TSR's 2023 D2 Indoor Top 25 Individual Rankings (Men): Update #2

John Cusick
Feb 6, 2023
18 min read

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Written by John Cusick, additional edits and commentary by Garrett Zatlin

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.

KEY

(Unranked):

Was not ranked in our last update.

(#/#):

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

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

25. Mason Strader, Junior, Pittsburg State (-11 / 14)

Mason Strader has yet to race this season. He gets to stick around at TSR #25 due to his resume, but if we don’t see him race in the next two weeks, he will be removed.

24. Dillan Haviland, Sophomore, Northwood (Unranked)

When we saw that Dillan Haviland was entered in the 3k at the SVSU - Jet’s Pizza Invitational, we were unsure of what to expect.

And while it did feel like the Northwood ace had some untapped upside that he could utilize, it’s safe to say that we didn’t anticipate Haviland running 8:02 for 3000 meters, especially after running 4:07 (mile) and 1:51 (800) earlier in the season.

But after seeing this performance, Haviland has entered our rankings for the first time in his career and it likely won’t be the last. His time of 8:02 currently has him ranked at NCAA #7 and that should get him into the national meet for the first time as an individual.

Seeing this rising Timberwolf talent run well for 3000 meters is encouraging, but that’s not even his best event. We expect him to take another crack at the mile this season and when he does, he will almost certainly run faster than the 4:07 mark that he’s already posted this season. His personal best is 4:06, a time that is now in immense danger given Haviland’s current fitness.

We won’t get too far ahead of ourselves in saying that Haviland is a national title contender, but his raw speed and current strength make him someone fit for All-American honors. Expect to see his stock steadily rise over the season's final few weeks.

23. Hunter Kurz, Senior, Mississippi College (Unranked)

Hunter Kurz makes his debut in our rankings after two successful weekends of racing.

First, at the Boston University John Thomas Terrier Classic, we saw Kurz contest the mile. He put together a strong showing with a time of 4:03 while dropping his mile personal best by three seconds. His time currently ranks him at NCAA #10 and that should get him into the national meet.

Then, this past weekend at the South Carolina Invitational, he ran a 3k in a time of 8:07, setting another personal best, this time by five seconds. He also was the anchor on Mississippi College’s DMR team that ran 9:44. That time currently sits at NCAA #2 and should also get the Choctaws into the national meet.

Those three races have proved that Kurz deserves to be in our rankings. He’s a mile specialist who is continuing to improve strength-wise.

And let's suppose that he continues to build upon this success. In that case, he’ll become a viable pick not only as an individual All-American, but also someone who could put Mississippi College over the top in the DMR.

Kurz has quietly evolved into one of the more well-rounded athletes in the country. As he continues to see success, it was only a matter of time before he broke out onto the national scene. It appears that the time has come and Kurz won’t be on the outside looking in this year.

Instead, he’ll be looking to play spoiler in his final collegiate season.

22. Tanner Maier, Sophomore, Minnesota State (-3 / 19)

It’s been an up-and-down season for Tanner Maier so far in 2023.

Two weeks ago at the Mark Schuck Open and Multi, we saw Maier lower his personal best in the mile to 4:08. After the track conversion, his result moved to 4:05 which has him sitting at NCAA #14 for the event. That felt like the beginning of a breakout season for Maier, but after this weekend’s performance, we see this Minnesota State star ultimately move backwards three spots.

Maier raced to a time of 1:52 for 800 meters at the Ted Nelson Classic. He won the event by more than six seconds. Surely, with any competition, we think Maier could have run faster than 1:52. That's now the second time this season that he has run 1:52 and for consistency's sake that’s great. However, with a personal best of 1:48, there is still plenty of room for him to improve this season.

This is just a hiccup, if we can even call it that for a guy who won by six seconds, for Maier and we fully expect him to bounce back in the final few weeks.

21. Evan Graff, Senior, UC-Colorado Springs (+2 / 23)

Evan Graff gets a two-spot bump after his performance at the Boston University Scarlet and White Invitational this past weekend.

Graff lowered his personal best to 4:05.08 after venturing to the northeast and he shaved off two seconds from his previous best from last year. This is certainly a step in the right direction for Graff who is already qualified for the national meet barring any catastrophes over the last five weeks of the season.

The biggest knock on Graff each year was that he had never actually ran the times that his conversions said he could. Getting out to a meet where he can actually run the pace that is required of him (like we saw this past weekend) should only benefit the UC-Colorado Springs veteran in just a few weeks.

