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

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

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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.

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25. Ben Sumner, Sophomore, Azusa Pacific (Unranked)

Ben Sumner has quickly jumped onto the competitive radar of Division Two.

After some encouraging results in March, Sumner just ran 1:48 (800) and 3:45 (1500) at the Bryan Clay Invitational to enter the conversation as more than just a promising middle distance talent. Both of those performances are personal bests and align with the idea that he’s getting better with more time.

Sumner missed the finals at last year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships, but after finishing as the fifth-fastest D2 runner in the 800 meters this past weekend, Sumner will be looking at his first potential All-American finish if he continues to follow this trajectory.

24. Drew Weber, Sophomore, Western Washington (Unranked)

There has been an underappreciated consistency (in most cases) within Drew Weber's resume dating back to the indoor track season. And after this past weekend at the Bryan Clay Invitational, we're now seeing Weber emerge as one of the better-rounded 800 meter and 1500 meter athletes in the country.

That middle distance duality within the Division Two world is incredibly impressive, but it doesn't entirely answer whether or not he can get over the hump on the national stage.

Weber posted marks of 1:49.34 (800) and 3:44.83 (1500) this past weekend, setting personal bests that should make him a sure-fire qualifier for the outdoor national meet in May. However, this Western Washington ace has never advanced out of an 800 meter final in his two trips to the "Big Dance".

He’ll look to buck that trend to end the 2023 outdoor track season.

23. Luke Stuckey, Senior, Nebraska-Kearney (+2 / 25)

We really wanted to move Luke Stuckey forward more than just the two spots in this round of our rankings, but ultimately, we had to land at TSR #23.

Stuckey posted his first 3:44 (1500) mark since he set his personal best all the way back in 2021. If you don’t remember, that was the same year that Stuckey finished 3rd at the outdoor national meet in the 1500 meters in the single final. He paired that metric mile time with a mark of 1:51 for the half-mile, nearly matching his personal best in the event as well.

This is the version of Stuckey that will need to be present at the outdoor national meet if he plans on trying to win a national title, as challenging as that may seem, in the event.

22. Jared Gregoire, Freshman, MSU-Moorhead (Unranked)

The last time that we saw Jared Gregoire was at the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships where he failed to qualify for the finals in the 800 meters.

It was nearly a month before Gregoire returned to the track at the USD Early Bird in the half mile, but it was worth the wait as he ran 1:49.71 (800) to set an outright personal best by more than a second. Then, this past weekend at the Bryan Clay Invitational, we saw Gregoire drop an incredible time of 3:43.51 over 1500 meters!

For context, Gregoire ran the mile just once this past indoor track season and he finished in a time of 4:19.50. So to say that this is a surprise would be a severe understatement.

If this is how Gregoire competes for the rest of the outdoor track season, then it will be hard to view him as anything else other than a top contender in both the 800 meters and the 1500 meters. Of course, he’ll need to maneuver the preliminaries successfully before that can come to fruition, but at the moment, this could be the lowest his stock is for the rest of his career...and that's a good thing.

21. Issac Prather, Senior, Concord (+2 / 23)

I talked about Issac Prather in my article about the current landscape of Division Two and Division Three. And the points I made in that piece still rings true in our second rendition of our rankings for this outdoor track season.

Prather most recently set a personal best in the steeplechase, running 8:47 at the Flames Invitational. That mark is a five-second improvement from his previous best set all the way back in 2021.

The continued improvement of Prather has moved him from the "outside-looking-in" to someone with a legitimate shot at finishing as an All-American...or better yet, inside the top-five on the national stage.

His increased fitness has moved him up a tier and if his tactical awareness comes along with that improved fitness, then Prather is someone to seriously watch out for in late May.

20. Ryan Riddle, Senior, Missouri Southern (-3 / 17)

Ryan Riddle has yet to race this outdoor track season.

19. Afewerki Zeru, Senior, UC-Colorado Springs (-4 / 15)

Afewerki Zeru hasn’t seemed quite right since he re-debuted in early February. That theory is highlighted by his most recent performance at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

Zeru posted a mark of 29:32 in the 10,000 meters this past weekend, putting him at NCAA #11 on the D2 national leaderboard this season. However, that’s a far cry from his 10k personal best of 28:56 which was run last year at the Stanford Invitational.

The good news is that Zeru has likely secured a qualifying a spot in the 5000 meters and that should allow him to take another crack at the 10k later this season. Yes, he sits at TSR #19 right now in our rankings, but this is your reigning national champion in the outdoor 5000 meters and the bronze medalist in the 10,000 meters from last year.

He will be a problem to deal with solely because of his ability to perform at altitude and because of his race IQ. And when you combine that with his tactical ability, Zeru will prove to be better than his current ranking.

