TSR's 2023 D1 XC Top 50 Individual Rankings (Men): Update #5 (FINAL)

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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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NOTE: These rankings are based on how an athlete fared throughout the entirety of a season, not just how they ran at the NCAA XC Championships or at a singular meet. You will notice that these rankings may mirror the national meet results, but not precisely. That is intentional. These rankings are intended to be an aggregate. They are not recency lists.

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

With Victor Kibiego receiving our last and final spot in our top-50 rankings, we must acknowledge how incredibly difficult it was to leave out BYU's James Corrigan.

Corrigan was a 32nd place All-American on Saturday while Kibiego settled for a 44th place finish. However, when looking at their entire body of work, we would give the UTEP redshirt sophomore the nod over the Cougar first-year talent -- but only barely.

Admittedly, Kibiego had a fairly light schedule this fall, never venturing to a meet like Joe Piane, the Virginia Invite, Pre-Nationals or Nuttycombe. However, of the five races that he contested before the regional and national meets, Kibiego emerged victorious three different times.

Those wins produced a Conference USA title over teammate Titus Cheruiyot as well as the entire Middle Tennessee State team. He was also victorious at the Arturo Barrios Invite, taking down Bradley Makuvire (Tulane) and Eric Casarez (Texas A&M).

Yes, Vibiego did lose twice prior to the regional and national meets, but those losses came to Brodey Hasty (TSR #33) and William Amponsah (the undefeated D2 national champion). With a 9th place finish at the Mountain regional meet and a 44th place showing on the national stage, this steeplechase star had a complete enough resume to settle in at TSR #50.

49. Sam Lawler, Sophomore, Syracuse (Unranked)

Last year, Sam Lawler's brother, Nathan, had a fantastic season, emerging as a true low-stick. And while the Syracuse men heavily leaned on Paul O'Donnell and Perry Mackinnon this fall, it was Sam Lawler who stepped up enough times to be deemed as a third true low-stick.

Leading up to the national meet, there wasn't one singular result on Lawler's resume that truly made him stand out. But when you look at this entire body of work, he was a consistently great lead talent who gave the Orange more firepower than we expected them to have going into this fall.

35th at the Virginia Invite, 34th at Nuttycombe, 10th at the ACC XC Championships were very strong results that certainly put Lawler in the conversation to enter our rankings. But after a 34th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships (yes, his third race this season where he finished 34th or 35th), it feels like a given that this sophomore should crack our top-50.

Was Lawler consistently one of the more potent low-sticks in the country? No, maybe not, but for any teams that just needed to know that they were going to great scoring value out of one of their lead runners, this Syracuse talent would have been a perfect name to have.

48. Luke Combs, Senior, Air Force (Unranked)

Gosh, what an up-and-down season it was for Luke Combs.

Coming into the fall months, we weren't sure what to expect from this Air Force veteran. He hadn't raced since last fall and even then, he only toed the line for two competitive meets in 2022. Of course, his 2023 fall campaign didn't make it any easier to evaluate him.

An 18th place finish at the Virginia Invite was a very strong result that put Combs in the conversation to be ranked. However, a 174th place effort at Nuttycombe basically nullified that result and a 10th place finish at the Mountain West XC Championships wasn't all that exciting, either.

But then Combs delivered the best race of his career on Saturday, a 28th place effort at the NCAA XC Championships. We had known that Combs could be a nationally competitive talent, but his limited consistency didn't at all suggest that he would be that good.

Regardless, at the race that mattered the most, Combs was excellent. He ran up to the fullest extent of his potential and made our preseason "Just Missed" designation for him seem like an oversight.

47. Matthew Richtman, Senior, Montana State (Unranked)

Throughout last fall, Matthew Richtman was a solid and steady runner, even earning a 40th place All-American finish. However, he never truly had a marquee race that stood out.

But in 2023, we saw the complete opposite from Richtman.

Truthfully, Richtman didn't have the greatest regular season. He was 50th at Joe Piane and he had a decent-ish day at Pre-Nationals where he placed 12th. But after a forgettable 6th place finish at the BIG Sky XC Championships and 21st place finish at the Mountain regional meet, it felt like a heavy stretch to say that this Bobcat runner would be ranked at the end of the season.

Of course, we weren't expecting him to place 26th at the NCAA XC Championships.

For the second-straight season in a row, Richtman emerged as an All-American. And unlike last year, he actually found his way into our rankings this time around. With that national meet result, the Montana State veteran has established himself as one of the more clutch national meet performers in the country.

46. Ethan Strand, Junior, North Carolina (-11 / 35)

Given how much Ethan Strand has improved this season compared to last fall, I'm sure the North Carolina talent wanted a bit more than a 45th place finish. Even so, that's hardly a poor result and it was simply an extension of what was a very strong season.

Placing 20th at the Virginia Invite, 27th at Nuttycombe and 6th at the ACC XC Championships was clearly the resume of a top-50 runner. Strand was undeniably a key member of UNC's "Big Three" and the Tar Heels would not have been nearly as strong as they were had he not translated his track success to the grass.