If he opts to get one more quick mile race in, we think he would be closer to that 4:01/02 timeframe. In theory, that would put him in contention for the national title. Is he still a contender currently? That answer would be yes, but we are a bit more hesitant to say so with a mile PR of "just" 4:05.

The Mountain Lion ace will have to run faster than that at the national meet in either the preliminaries or the finals, but we have no definitive proof that he will be capable of doing so. Even so, Graff is building in the right direction and if things break right, he’ll be an All-American at the very least.

20. Cole Nash, Sophomore, Alaska Anchorage (+1 / 21)

The Alaska Anchorage athlete continues to improve as time passes. Unfortunately, a single spot forward is all we could justify for Cole Nash this time around, but we think that he’ll continue to climb these rankings as the year goes on.

Nash headed to Washington two weeks ago and raced the 3k where he crossed the line in a time of 8:03. That’s a 13-second improvement from his old personal best and it currently has him sitting at NCAA #10.

Nash is known as more of a 5k/10k guy and his performances on the outdoor circuit highlighted that during his 2022 campaign. And after a strong cross country season this past fall, Nash has seemingly picked up where he left off. His latest performance highlights the improvements that he has made in such a short amount of time.

Despite the recent progress, this Alaska Anchorage runner will ultimately have a hard time finishing his race as fast as some of his opponents given his limited turnover (by comparison). Even so, that just instills confidence in us that he’ll be toward the front of his races when it is time to kick. And just being there will give him a shot at All-American honors.

In the end, we think Nash will be at his best in the 5k. And with that race being on the first day, the GNAC ace will be able to go all-in on both races assuming he eventually qualifies for the 3k (which isn't necessarily guaranteed). He’s not afraid of mixing it up at the front of his races and recent developments suggest that he could be a dark horse candidate for a top-three finish.

19. Duncan Fuehne, Junior, Colorado Mines (-3 / 16)

Duncan Fuehne moves back to TSR #19 after his performance at the Colorado Invitational from two weekends ago.

Fuehne raced the mile and posted a time of 4:14. After the conversion, he now sits at roughly 4:09. As a true long distance runner, it’s hard to put any stock into this race for Fuehne. Would we have liked him to run faster? Absolutely. Does this change where Fuehne stands within the 3k/5k athletes? No, not necessarily.

We know that Fuehne gets better as the distance gets longer and that rang true while racing the mile. He’s a grinder that wears his opponents down and that strategy will be fully alive when he does toe the line for the 3k/5k this season.

For now, Fuehne moves backward, but we could see his stock rapidly improve when he contests an event in his wheelhouse.

18. Clement Duigou, Junior, Adams State (-3 / 15)

Clement Duigou is moving three spots backwards in this rankings update largely due to performances from others around the country -- not necessarily because of anything that he's done.

At the Wes Lavong Open, Duigou ran 4:19.02 and saw a 15-second conversion that moved his time to 4:04.97. That is good enough for NCAA #13 and should get Duigou into the national meet in March if he opts to contest that event.

However, at the New Mexico Collegiate Challenge this past weekend, Duigou ran 4:10 for the mile. That’s just a second off of his personal best and it gave him a conversion of roughly 4:05 for the distance. That’s not a better mark than the one that he posted in Alamosa two weeks ago, but it’s certainly instilling confidence in Duigou and how we feel about his chances at the national meet.

Duigou has run 8:29 for the steeplechase, 8:00 for the 3k and 13:53 for the 5k. So, when we look at his converted mark of 4:04, there’s a legitimate reason for us to believe that he could run 4:04 at sea level right now.

While we are uncertain if he will get that chance, Duigou has continued his success at Adams State this winter. He’s proven to be a very capable miler and his overall value is really solid.

No matter the event that Duigou ends up competing in at the national meet, there’s a good chance that he’s capable of finishing inside the top-eight. That type of flexibility will give him multiple attempts at becoming an All-American and potentially help the Grizzlies in their effort for a team national title.

17. Hamza Chahid, Freshman, Wingate (Unranked)

If you’re unfamiliar with Hamza Chahid...then don’t worry, so were we.

The freshman from Wingate jumped onto the Division Two scene this past weekend with a 3k time of 8:01 at the Camel City Invitational. After the track conversion, Chahid saw his time move to 7:56 and an NCAA #2 mark.

Chahid holds personal bests of 1:53 (800), 3:46 (1500) and now 8:01 (3k). Before this race, he had never run faster than 8:13 for 3000 meters, a result that came all the way back in 2018. To say that this race was a breakout would be an understatement.

There are still plenty of lingering questions about Chahid and what we should expect from him for the rest of the season. But one thing is for certain, he’s going to be in the mix for a top-eight finish at the national meet.