18. Zach Kreft, Rs. Senior, Walsh (-4 / 14)

After a bout with bronchitis led to Zach Kreft running 29:37 over the course of 10,000 meters, it appears that those effects have lingered after his performance in the 5000 meters at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

Kreft, a 13:51 (5k) talent, ran 14:13 (5k) this past weekend. And because of that result, he slides four spots down in our rankings.

This is not the start to the outdoor track season that Kreft (or TSR) likely envisioned. Luckily, he’ll have time to correct his standing on the national leaderboard, especially once he attacks the steeplechase, a race that is historically his primary event.

If he can get into the outdoor national meet, then Kreft will be a top-eight contender.

17. Josh Pierantoni, Senior, Colorado Christian (+2 / 19)

We knew that Josh Pierantoni was fit after his sub-30:00 performance for 10,000 meters at 4800 feet of elevation, but his outing at the Bryan Clay Invitational further proves that he’s in the best shape of his career.

Pierantoni contested the 5000 meters in Azusa, California this past weekend and set a new personal best of 13:52 for the event. He also ran 4:01 for 1500 meters, just four seconds off his personal best in that event.

This Colorado Christian star was the runner-up finisher in his section of the 5000 meters, falling behind only Reece Smith who also set a new personal best in the event. This result has reminded us that Pierantoni is still an elite talent among the realm of Division Two and maybe the most dangerous that he's been all year long.

16. Cameron Allan, Junior, Adams State (Unranked)

Cameron Allan has effectively been an afterthought after running 8:02 (3k) in early December this past indoor track season. But after an “okay” performance at the indoor national meet, Allan has come back with vengeance in what can be considered his strongest race thus far in an Adams State uniform.

At the Bryan Clay Invitational, the Great Britain native turned in a performance of 28:37 for 10,000 meters and is currently the fastest man in Division Two for that event so far this spring.

His time of 28:37 is currently the fourth-fastest among any of the returners from last year’s 10k final and is only behind the likes of Dillon Powell, Awet Beraki and Jan Lukas Becker. This is not us saying that he’ll finish 4th in the 10k at the outdoor national meet later this May, but that’s pretty good company to be in after your first effort at the distance in a collegiate uniform.

15. Tanner Chada, Senior, Grand Valley State (-7 / 8)

Tanner Chada has yet to race this outdoor track season.

14. Caleb Futter, Junior, Grand Valley State (+2 / 16)

Caleb Futter continues his impressive string of performances so far this outdoor track season after a strong result at the Bryan Clay Invitational this past weekend.

The Grand Valley State star set two more personal bests running 3:46 (1500) and 14:09 (5k) with the latter of those events being a 15-second improvement from his previous personal best of 14:24 (5k). His metric mile time is a two-second improvement as well, making it an incredibly successful weekend for Futter.

After adding these results to his most recent steeplechase effort (8:42), it’s clear that Futter has taken another step forward since the indoor track season. And because of it, Futter is a legitimate national title contender in the steeplechase and another viable All-American option in a second event.

13. Jan Lukas Becker, Senior, Mississippi College (+5 / 18)

Jan Lukas Becker waited over a month to debut for this 2023 outdoor track season. And that hiatus may have caused a few to forget about the Mississippi College veteran.

If that was the case, then Becker has swiftly reminded the country of how good he is after running 28:43 at the Mt. SAC Relays this past weekend. That mark is currently sitting at NCAA #3 on the D2 national leaderboard, but that time is still 16 seconds off of his personal best set when he was at Queens (NC) last year.

That said, this result should get Becker into the outdoor national meet with ease. We are still awaiting his steeplechase debut this outdoor campaign, but we should expect something similar to his 8:45 personal best from last year. And if he's as sharp as he was during the winter months, then a potential scare of the 8:40 barrier may be in play.

12. Charlie Dannatt, Junior, Simon Fraser (0 / 12)

Charlie Dannatt added another 3:42 (1500) mark to his resume at the Bryan Clay Invitational this past weekend.

Dannatt’s official time was 3:42.16 for the metric mile which is the second-fastest raw time in D2 so far this spring. If the indoor track season was any indication, then we should see this Simon Fraser star run faster than 3:42 sooner rather than later.

Dannatt has been a mainstay at the middle distance level for nearly two seasons now. We’re betting on him to continue to get better as the season moves on and with that improvement, he’ll become prime candidate to fight for the national title in the 1500 meters.

11. Luke Julian, Rs. Senior, Colorado Mines (+2 / 13)

Is this the season that Luke Julian finally ascends to being a national champion?

After running 3:41 (1500) and setting a three-second personal best at the Bryan Clay Invitational this past weekend, it appears that Julian is back on track as one of the top contenders in this event. He’s now run the equivalent of what he ran this past indoor track season (3:58 for the mile) and we still have five weeks until the outdoor national meet.