45. Luke Houser, Rs. Junior, Washington (-9 / 36)

Luke Houser did not qualify for the NCAA XC Championships, but his season was simply too good to omit him from our rankings. He reached a ranking as high as TSR #25 at one point this season with finishes of 10th at the Virginia Invite, 16th at Nuttycombe and runner-up at the PAC-12 XC Championships.

One unfortunate "off" day at the West regional meet shouldn't dilute all of the excellent results that this Washington ace produced over the last few months. And with nothing on his resume changing between our two rankings updates, we couldn't drop him any lower than this.

44. Paul O'Donnell, Senior, Syracuse (-15 / 29)

You won't find bigger Paul O'Donnell fans than us.

The Syracuse veteran went from someone who looked like a decent lead scorer to one of the more dangerous low-sticks in the country. 19th at the Virginia Invite, 20th at Nuttycombe and runner-up at the ACC XC Championships was a fantastic streak of performances which made O'Donnell seem like a no-brainer All-American.

Of course, we weren't at all anticipating O'Donnell to produce a DNF result in his season finale, a crushing result which makes his final ranking very tricky to establish.

We fully believe that, despite not even finishing Saturday's race, O'Donnell was still one of the 50-best runners in the country. Earning a silver medal at the ACC XC Championships make it extremely difficult to omit someone who also had a regular season full of success in large, nationally competitive fields.

43. Chandler Gibbens, Senior, Kansas (-13 / 30)

When Chandler Gibbens took home the overall win at the Joe Piane Invitational earlier this year, we were surprised. Yes, we knew that the Kansas star just had a huge breakout outdoor track season, but to see him instantly translate that fitness to the grass to upset Hillary Cheruiyot, Victor Kiprop and more was wildly impressive.

From there, Gibbens proved that he was the real deal, although he was seemingly chasing that early-season victory. His 4th place finish at Pre-Nationals was perfectly acceptable, although his 11th place effort the BIG 12 XC Championships left us wanting so much more.

Is a 77th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships a "bad" result? No, not necessarily, but for someone like Gibbens, we certainly thought he was capable of more (and he most certainly is). Even so, this Kansas star was simply too accomplished this season to say that he wasn't a top-50 runner in the country and that's why he settles in at TSR #43.

42. Yaseen Abdalla, Junior, Tennessee (-21 / 21)

In his four meets leading up to the national meet, Yaseen Abdalla never finished outside of the top-five. He won a rust-buster race at the Furman Invite, took home a huge runner-up finish at Pre-Nationals, finished 4th at the SEC XC Championships and secured bronze at the South Regional XC Championships.

Abdalla's resume wasn't quite as strong as those who raced at the Virginia Invite or Nuttycombe, but he still made the most of his opportunities. He was consistently competitive with top-tier names who just had great days on the national stage -- and he even beat many of them in his lead up to the NCAA XC Championships.

A 187th place finish at Saturday's season finale was bad...really bad. Naturally, the Tennessee ace had to take a tumble in our rankings because of that result. Of course, it's very obvious to us that Abdalla simply had a fluke day. The rest of his resume was excellent and he has two prior cross country All-American honors which are more indicative of his talent.

41. Haftu Strintzos, Rs. Senior, Villanova (+1 / 42)

In the fall of 2021, Haftu Strintzos had a monster breakout season. He never finished outside of the top-three in any of his races with the exception of the national meet where he placed 9th overall. However, in 2022, Strintzos was clearly not at 100% and it showed in his results.

In 2023, the Villanova ace found himself somewhere between those two tiers of fitness. The redshirt senior wasn't the megastar that he was in the fall of 2021, but he was still a legitimate All-American low-stick threat.

An 11th place finish at the Virginia Invite was an excellent start to Strintzos' season, although a 52nd place finish at Nuttycombe left us wanting more. With a pair of silver medals under his belt, Strintzos ended his season with a strong 38th place All-American finish.

And when reflecting upon his TSR #35 preseason ranking, it feels like we had a pretty reasonable grasp on expectations for him this fall.

40. Sanele Masondo, Junior, Iowa State (Unranked)

Sanela Masondo finished 16th at the NCAA XC Championships.

He was not expected to place 16th...or come anywhere remotely close to that.

The former JUCO star joined the Iowa State men earlier this year as a top-tier talent. And in our eyes, we thought he could evolve into a low-stick for the Cyclones as the season progressed. That, however, was not the case.

To be blunt, Masondo underwhelmed for most of this season. He finished 104th at the Virginia Invitational, 80th at the Nuttycombe Invite, 27th at the BIG 12 XC Championships and 7th at the Midwest regional meet.

That's why Masondo's 16th place effort was so unbelievable. There wasn't anything on his resume to suggest that he would be anywhere close to an All-American honor, much less a top-20 result on the national stage.

If we are truly balancing every aspect of an athlete's seasonal resume in these rankings, then listing Masondo much higher than this would feel a touch generous. Regardless, the goal of the NCAA season is to have your best race on the national stage. And relative to expectations, no one in the country ran as well as Masondo did on Saturday.