Yes, it's just one race from the Moroccan native, but if he continues to race like this and posts marks as fast as this, it will be hard to overlook him among the Division Two national field.

16. Loic Scomparin, Junior, Colorado Mines (+4 / 20)

When we think of Loic Scomparin, we think of an elite 3k/5k/10k athlete with a resume that backs him up as one of Division Two’s best distance talents.

And now, he can add an upper-tier mile time to his resume.

Most recently, at the Colorado Invitational, we saw Scomparin drop down in distance and contest the mile. In that race, Scomparin posted an outstanding converted mark of 4:00 after running 4:06 and receiving a six-second boost. It’s the first time that we’ve seen Scomparin race this distance, making his recent effort that much more impressive.

One of our biggest knocks on Scomparin was his finishing speed and his latest showing suggest that it might have been one of his perceived weaknesses as well. And although altitude conversions are more strength-based than certain sea level efforts, we still have a lot to be encouraged about for this Oredigger star.

This latest result not only proves that Scomparin has the finishing kick necessary for championship racing, but it also means that we should see him run incredibly well over his main distances in the coming weeks.

A four-spot improvement is just the beginning for this Colorado Mines athlete. He’s trending in the right direction and he should be viewed as a somewhat legitimate threat for a national title in the 3k or 5k come March despite sitting outside of our top-15.

15. Caleb Futter, Junior, Grand Valley State (-6 / 9)

Caleb Futter takes the biggest tumble in this week's rankings update, a reflection of our wavering confidence in him so far this winter.

Futter made his 2023 indoor track debut this past weekend at the Meyo Invitational with a decent, but admittedly underwhelming, mark of 4:08 for the mile. That time doesn’t place him inside the top-40 for Division Two and has us wondering where Futter’s overall fitness is.

There is still plenty of time for this GVSU veteran to turn his season around, but a rust-buster in February that doesn’t help with national qualifying makes us curious about how the next few weeks will play out for him. He’s proven to be one of the best milers in the nation and after a strong cross country season, we thought improvement would come almost instantly on the indoor oval.

So far, that is not the case, and for that reason, we have to move Futter to TSR #15.

14. Zach Kreft, Rs. Senior, Walsh (-2 / 12)

It feels almost criminal moving Zach Kreft back two spots this week after the season he’s been having for Walsh.

After running 4:03 for the mile three weeks ago, we saw Kreft line up for a 3000 meter race at the Penn State National Open. He finished 4th overall and raced to a new personal best of 8:02. That is four seconds better than he ever ran at Notre Dame, placing him at NCAA #8 on Division Two’s national leaderboard.

Did we place too high of expectations on Kreft after his early-season success? Potentially. But is 8:02 a bad time for him? Absolutely not, although we would be lying if we said that we didn't want a little more out of his latest result.

The Ohio-based talent now has three top-10 marks on the D2 national leaderboard and will have his choice of events at the national meet in March. We’re hesitant to suggest that Kreft will race the mile, which means the 5k/3k double is probably in his future.

We have been wrong before when it comes to athletes choosing events (shocker), but after his fast 5k time in early December and now with this mark in the 3k, it’s hard to believe that Kreft will choose to run mile preliminaries and the 5k on the same day. His best shot at winning a national title likely comes in the 3k and his foot-speed could make all the difference.

Of course, he has to get through one of the most loaded fields in recent history to do so. And even if he walks away with just a top-eight finish, we would call his season a successful one.

13. Miguel Coca, Senior, Adams State (+5 / 18)

Miguel Coca continues to be one of the best milers in the country so far in 2023.

His most recent effort came at the New Mexico Team Open where he ran 4:03.94 for the mile. After the conversion, that roughly translates to 3:58. And despite that jaw-dropping mark, it’s still not better than his previous effort of running 4:11 in Gunnison, Colorado which converted to the current NCAA #1 mark of 3:57.

Our confidence in Coca has never been higher. He just ran a new personal best by eight seconds which came at 4900 feet of elevation. There is still plenty more in the tank for this Adams State star and we think an attempt at a true sea level sub-4:00 time is on the horizon.

If we solely used Coca’s raw time from New Mexico, he’d have the third-fastest time in the country so far this season. That alone makes him a threat for the national title in March.

The one thing that we would like to see from Coca is a fast 800 meter or 3k time to validate the kind of fitness he is in. Of course, that isn’t a deal breaker for us when it comes to ranking him. He’s the Grizzlies' best miler and he’ll be in play for an All-American bid, if not a national title bid in the mile.

