second time that he has lost to both Victor Kiprop and Hillary Cheruiyot. And given that this is the only time that we've seen Mullarkey matchup with Yaseen Abdalla, we have to give the nod to the Tennessee talent.

Regardless, David Mullarkey has been everything that Florida State has wanted and more. He has handled a variety of different fields incredibly well and his lack of experience when it comes to racing on the grass at the NCAA level has clearly not hurt him at all.

21. Yaseen Abdalla, Junior, Tennessee (+1 / 22)

No surprises here. Yaseen Abdalla snagged 3rd at the South regional meet last Friday, losing to the Alabama duo of Hillary Cheruiyot and Victor Kiprop, but pulling ahead of a VERY good distance talent in David Mullarkey.

Abdalla has been excellent so far this season, but seeing whether or not he can get over the hump and crack the top-30 on the national stage is what we'll be monitoring from him this upcoming weekend.

20. Hillary Cheruiyot, Junior, Alabama (+1 / 21)

It is very clear to us at The Stride Report that Hillary Cheruiyot is at a different level this fall compared to previous seasons. With a runner-up finish at Joe Piane and now a South regional title under his belt, this Alabama talent has evolved from being an All-American threat to one of the top distance talents in the country.

While his regional victory may not hold a ton of weight in our eyes, the possibility of Cheruiyot running alongside Victor Kiprop at the national meet means that a top-15, or dare I say top-10, finish on Saturday isn't totally out of the question.

19. Patrick Kiprop, Junior, Arkansas (+1 / 20)

Winning the South Central regional title further complemented Patrick Kiprop's exceptional performance at the SEC XC Championships where he finished runner-up. The Arkansas talent continues to prove that he has a better understanding of his fitness and how to utilize tactics on championship stages -- something that he had struggled with prior to last year.

18. Joey Nokes, Junior, BYU (0 / 18)

Based on the results, it was incredibly clear that Joey Nokes was doing a tempo at the Mountain Regional XC Championships with teammates Kenneth Rooks and Lucas Bons. Knowing that, we can move on from any further analysis on Nokes.

17. Devin Hart, Rs. Junior, Texas (0 / 17)

I'm a little conflicted with Devin Hart's ranking. The Texas star has been incredible this season, but he just finished 3rd at the South Central regional meet, losing to Patrick Kiprop and Kirami Yego, two men who are currently ranked behind Hart.

Should that regional result put Hart behind Kiprop? Who has had the better overall season? Does it really matter? I'm going to go with "no" on the latter question and moving on.

16. Aaron Las Heras, Rs. Senior, Northern Arizona (0 / 16)

It seems pretty clear that, after looking at the results, that Aaron Las Heras put forth a conservative effort with Drew Bosley at the Mountain Regional XC Championships. There isn't anything that we can truly pull from that result.

15. Alex Phillip, Senior, North Carolina (0 / 15)

It was business as usual for Alex Phillip who took 3rd place at the Southeast regional meet. At this point in the season, that's a largely unsurprising result, but the former D3 megastar has still performed WAY beyond our already-lofty expectations. He's one of the names who we're most looking forward to seeing race on Saturday.

14. Fouad Messaoudi, Sophomore, Oklahoma State (0 / 14)

There isn't much to talk about when it comes to Fouad Messaoudi. The Oklahoma State star finished 3rd at the Midwest Regional XC Championships, letting teammates Denis Kipngetich and Brian Musau pull away for what was a very easy team win.

We've only seen Messaoudi contest two 10k races on the grass in his NCAA career and only one of those races was on a truly competitive stage (the 2022 national meet). Can Messaoudi replicate his postseason magic from last year this Saturday?

13. Creed Thompson, Junior, BYU (0 / 13)

Has not competed since our last rankings update.

12. Rocky Hansen, Freshman, Wake Forest (-1 / 11)

Has not competed since our last rankings update. An injury has sidelined Rocky Hansen for the first two meets of the postseason, but the possibility remains for a return to competition at the NCAA XC Championships.

11. Victor Kiprop, Junior, Alabama (-1 / 10)

A runner-up finish to teammate Hillary Cheruiyot at the South regional meet doesn't really change our view of Victor Kiprop. He's been metronomically consistent this season, but that's not a new development. At the end of the day, we need to see this top-tier distance talent fully execute on the national stage, something that he has struggled to do over the last few seasons.

10. Bob Liking, Junior, Wisconsin (+2 / 12)

By winning the Great Lakes regional title, Bob Liking has yet to lose a race (through three efforts) going into the national meet. Admittedly, none of those fields have been nearly as challenging as the Virginia Invite, Nuttycombe, Pre-Nationals or Joe Piane, but it feels like this Wisconsin star is due for a big-time postseason performance.