39. Rodger Rivera, Junior, Texas (Unranked)

Seeing Rodger Rivera crack our rankings at the very end of the season just feels right. After a few seasons of being an underrated, and occasionally overlooked, scorer for the Texas men, this junior standout came out looking like a true low-stick this fall.

A 5th place finish at the Cowboy Jamboree was solid, but largely an uneventful result. A 50th place finish at the Nuttycombe Invite suggested the same thing. But when the postseason came around, Rivera began to peak beautifully.

The Texas ace earned a sneaky-good 10th place finish at the BIG 12 XC Championships to defeat names like Chandler Gibbens, Gideon Kiplimo, James Corrigan, Denis Kipngetich and a few other former or recent All-Americans.

Even so, with the South Central region not offering much competition, Rivera's best chance of making it into our top-50 rankings was going to be at the national meet -- and he took full advantage of that opportunity.

On Saturday, this Texas standout had the race of his life, finishing 23rd at the NCAA XC Championships. We had known that Rivera was a top name and we had even highlighted his exciting potential on two occasions. But regardless of how high we were on him, a 23rd place finish on the biggest stage of the year was jaw-dropping.

Admittedly, Rivera's season didn't necessarily reflect that of a top-30 talent, nationally. Even so, the postseason campaign that this distance runner just had was beyond incredible and deserves to be rewarded.

38. Wil Smith, Junior, Gonzaga (-12 / 26)

Welp...that was a tough one for Wil Smith.

Over the last few years, we had known that Wil Smith was a nationally competitive talent who had hung onto the fringes of our top-50 rankings. But over the last few months, this Gonzaga ace looked like he had taken a massive leap, elevating his fitness en route to a silver medal at the Griak Invitational and a monster 9th place finish at the Nuttycombe Invite.

Those two regular season meets were more than enough to ensure that Smith would stay in our rankings regardless of how his fall campaign ended. That was nice reassurance to have given that Smith had faded to 3rd at the West Coast Conference XC Championships despite being the favorite. And while he had a chance for redemption on the national stage, Smith simply couldn't put it all together, placing 111th on Saturday.

It's impossible to leave Smith out of our end-of-season list. He was just too good on two major stages, including the second-most competitive meet of the year. National meet struggles continue to limit his upside in our rankings, but generally speaking, this Bulldog star made significant improvements upon an already-strong base of fitness.

37. Hillary Cheruiyot, Junior, Alabama (-17 / 20)

For the last few seasons, Hillary Cheruiyot has often been a key name in Alabama's three-headed scoring monster, but he had never gotten the shine that teammates Victor Kiprop or Eliud Kipsang did.

But this season, Cheruiyot looked the slightest bit sharper, and it showed in the results. His 2nd place finish at the Joe Piane Invitational could be argued as the best race of his career, finishing behind only Chandler Gibbens and just barely edging out Kiprop.

With a shockingly-great bronze medal performance at the SEC XC Championships, along with a South regional title, Cheruiyot was looking like one of the more consistent top-tier low-stick in the nation this fall. However, he would need to overcome the national meet woes that many of the Alabama men had been affected by.

Saturday treated Victor Kiprop fairly well, but Cheruiyot was unable to match how his season as a whole had gone. A 98th place finish was well off what he was capable of, especially when you look at all of the top-heavy fields that the Crimson Tide men had to battle against over the last few months.

There was an argument to be made that Cheruiyot was just as good as Kiprop going into the national meet. And because of that, it seems fair to keep this Crimson Tide runner inside of our rankings. However, he'll need to adjust his approach for the national meet in his final season.

36. Nicholas Bendtsen, Junior, Princeton (+14 / 50)

Throughout this season, we highlighted Nicholas Bendtsen as someone to watch. He had a fantastic spring track campaign and was consistently emerging as the top scorer for a good Princeton this team this fall.

But maybe more importantly, Bendtsen was slowly improving as the season progressed and he had been fairly reliable throughout the last few months. A 56th place finish at the Virginia Invite was hardly exciting, but a 42nd place finish at Nuttycombe was an encouraging step in the right direction. He later finished 4th at both the Ivy League XC Championships and the Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Championships.

That was a great resume going into the biggest meet of the year, but those performances almost certainly didn't indicate that the Princeton junior would be the 29th place finisher at the NCAA XC Championships!

Bendtsen caught a hot streak this fall and took full advantage of it. He fully translated his peak track success to the grass and had his best performances in the postseason. All in all, it was hard to dislike anything about what he did this fall.

35. Tom Brady, Rs. Junior, Michigan (+13 / 48)

In our eyes, Tom Brady mimicked his Michigan team throughout the season -- they were solid, consistent, admittedly unexciting, but reliable and steady. In terms of the national picture, both Brady and the Wolverines as a whole were good, but maybe not amazing.

That could be seen in Brady's individual results which featured a 28th place finish at the Virginia Invite, a 37th place finish at Nuttycombe and 3rd at the BIG 10 XC Championships. Those were respectable efforts, but it was Brady's overall consistency that we saw as valuable enough to crack our top-50.