Julian’s future may hold some 5000 meter races, but that shouldn’t deter you from believing that he’s arguably the current favorite in the 1500 meters depending on how you feel about Miguel Coca and Hamza Chahid.

We saw his improved tactics on the national stage during the indoor track season and after finishing as the top Division Two athlete in the metric mile this past weekend, it’s hard to believe that those elite racing aspects they won’t be on display in his last hurrah.

10. Clement Duigou, Junior, Adams State (-3 / 7)

It was a tough weekend for Clement Duigou at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

The French native posted marks of 14:04 for 5000 meters and 8:56 for the steeplechase. At this time last year, we saw Duigou run 13:53 (5k) and 8:36 (steeplechase) before he went on to run the second-fastest steeple time in D2 history.

For obvious reasons, Duigou slides three spots, but if he runs up to his potential, then he’ll quickly move in the other direction.

9. Awet Beraki, Senior, Adams State (-4 / 5)

Awet Beraki moves backward four spots after posting times of 13:50 (5k) and 28:42 (10k) this past weekend at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

Those times are likely good enough to qualify for the outdoor national meet, but they’re not what we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from Beraki in an Adams State singlet. He’s run 13:36 (5k) and 28:12 (10k) before and will need to do so again to likely have a chance at finishing inside the top-three of either event this year.

Beraki ran 13:38 (5k) two weeks after he ran 28:12 (10k) at the Mt. SAC Relays last outdoor track season and we could see him lay down another fast time in two weeks at the Payton Jordan Invitational...right?

8. Reece Sharman-Newell, Sophomore, CSU-Pueblo (+2 / 10)

It’s been clear that Reece Sharman-Newell is capable of running fast.

He proved that to us last year, on this same weekend, just how good he could really be. However, since then, we’ve been waiting on Sharman-Newell to improve his racing ability. This past weekend, we saw him run 1:48 for 800 meters and finish as the fifth-fastest D2 athlete in the field.

Sure, that’s a tad concerning, but it’s not what Sharman-Newell did in the 800 meters that had us talking. Instead, it’s what he accomplished in the 1500 meters, running a fantastic personal best of 3:45.45.

The Thunderwolf ace placed 8th among D2 athletes this past weekend while doubling back from his main event the day before. We’ve harped on his improved strength before and what we’re witnessing is the culmination of his speed and strength coming together.

If he’s able to effectively translate that improved 1500 meter prowess to the 800 meters and replicate his elite fitness from last spring, then he's closer to the tier of Rugenerwa, Ferguson and El Bouchayby than not.

7. Butare Rugenerwa, Senior, West Texas A&M (+2 / 9)

Much like Sharman-Newell, the West Texas A&M athlete in Butare Rugenerwa also saw his stock improve after his strong performances at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

Rugenerwa put together a successful double of 1:48 (800) and 3:45 (1500). It was nearly a personal best in the half-mile and was a one-second improvement in the metric mile for the Buffalo veteran. The last time that we saw Rugenerwa put together times like this, he went go on to win the national title in the 800 meters.

He wasn’t the favorite to win the national title then and he’s not currently the favorite to win the national title now. But that might be the way he wants it to be. Does that mean we could see a massive upset if things play into his strengths?

6. Hamza Chahid, Freshman, Wingate (+5 / 11)

There were some questions lingering around which event Hamza Chahid would opt for this outdoor track season. And after this past weekend, it’s safe to assume that we have our answer.

Chahid raced to a mark of 13:33 in the 5000 meters at the Bryan Clay Invitational, clocking the NCAA #6 all-time mark for that event in Division Two history. He barged his way into the conversation of being a legitimate national title threat and will likely be Dillon Powell’s biggest problem in May.

The Morocco native has proven that he has the wits to race in any kind of race setting. Alongside his race IQ, he also has the talent in almost every aspect to compete in any championship scenario.

If it’s tactical battle, then Chahid has the natural leg speed to outrun his opponents. And after this most recent performance, he’s proven that he can theoretically hang with Powell’s preferred racing method of aggressive front-running, making him an unpredictable opponent.

5. Reece Smith, Junior, NW Missouri (+1 / 6)

It was a massive weekend for Reece Smith, to say the least.

The reigning steeplechase national champion contested the event at the Bryan Clay Invitational which saw him finish in a time of 8:40 and settle behind only BYU’s Kenneth Rooks who ran 8:31. Smith’s steeple time is the fastest in Division Two so far this season and it puts him in the driver’s seat to repeat as the national champion in May.

But that wasn’t all that we saw from this Bearcat star. Smith doubled back in the 5000 meters, running 13:50 for the distance while setting a new personal best by seven seconds.

Smith ran 8:33 in the final of the steeplechase at last year’s D2 outdoor national meet and had only run 13:57 for 5k. He’s already ahead of that trajectory here in 2023 which means that we could see a sub-8:30 in his near future.