12. Luke Julian, Rs. Senior, Colorado Mines (-2 / 10)

It feels weird moving Luke Julian backward two spots after his performance at the Colorado Invitational two weekends ago.

Julian toed the line for a 3k race and walked away with a raw time of 8:16.91. After the altitude conversion, his performance moves to 8:03:13 which places him at NCAA #9 this season. The biggest takeaway is that Julian’s outright 3k PR is only 8:13. With him being just three seconds off of that, at altitude no less, tells us that he’s in just as good of shape as in recent years.

This past fall, we saw Julian continue his strong running as an Oredigger. His strength might be the best it’s ever been, which is a scary situation for the rest of the country.

If he opts for the mile, then he has the foot-speed to hold off the field in any race. If he opts for the 3k/5k, then he has shown that he has the strength to stick around for long enough to be a problem at the end of a race. Add in Julian’s level of experience and he’s easily one of the toughest athletes to get rid of at a national meet.

Despite the two-spot slide, Julian will be a force come March no matter the event that he chooses to compete in.

11. Jan Lukas Becker, Senior, Mississippi College (+2 / 13)

Jan Lukas Becker was one of many who recently headed to Boston to chase a fast time.

Becker set out to race the 3k and when he was finished, he had set a new personal best by nine seconds, running 7:58. That time places him at NCAA #4 and with it, there are plenty of questions to be asked.

Becker’s primary event is the steeplechase and he has had plenty of success in the event in recent years. This is the first time that we’ve seen Becker go under the 8:00 barrier for a 3k with no barriers.

Will this be his primary event come March? Will he also run the 5k the day before? What about Mississippi College’s DMR team that just ran 9:44 without Becker on it?

If we had to choose events, we would guess that Becker focuses on individual events. With two top-10 times on the national leaderboard, it’s hard to believe that Becker won’t be clamoring for an All-American finish that has often eluded him for so long on the track.

Becker is one of the most consistent athletes at the Division Two level and appears to be leveling up this winter. If he can race like this at the national meet, then we feel confident that he’ll finish inside the top-eight of at least one event.

10. David Cardenas, Sophomore, Adams State (+7 / 17)

If there were ever a time to buy stock in David Cardenas, the time might be right now.

Two weeks ago, at the Wes Lavong Open, we saw Cardenas run an 800 meter time in 1:53.26. After conversions, that was good enough to move him into the top-five on the national leaderboard. And while that was impressive, Cardenas opted to set his sights on another 800 meter effort at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic this past weekend.

In Albuquerque, Cardenas finished the half-mile race in a blistering time of 1:49.60. And after altitude conversion, we saw that mark drop to 1:48.99. That performance is now sitting at NCAA #3 and it has propelled Cardenas into the national title conversation (depending on who you ask).

We mentioned briefly in a Group Chat piece how this Adams State athlete was one of the few athletes who we could trust solely based on their altitude times. That sentiment rings true today after his performance at New Mexico.

Cardenas is one of the best 800 meter runners in the country and he just ran his fastest 800 meter time (indoors) ever by more than a second. If things continue in this direction, he could pose as a very serious threat to his opponents...more so than he already is.

9. Afewerki Zeru, Senior, UC-Colorado Springs (-4 / 5)

Afewerki Zeru has not raced since our last update.

8. Ryan Riddle, Senior, Missouri Southern (+3 / 11)

Ryan Riddle continues to move up in our rankings and for good reason.

The Missouri Southern ace dropped down to the mile distance this past weekend in Chicago, aiming to break the 4:00 barrier. And while he didn’t quite achieve that, he still walked away with a very strong time of 4:01.27 which is currently sitting at NCAA #7.

We’ve seen Riddle move up in distance over the last year or so and he’s had success, but not the same kind of success that he saw when he was contesting the mile.

So after his latest mile effort, is this the writing on the wall for future plans? We can’t officially answer that, but Riddle has proven to historically be one of the best milers in the country at the D2 level. If he decides to move back down to the mile after contesting the 3k and 5k last year, he’ll undoubtedly be a national title threat.

And even if he sticks with the 3k/5k, there’s a good chance we could be talking about Riddle as a dark horse title threat. He has the times to back up running fast in a championship race and seeing him run 4:01 straight up has us believing that his finishing kick is just as potent as anyone else's.

7. Charlie Dannatt, Junior, Simon Fraser (+1 / 8)

Charlie Dannatt had a strong weekend in Boston in late January and that result is him moving up one spot in our rankings.