Of course, what we didn't expect to see was Brady go from, "solid lead scorer," to "upper-tier All-American talent." On Saturday, the Michigan veteran threw down a tremendous 27th place effort. That was not only his first-ever All-American honor, but it was easily the best performance that he's ever had.

In an effort to find a compromise between his "respectable" performances and his "amazing" national meet effort, we felt like a TSR #35 ranking was a fair spot for the Big Blue star.

34. Chris Devaney, Senior, Loyola (Ill.) (+11 / 45)

Last year, it was Ryan Martins. This year, it was Chris Devaney.

For the second-straight year, the Loyola (Ill.) men had a breakout individual consistently produce strong results, occasionally fly under the radar and have their best-ever race on the national stage.

A 3rd place finish at the Loyola Lakefront Invite is when Devaney first came on to our radar and a 22nd place finish at Nuttycombe was massive validation that the Ramblers' coaching staff may have yet another All-American-caliber talent on their roster.

Admittedly, an 11th place finish at the Midwest regional meet was a bit of a concerning result for the former Eastern Michigan runner. Devaney was the final individual national qualifier from that race and he likely cut his national qualifying effort closer than he wanted to.

But on the national stage, Devaney stepped up and delivered on all of the promise that he had showcased earlier this fall. A 31st place finish on the national stage was an excellent way to end a season that, outside of the Midwest regional meet, was solid across the board.

Funny enough, that national meet finish was only two spots out from where Ryan Martins placed last fall when he had his breakout season.

33. Brodey Hasty, Rs. Senior, Northern Arizona (Unranked)

When it comes to our top-50 rankings, we make every effort to look at someone's overall season and rank certain performances at every meet, not just the national stage.

However, Brodey Hasty may be the only guy that our ranking methodology doesn't apply to. This long-time Northern Arizona veteran is easily one of the most clutch national meet talents in the country -- and he has been for quite some time.

Earlier this season, Hasty won the Dave Murray Invite, was 43rd at Nuttycombe and placed 11th at the Mountain regional meet. And while those were respectable efforts, they weren't results that made Hasty an All-American favorite.

Of course, we had seen this story with him before.

On Saturday, Hasty did what he always does on the national stage: He had his best race of the season. The NAU standout finished 25th overall, once again peaking perfectly. And the best part? He also finished 25th at the 2022 version of the national meet. Oh, and let's not forget that he was a 39th place All-American in the fall of 2021 as well as a top-50 finisher in his two national meet appearances prior to that.

And no, very few of those regular seasons suggested that he would be as good as he was in those settings.

In case it wasn't already clear, Hasty is someone who has been developed strictly for the postseason -- and it has obviously paid off. Given his history, we're willing to be a bit more generous with his end-of-season ranking compared to a few others.

32. Said Mechaal, Junior, Iowa State (-5 / 27)

Throughout most of this season, Said Mechaal was the lone low-stick of Iowa State. He ultimately emerged as a consistent lead scorer who began to challenge many of the best men in the NCAA.

With his "worst" race of the season (prior to the national meet) being a 23rd place finish at the Virginia Invite, Mechaal showed the country that he could be an upper-echelon talent with a 15th place finish at Nuttycombe and a 7th place effort at the BIG 12 XC Championships.

But on Saturday, despite being incredibly reliable throughout the fall months, Mechaal faded to 55th place. That was by no means a poor performance, but it was not at all the top-30 result that we thought he was capable of.

Mechaal previously sat at TSR #27 in our rankings. And by falling outside of the top-50 on the national stage, it feels like the Cyclone ace should falter a good bit in our rankings. However, when you look at the men ranked directly behind Mechaal -- Hasty, Devaney, Brady and Bendtsen -- can we say with any conviction that those men were better throughout this entire season than Mechaal? I'm not sure that we can, and because of that, the Iowa State standout ends his season with a five-spot drop and a TSR #32 ranking.

31. Ben Shearer, Rs. Sophomore, Arkansas (-7 / 24)

When Ben Shearer took home an stunning upset win at Pre-Nationals earlier this fall, we were incredibly impressed. Shearer had been a decent name over the last two years as a developing underclassman, but he had never shown signs of being a top-tier star.

Naturally, we wanted a bit more validation.

Shearer wouldn't quite match that result throughout the rest of the season, but finishing 5th at the SEC XC Championships and 42nd on the national stage did prove to us that this redshirt sophomore was the real deal.

But outside of the individual aspect, Shearer's breakout season was monumental for an Arkansas team that just landed on the podium. If this Razorback ace hadn't had the breakout season that he just did, then Arkansas doesn't earn a top-four team finish on Saturday.

30. Nickolas Scudder, Senior, Charlotte (+4 / 34)

Nickolas Scudder has finally done it! The Charlotte veteran had been a consistent distance ace throughout his career, often throwing down fast times, earning top-tier wins and securing strong finishes in nationally competitive fields.