9. Alex Maier, Senior, Oklahoma State (-2 / 7)

We'll admit, an 8th place finish at the Midwest regional meet isn't great for someone who is a top-10 talent in our rankings. Even so, you have to imagine that an upper-echelon veteran star like Alex Maier knows how to conserve himself in races like the regional meet.

8. Parker Wolfe, Junior, North Carolina (+1 / 9)

Parker Wolfe got the job done at the Southeast Regional XC Championships with a runner-up effort. And while I'd like to offer more insight and analysis into result, I don't think that's necessary (nor possible).

7. Jackson Sharp, Senior, Wisconsin (+1 / 8)

A silver medal performance at the Great Lakes regional meet, where he was one second behind teammate Bob Liking, is a super unsurprising result for Jackson Sharp. It's pretty clear by their limited lineup that the Wisconsin men were simply focused on advancing to the national meet this past Friday.

6. Brian Musau, Freshman, Oklahoma State (0 / 6)

He may not have won, but a runner-up finish at the Midwest Regional XC Championships (losing only to teammate Denis Kipngetich) further strengthens the idea that Brian Musau is one of the more talented distance runners in the NCAA.

Friday's race, while impressive, didn't necessarily do much for Musau's stock other than validate our beliefs in him. However, it will be interesting to see how he handles a loaded field like the NCAA XC Championships given his inexperience.

5. Drew Bosley, Senior, Northern Arizona (-1 / 4)

4. Ky Robinson, Junior, Stanford (+1 / 5)

Drew Bosley easily cruised through the Mountain regional meet alongside teammate Aaron Las Heras in what was clearly a conservative effort. However, with Ky Robinson securing the West regional title and putting together a more complete seasonal resume, we felt like it was only fair to give the Cardinal star the nod over Bosley going into Saturday.

3. Habtom Samuel Keleta, Freshman, New Mexico (0 / 3)

2. Nico Young, Junior, Northern Arizona (0 / 2)

Yes, Habtom Samuel Keleta (1st) did defeat Nico Young (2nd) for the Mountain regional title. But like we've mentioned for a large handful of others, we're not putting much stock into many of these regional results. Plus, we would argue that Nico Young's finish over Keleta at the Nuttycombe Invite was relatively more impressive which is why he remains at TSR #2.

1. Graham Blanks, Junior, Harvard (0 / 1)

No surprises here. Graham Blanks handled a Northeast regional meet with ease, giving himself an undefeated resume through four meets.

The Harvard superstar certainly has the best singular victory of the 2023 cross country season so far (Nuttycombe), but can Blanks take down megastars like Young, Keleta, Robinson and Bosley yet again this Saturday?

I guess we're about to find out...

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ADDED

Nicholas Bendtsen (Princeton)

Joshua DeSouza (Iona)

Tom Brady (Michigan)

Damien Dilcher (Iona)

Will Anthony (Virginia)

KICKED OFF

Brian Masai (Akron)

Victor Shitsama (Oklahoma State)

Nathan Green (Washington)

Gary Martin (Virginia)

Dylan Throop (Penn)

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Victor Shitsama (Oklahoma State)

Nathan Green (Washington)

Gary Martin (Virginia)

Dylan Throop (Penn)

Cole Sprout (Stanford)

Davis Bove (Cal Poly)

Valentin Soca (California Baptist)

Nicholas Russell (Santa Clara)

Elliott Cook (Oregon)

Benjamin Godish (Northeastern)

Murphy Smith (Navy)

Jason Bowers (East Tennessee State)

Matt Strangio (Portland)

Adam Spencer (Wisconsin)

Gabriel Sanchez (Tennessee)

Rodger Rivera (Texas)

Kenneth Rooks (BYU)

Sam Lawler (Syracuse)

Jake Gebhardt (North Carolina)

Kang Nyoak (Northern Arizona)

Austin Vancil (Colorado)

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)

Robert DiDonato (Stanford)

Acer Iverson (Harvard)

Brian Masai (Akron)

William Zegarski (Butler)

Luke Tewalt (Wake Forest)

Jacob McLeod (Arkansas)

Andrew Nolan (Michigan State)

Tyler Berg (Notre Dame)

Timothy Chesondin (Akron)

Isaac Alonzo (Texas)

Ryan Kinnane (Auburn)

Bradley Makuvire (Tulane)

Jack Roberts (Illinois)

Ben Perrin (Montana State)

Dean Casey (Tennessee)

Luke Combs (Air Force)

Eliud Kipsang (Alabama)

Brodey Hasty (Northern Arizona)

Will Muirhead (Oklahoma State)

Jonas Price (Oklahoma State)

Isaiah Givens (Colorado)

Notes

- N/A