4. Dillon Powell, Sophomore, Colorado Mines (-2 / 2)

Dillon Powell hasn’t raced since the Stanford Invitational. He still needs to secure a national qualifying mark in the 10,000 meters and that should be next up on his racing agenda.

3. Wes Ferguson, Junior, Nebraska-Kearney (+1 / 4)

It’s pretty incredible that you can put up the career that Wes Ferguson has as of late and only be considered at TSR #3.

After setting a personal best in the 800 meters at the indoor national meet, Ferguson opted to speed that timeline up during the outdoor track season. This past weekend, the Loper star set a new personal best of 1:46.95 over the half-mile distance and finished in 4th place overall behind Oussama El Bouchayby, Abdullahi Hassan of Wisconsin and Charles Da’Vall Grice of Great Britain. Ferguson also posted a personal best over 1500 meters, running 3:48.85 (a five-second improvement).

Ferguson was a national title threat during the indoor track season solely because of his racing tactics. And now that those tactics have seen his fitness level catch up, we could see Ferguson’s greatest masterclass race to date in late May...but will that be enough to take down his newly-discovered rival?

2. Miguel Coca, Senior, Adams State (+1 / 3)

After posting an altitude converted mark of 3:40 in the 1500 meters, there were plenty of eyes on Miguel Coca as he headed to the Bryan Clay Invitational this past weekend.

And yes, the New Mexico native ran fast in California, but it wasn’t just the 1500 meters where we saw him run well. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that the metric mile played second fiddle to Coca’s effort over 5000 meters.

Coca raced to a time of 13:36.51 (5k) and now sits inside the top-10 of Division Two all-time for that event. The following day, saw the Adams State athlete run 3:43 (1500) which was just a half second off of his personal best.

This is truly another level of fitness that Coca has reached and it’s made him even deadlier when he toes the line against his opponents. He’s your current national title favorite in the 1500 meters and after his strong two-day showing, it’d be hard to pick a better option to upset the field in the 5000 meters at the outdoor national meet.

1. Oussama El Bouchayby, Freshman, Angelo State (0 / 1)

This is pretty simple.

Oussama El Bouchayby posted his second 1:45 mark over the half-mile this season. That makes him the first Division Two athlete to post multiple 1:45 results in NCAA history.

El Bouchayby is in rare air when it comes to Division Two legends. If he winds up breaking a 27-year old record while winning his second national title in the 800 meters in as many tries, then it’d be hard to consider him anything else than a top-three athlete in history of this event.

And while we’re harping on half-mile prowess, it’s worth noting that El Bouchayby also ran 3:45 for 1500 meters at the David Noble Relays the weekend prior. An improvement in his strength-based fitness combined with his raw foot-speed make El Bouchayby the clear pick for our TSR #1 spot for the second-straight update.

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ADDED

Jared Gregoire (MSU-Moorhead)

Drew Weber (Western Washington)

Ben Sumner (Azusa Pacific)

Cameron Allan (Adams State)

KICKED OFF

Dillan Haviland (Northwood)

Cole Nash (Alaska Anchorage)

Matthew Storer (Colorado Christian)

Clayton Sayen (Michigan Tech)

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Tanner Maier (Minnesota State)

David Cardenas (Adams State)

Braxton Bruer (MSU-Moorhead)

Dillan Haviland (Northwood)

Josh Jones (Northwood)

Tyler Nord (Western Colorado)

Simon Kelati (Western Colorado)

Davonte Jett-Reynolds (Adams State)

Jacob Hernandez (Western Colorado)

Scott Nutter (Wingate)

Ben Arens (Nebraska-Kearney)

Nixon Korir (Azusa Pacific)

Albert Hesse (Western Colorado)

Soheil Boufrizi (Wingate)

Evan Graff (UC-Colorado Springs)

Loic Scomparin (Colorado Mines)

Clayton Sayen (Michigan Tech)

Cole Nash (Alaska Anchorage)

Matthew Storer (Colorado Christian)

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)

Dylan Burrows (Oklahoma Christian)

Trever Medina (Fort Hays State)

Delsin Burkhart (UNC Pembroke)

Shannon Turner (Cal State LA)

Warren Thiel (Charleston (WV))

Jagger Zlotoff (UC-Colorado Springs)

Hunter Huttin (Western Oregon)

Jakob Rettschlag (Wingate)

Cole Benoit (Mississippi College)

John O'Malley (Colorado Mines)

Steven Goldy (Colorado Mines)

Lars Laros (Wingate)

Duncan Fuehne (Colorado Mines)

Christopher Cherry (Illinois-Springfield)

Aron Orar (Adams State)

Marcus Graham (UC-Colorado Springs)

Noah Bundrock (West Texas A&M)

Jeret Gillingham (Western Washington)

David Ecker (Sioux Falls)