The catch? He has struggled in the postseason.

But ironically, in a year where his regular season results were good, but not great (8th at Joe Piane and 16th at the Virginia Invite), Scudder pulled through at the 2023 national meet with a 30th place finish. And when you evaluate the ups and downs of other top names in our rankings, a TSR #30 ranking seems perfectly appropriate.

29. David Mullarkey, Junior, Florida State (-7 / 22)

Yes, David Mullarkey finished 40th on the national stage, but his resume throughout the entirety of this fall was most certainly better than that.

The Florida State ace took 5th at Joe Piane, made significant jump with his 14th place finish at Nuttycombe and sustained that excellence at the ACC XC Championships with a 3rd place effort.

It's more than fair to say that Mullarkey was better than being a 40th-best runner this fall, although his national meet effort did bring his ranking back a bit.

28. Evans Kiplagat, Freshman, New Mexico (+3 / 31)

When Evans Kiplagat first entered the NCAA, we had questions about how he would fare. A 5th place finish at the Griak Invitational was decent, but an 18th place finish at Nuttycombe was far more encouraging.

And now, with a silver medal at the Mountain West XC Championships as well as a 33rd place All-American finish, Evans Kiplagat has shown us that his NCAA inexperience didn't hurt him in the slightest. In fact, he was consistently great this fall which is why he's ranked higher than his national meet finish.

27. Santiago Prosser, Junior, Northern Arizona (+19 / 46)

After a breakout race at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships, Santiago Prosser validated that result with a strong cross country campaign over the last few months.

Admittedly, Prosser wasn't quite as strong throughout the entirety of his 2023 fall campaign as he was on the national stage in 2022. However, when you look at his overall resume from the last three months, a 17th place finish at the Virginia Invite and a 29th place effort at Nuttycombe were respectable results that caught our attention.

But after securing a 21st place finish at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships, Prosser has proven that he is at his best when the stakes are at their highest. And while we wouldn't put him at a spot that matches his national meet finish, a TSR #27 ranking seems more than fair.

26. Dylan Schubert, Junior, Furman (+7 / 33)

Yes, it's true, Dylan Schubert opened up his 2023 cross country season with a flat-out poor 47th place finish, a least by his standards. But as the season has gone on, this Furman veteran seemingly rebounded from an early-season illness.

That could not have been more true with an excellent 26th place finish at Nuttycombe as well as two titles between the Southern Conference and the Southeast regional meet. A 24th place finish on the national stage validates the top-tier talent that we knew Schubert had. It also showed how valuable he could be as a scorer when he's healthy.

25. Jason Bowers, Sophomore, East Tennessee State (Unranked)

For most of this season, we were high on Jason Bowers. In fact, both myself and Maura believed that he would be an All-American this fall.

However, it was also hard to gauge just how good this guy was. Bowers competed in a handful of meets, but his competition for most of this season was fairly light. Of course, a 22nd place finish completely alters our understanding of just how good he is.

We didn't really get to see the full version of Bowers throughout this season, but as we saw on the national stage, he was clearly an underrated name this fall. He rarely lost to anyone who wasn't a top-tier tat and when it came to the most important time of the year, Bowers delivered in a big way.

24. Joey Nokes, Junior, BYU (-6 / 18)

For the most part, this BYU standout was excellent this fall, placing 4th at the Virginia Invite, 13th at Nuttycombe and 4th at the BIG 12 XC Championships. After a 2022 fall campaign where he had a breakout season, Joey Nokes looked like a more mature racer who had also elevated his fitness.

However, for the second season in a row, Nokes fell just a touch outside of the top-50 on the national stage, a tough result for someone who was clearly running like a top-tier All-American this fall.

In theory, you could argue that Nokes should fall a few more spots following his 52nd place finish at the NCAA XC Championships. But when you look at a few of the men directly behind him in these rankings, it's hard to justify that group leapfrogging this BYU star in our final rankings.

23. Creed Thompson, Junior, BYU (-10 / 13)

We were very high on Creed Thompson this fall. After a fantastic 2022 fall campaign, we felt like the BYU junior was due to make a jump. And for the most part, that's exactly what happened.

Thompson started his season with a modest 26th place finish at the Virginia Invite. But from there, he snagged a monster 10th place result at the Nuttycombe Invite and an arguably even more impressive bronze medal at the BIG 12 XC Championships, a race that featured Oklahoma State, Iowa State, BYU and Texas.

Going into Charlottesville, Creed Thompson was on a hot streak. He was not only more fit than last year, but he was clearly more willing to race with the top men -- and more times than not, it had paid off.

Unfortunately, a 46th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships isn't what we expected from Thompson. And while that was hardly a poor result, it by no means reflected his true talent or potential as a top-tier low-stick.

And as we try to balance those two aspects, a ranking at TSR #23, just one spot above his preseason ranking, seems fair.

22. Perry Mackinnon, Senior, Syracuse (+10 / 32)

Last spring, Perry Mackinnon had a breakout season, running 13:33 (5k) and 28:33 (10k) during his time with Cornell. And when he joined the Syracuse men during the offseason as a graduate transfer, our biggest question for him was, "Can you translate that track success to the grass?"