Dannatt stepped up in distance to the 3k where he ran an impressive 7:58. That time is good enough for NCAA #5 on the national leaderboard and he is the last man currently under the 8:00 barrier for the event. The next day, we saw Dannatt anchor Simon Fraser DMR team to a smoking time of 9:42, which is currently atop the national leaderboard.

While we knew that Dannatt would likely anchor the DMR team, his 3k performance is what is most impressive. His combination of raw speed and newfound strength makes Dannatt one of the scarier distance athletes in the country.

It appears that he is setting up to run the mile/DMR/3k at the national meet and so far, we have every reason to believe that he will be successful at all three.

6. Reece Sharman-Newell, Sophomore, CSU-Pueblo (+2 / 7)

Reece Sharman-Newell has not raced an individual event since our last update. He was part of the CSU-Pueblo 4x400 meter relay team that ran 3:14 in New Mexico this past weekend.

5. Butare Rugenerwa, Senior, West Texas A&M (+1 / 6)

In our last rankings update, we had yet to see Butare Rugenerwa toe the line for any competitions. But fast forward two weeks and we now have two results for this West Texas A&M star. The latter of those performances has this Buffalo ace moving up one spot in this edition of our top-25 list.

He raced to a 7th place finish overall at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic, finishing in a time of 1:49.59. After conversions, that time moves to 1:48.97 and sits at NCAA #3.

Two weeks ago, Rugenerwa ran 1:52 and had a very underwhelming start to his indoor track season. Admittedly, there was some concern in that result given that it was late January and we’ve come to expect much more out of this West Texas A&M half-miler.

That concern, of course, has been put to bed in a swift manner. Rugenerwa is a threat for the 800 meter national title, but it will be no easy task to reclaim what was once his.

4. Awet Beraki, Senior, Adams State (0 / 4)

Awet Beraki stayed home in Alamosa two weekends ago, racing at the Wes Lavong Open.

Beraki stepped down in distance to the mile where he finished in 6th place overall in a converted 4:08.54. We are two weeks removed from his performance at the Houston Half-Marathon and some turnover was likely needed. Add in the 3k DNF from the same meet and we can confidently say that this was more of a training session than a competitive effort.

This performance doesn’t change our opinion of Beraki’s ranking. He’s one of the best distance athletes in the country with a resume that backs it up. The only thing that we would ask for is to see him run a 3k at sea level.

3. Wes Ferguson, Junior, Nebraska-Kearney (0 / 3)

The Nebraska-Kearney half-mile superstar is continuing to get better in 2023 and as that continues, so will him being the favorite for the national title in the event.

Ferguson raced at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational this past weekend and recorded a season’s best of 1:49.04 (800). He won the race by more than a second, and while this time isn’t technically better than his current NCAA #2 mark (1:48.45), it’s a step in the right direction.

The Loper ace made an effort to improve upon his weaknesses early this season. He’s gotten better with each race and given his history, we would expect that trend to continue for the rest of the season.

Ferguson is a championship racing savant who has a chance to go down as one of the best half-milers ever in Division Two. He’s the national title favorite right now and that probably won’t change between now and March if things stay as they are.

2. Tanner Chada, Senior, Grand Valley State (0 / 2)

Tanner Chada has not raced since his 5k effort a week after the cross country national meet. While that is a tad concerning, we have no reason to believe that Chada won’t compete this season. When he eventually races again, we feel confident that he’ll still be the biggest threat to Dillon Powell.

1. Dillon Powell, Sophomore, Colorado Mines (0 / 1)

Dillon Powell finally made his 2023 indoor track debut at the Colorado Invitational two weeks ago where he raced the mile.

Powell finished in 2nd place overall, running a time of 4:05.64. After the altitude conversion, we saw that time drop to an astonishing mark of 3:59.65. That’s currently listed at NCAA #2 on the national leaderboard behind only Miguel Coca of Adams State.

If you’re thinking that Powell is benefitting from the altitude too much, it’s important to know that the raw time for Powell would still place him inside the top-18 of the national leaderboard for the mile.

The Colorado Mines superstar had never contested the mile before his race in Boulder, making his latest effort all that more impressive. His ability to navigate a new race speaks volumes about his tactical ability. And while we haven’t seen him in many close races as of late, Powell’s raw 3k personal best is only 8:10, making us wonder if he did have that natural foot-speed necessary for tactical championship races.

Before this update, we would have argued that Powell’s weakest event is the 3k. But after this showing, it’s hard not to believe he will be much better than his current 8:10 PR indicates.

Powell is still our top-ranked athlete and he’s only proving to get better, making him that much scarier for the rest of the country.