The answer turned out to be a resounding, "yes" -- and Mackinnon only got better as the season progressed.

A 31st place finish at the Virginia Invite was decent, a 19th place finish at Nuttycombe was a tremendous jump and a 5th place finish at the ACC XC Championships was incredible validation. But to actually pull through on the national stage with a 19th place effort showed us that Mackinnon had built momentum throughout the season and ultimately peaked when it mattered the most.

It's hard to dislike anything about this graduate transfer. He rose the occasion every time that we assigned him a new challenge and he maintained incredible consistency. As we reflect on the summer of 2023, Mackinnon ended up being one of the most valuable offseason pickups of the year.

21. Bob Liking, Junior, Wisconsin (-11 / 10)

20. Jackson Sharp, Senior, Wisconsin (-13 / 7)

At the NCAA XC Championships, the Wisconsin duo of Bob Liking and Jackson Sharp had a very real chance of both cracking the top-10. That, however, did not happen.

Instead, Sharp finished 41st on Saturday and Liking settled for an 83rd place finish. It was yet another underwhelming cross country national meet for Liking and just a poor day in general for the Wisconsin men.

In theory, those national meet results should send this duo tumbling a bit further down our rankings than where they currently stand. But Liking won both the Loyola Lakefront Invitational and the BIG 10 XC Championships, each time defeating Sharp who placed 5th at Nuttycombe (where Liking did not race).

We wouldn't argue if someone wanted to push these guys down a bit further, but if we're being honest with ourselves, the Badgers 1-2 punch still deserve to be viewed as one of the bigger low-stick threats in the NCAA.

19. Victor Shitsama, Senior, Oklahoma State (Unranked)

Let's not make the analysis for Victor Shitsama more complicated than it needs to be.

At the BIG 12 XC Championships, the Oklahoma State veteran was flat-out bad, finishing 45th overall. We knew that the then-three-time cross country All-American had brief moments of inconsistency in the past, but that lone BIG 12 result was concerning, especially since we didn't have any other results of his to gauge (other than a Cowboy Jamboree performance which became an afterthought).

Naturally, you can understand our surprise when the Cowboy star erupted for a HUGE 12th place finish. Not only did he deliver on his All-American promise, but he easily had the best race of his career.

His conference meet performance still has to hold him back a bit in our rankings, but that was an insanely clutch effort from Shitsama.

18. Liam Murphy, Junior, Villanova (+10 / 28)

Throughout this season, Liam Murphy showed up and showed out.

The Villanova ace, no longer looking like a still-developing youngster, was a consistent low-stick star who only got better as the fall months unfolded. Murphy earned an excellent 7th place finish at the Virginia Invite, secured a fairly strong 21st place finish at Nuttycombe and snagged both of his conference and regional titles.

But despite the success that he had leading up to the national meet, suggesting that Liam Murphy was going to finish 14th at the NCAA XC Championships seemed like a small stretch. He was running well, and he had great experience, but anything inside the top-20 would have been considered an exceptional day for him.

And sure enough, exceptional was the best way to describe Murphy's race on Saturday. His resume doesn't quite allow him to reach the top-15 portion of our rankings, but in terms of reliability, he was one of the very best this fall.

17. Rocky Hansen, Freshman, Wake Forest (-5 / 12)

Despite the Wake Forest men advancing to the national meet, we didn't get to see the Demon Deacons' rookie superstar, Rocky Hansen, toe the line. The Wake Forest freshman had been absent for the entirety of the postseason with an injury.

Hansen was beyond amazing in the regular season. His 5th place finish at the Virginia Invite was later complemented by an incredible 6th place effort at Nuttycombe -- all as a true freshman.

But with everyone else continuing to race into the postseason, how should we rank Hansen?

It doesn't seem fair to keep him this high in our rankings when everyone else is actually competing. Of course, are we really going to say that a guy who finished in the top-six of both the Virginia Invite and the Nuttycombe Invite isn't one of the 20-best men in the nation for cross country?

We went with a TSR #17 ranking for Hansen, but we wouldn't argue too heavily about his ranking if someone wanted him to be elsewhere.

16. Kirami Yego, Junior, Arkansas (+7 / 23)

One of the biggest transfer pickups of the entire offseason was Kirami Yego landing at Arkansas as a transfer. The former South Alabama star was an aerobic beast last fall, but he had yet to fully refine his talent, something that he eventually did in 2023.

The Razorbacks' low-stick was excellent on the national stage this past weekend, placing 13th overall in what I would have considered to be a best case scenario for him. Of course, it's not like there was a lot to suggest that Yego couldn't run that well.

Yego's 3rd place finish at Pre-Nationals was quietly very strong and his 6th place finish at the SEC XC Championships, while not all that exciting, was still respectable. His resume as a whole wasn't strong enough to place him in the top-15 of our final rankings, but Yego's performance on Saturday was exactly the reason why Arkansas went out and recruited him.

15. Aaron Las Heras, Rs. Senior, Northern Arizona (+1 / 16)

There are only two results on Aaron Las Heras' resume that hold any weight in our eyes: The Nuttycombe Invite (where he finished 12th) and the NCAA XC Championships (where he finished 18th).

Now, some of you may be wondering, "Wait, how does Kirami Yego finish five spots ahead of Aaron Las Heras as the national meet and still earn a ranking one spot behind him?"

Well, a 12th place finish at Nuttycombe is truthfully a better result than what Yego produced in his lead up to the national meet. And with Yego already jumping up seven spots in our rankings, it felt like Las Heras was a good choice at TSR #15.

14. Victor Kiprop, Junior, Alabama (-3 / 11)

Alabama's top star, Victor Kiprop, had a very strong regular season and conference meet performance in his lead up to the national meet. A 3rd place finish at the Joe Piane Invite was followed-up by wins at the Crimson Classic and the SEC XC Championships.

In the past, Kiprop has struggled to perform on the national stage. And although he still wasn't his sharpest during Saturday's race, a 20th place finish was still a commendable performance and it feels like one big step in the right direction.

Kiprop does fall a bit after that performance, but for the most part, he was incredibly reliable throughout the fall months.

13. Alex Phillip, Senior, North Carolina (+2 / 15)

We knew that Alex Phillip would be good this season. We even thought that he could be an All-American. However, I'm not sure any of us thought that Alex Phillip would be ranked at TSR #13 as we close-out the season.

This North Carolina star was incredible throughout the year, becoming one of the more reliable distance talents in the NCAA. Phillip was 8th at the Virginia Invite, 11th at Nuttycombe, 4th at the ACC XC Championships and, just this past weekend, 17th at the NCAA XC Championships.

We're not exactly ranking Phillip at TSR #13 because of his national meet performance. We're listing him at this spot because he had one of the most complete resumes with one of the most challenging schedules in the NCAA.

12. Alex Maier, Senior, Oklahoma State (-3 / 9)

If you exclude the Midwest regional meet, Alex Maier only had two meets on his 2023 resume worth analyzing. The Oklahoma State star was runner-up at the BIG 12 XC Championships, battling with teammate Brian Musau. And on the national stage, Maier delivered on expectations, taking a 15th place finish...even if we thought he would be closer to the top-10.

If you take the averages of his two performances, a TSR #12 spot seems like a very fair end-of-season ranking for the Cowboy standout.

11. Devin Hart, Rs. Junior, Texas (+6 / 17)

Throughout last fall, Devin Hart had moments of greatness, although his inconsistency limited how far he could climb in our rankings.

But in 2023, Hart looked like a different runner. His consistency and tactics caught up with his raw fitness from last fall. The Texas star (and former Stanford runner) was 3rd at the Cowboy Jamboree, 17th at Nuttycombe, 4th at the BIG 12 XC Championships and an incredible 11th place at the NCAA XC Championships this past weekend.

Hart was consistently challenged this season by many of the megastars that headline the BIG 12, mainly those from the Oklahoma State men, BYU men and a few select Iowa State men. And even at Nuttycombe and the national stage, Hart looked just as strong.

Despite being a volatile name throughout last year, Hart evolved into one of the most reliable and consistent runners in the NCAA this fall.

10. Fouad Messaoudi, Sophomore, Oklahoma State (+4 / 14)

We only saw Fouad Messaoudi race twice this season before the national meet -- and the BIG 12 XC Championships (5th) was the only race that we put much stock into. With so few cross country results over the last two seasons, it was still a bit of a challenge to set expectations for this Oklahoma State star.

But on Saturday, we got all of the validation that we needed regarding Messaoudi's cross country prowess. The Cowboy ace finished 10th overall to build upon his 12th place finish from last year's national meet.

He may not race often on the grass, but when he does, he is incredibly lethal.

9. Patrick Kiprop, Junior, Arkansas (+10 / 19)

We knew that Patrick Kiprop was one of the more naturally gifted distance runners in the nation. We also knew that Kiprop had made noticeable improvements on his tactical prowess prior to this fall.

That wasn't directly apparent when the Arkansas ace placed 5th at Pre-Nationals, which was still a good mark, but a runner-up effort at the SEC XC Championships was much closer to expectations.

Following a South Central title, we felt like a top-20 spot was realistic for Kiprop at the NCAA XC Championships -- and it was. Except, we most certainly didn't anticipate the former Fresno Pacific runner to drop a monster 7th place finish, a key result which ultimately put his team on the podium.

How can you not like Patrick Kiprop? He has done everything that we've requested of him. He has improved his consistency, his tactical awareness in championship settings has clearly been refined and he's still progressing in his fitness.

8. Parker Wolfe, Junior, North Carolina (0 / 8)

There really isn't much to talk about with Parker Wolfe. His 9th place result was very predictable and it pretty much has no impact on his ranking. None of that is to say that he had a poor season -- he won the ACC title and placed 7th at Nuttycombe -- but Saturday's race didn't exactly reveal any major developments.

7. Brian Musau, Freshman, Oklahoma State (-1 / 6)

Despite his youth and despite his inexperience with the NCAA altogether, Brian Musau was consistently great this fall. He first came on to our radar at the Cowboy Jamboree where he finished runner-up.

However, it wasn't until the BIG 12 XC Championships -- a race where Musau broke a pack of elite teammates and fended off Alex Maier for the win -- that we truly began to realize how scary-talented this guy could be.

With an 8th place finish on the national stage, Musau didn't have much of an argument to be ahead of Kipngetich, Young, Bosley, Robinson, Keleta or Young. Regardless, he was tremendous this fall and his firepower was a major reason why this team was so unstoppable on Saturday.

6. Denis Kipngetich, Freshman, Oklahoma State (+19 / 25)

Some people may be looking at this ranking and thinking, "How is this guy only TSR #6? He won the Midwest regional title and finished 4th on the national stage!"

Those are all fair points and arguments. Denis Kipngetich was excellent for most of this season and his win at the Cowboy Jamboree, no matter how inconsequential that seemed at the time, further showcased his incredible fitness.

But truthfully, the only result that actually held any weight in our rankings (prior to the national meet) was the BIG 12 XC Championships. And on that stage, he finished 14th overall.

If we're being fair and gauging everyone on how they performed throughout the entirety of the season, then that slightly underwhelming result does not need to be considered in Kipngetich's ranking.

Even so, this Kenyan rookie was flat-out phenomenal on Saturday and it's scary to think about how much better he can be when he gains experience and refines his tactics.

5. Nico Young, Junior, Northern Arizona (-3 / 2)

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

If you had said at the beginning of the season that Drew Bosley and Nico Young would both fall outside of the top-three on the national stage, I don't know if I would have believed you. But as we reflect on this season as a whole, seeing that duo finish 5th and 6th on the national stage wasn't all that surprising.

It's not that Bosley or Young were incapable of winning gold -- they very much were. But as we saw at Nuttycombe, there were a large handful of other men who seemed like just as good choices.

And given how those men performed this fall relative to NAU's 1-2 punch, we feel fine trying to justify Bosley and Young cracking the top-five of our end of season rankings.

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

Let's not make this more complicated than it needs to be: Ky Robinson's 3rd place finish at the NCAA XC Championships perfectly aligns with his resume. He won a PAC-12 and West regional title, was 3rd at the Virginia Invite and 4th at the Nuttycombe Invite. And given how everyone else ran this fall, there wasn't much opposition for Robinson at our TSR #3 spot.

2. Habtom Samuel Keleta, Freshman, New Mexico (+1 / 3)

The only losses that Habtom Samuel Keleta took this season were to Graham Blanks (twice) and Nico Young (at Nuttycombe). Obviously, Blanks took our TSR #1 spot and since Keleta beat Young at the more important meet, the NCAA XC Championships, it felt like a given that his New Mexico rookie was given our TSR #2 spot.

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

Five wins.

Undefeated.

The two best victories of the entire season.

Yeah, this wasn't a debate.

---

ADDED

Victor Shitsama (Oklahoma State)

Jason Bowers (East Tennessee State)

Brodey Hasty (Northern Arizona)

Rodger Rivera (Texas)

Sanele Masondo (Iowa State)

Matthew Richtman (Montana State)

Luke Combs (Air Force)

Sam Lawler (Syracuse)

KICKED OFF

Joshua DeSouza (Iona)

Corey Gorgas (Northern Arizona)

Arturs Medveds (California Baptist)

Florian Le Pallec (Butler)

Damien Dilcher (Iona)

Theo Quax (Northern Arizona)

Will Anthony (Virginia)

Lukas Kiprop (New Mexico)

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Joshua DeSouza (Iona)

Corey Gorgas (Northern Arizona)

Arturs Medveds (California Baptist)

Florian Le Pallec (Butler)

Damien Dilcher (Iona)

Theo Quax (Northern Arizona)

Will Anthony (Virginia)

Lukas Kiprop (New Mexico)

James Corrigan (BYU)

Kenneth Rooks (BYU) Timothy Chesondin (Akron)

Rodgers Kiplimo (Iowa State)

Austin Vancil (Colorado)

Nicholas Russell (Santa Clara)

Nathan Green (Washington)

Gary Martin (Virginia)

Matt Strangio (Portland)

Adam Spencer (Wisconsin)

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)

Gable Sieperda (Iowa State)

Dylan Throop (Penn)

Ben Rosa (Harvard)

Ethan Coleman (Notre Dame)

Robert DiDonato (Stanford)

Ben Perrin (Montana State)

Davis Bove (Cal Poly)

Murphy Smith (Navy)

Jake Gebhardt (North Carolina)

Kang Nyoak (Northern Arizona)

Tyler Berg (Notre Dame)

Ryan Kinnane (Auburn)

Bradley Makuvire (Tulane)

Will Muirhead (Oklahoma State)

Notes

- N/A