TSR's 2023 D2 Outdoor Top 25 Individual Rankings (Men): Update #3

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

Luke Stuckey didn’t finish his regular season the way we expected him to after his strong showing in California nearly a month ago now.

Stuckey raced at the Drake Relays where he finished 9th overall while running a time of 3:49 (1500). He followed up that performance with another 3:49 (1500) mark to emerge as the runner-up finisher at the MIAA Outdoor Championships. He fell short of the win by nearly a second to Riley Gorham of Missouri Western.

After praising Stuckey for his tactical prowess during the indoor national meet, we may need to walk that back after seeing these results. Stuckey has been a TSR favorite for awhile now, but he’ll require a much better effort than this if he wants to replicate his result from mile at the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships.

24. Ben Sumner, Sophomore, Azusa Pacific (+1 / 25)

Ben Sumner gets to move forward three spots in our rankings after taking care of business this past weekend.

At the PacWest Outdoor Championships, we saw Sumner maneuver through the preliminaries of the 800 meters and the 1500 meters with relative ease. Then, in the finals, Sumner claimed an easy two-second victory in the half-mile and a close win in the metric mile.

This is Sumner’s second-straight 800 meter crown in the PacWest and his first title in the 1500 meters after finishing as the runner-up guy last spring. This recent string of races bodes well for the sophomore who may look to attempt the 800/1500 meter double in a couple of weeks.

His times signal a nationally competitive athlete, but there will always be the question of how he reacts to racing at altitude. That, in turn, could dictate which events he chooses to focus on while in Pueblo, Colorado.

23. Jared Gregoire, Freshman, MSU-Moorhead (-1 / 22)

Sure, seeing that Jared Gregoire ran 1:58 (800) and 3:57 (1500) at the Ron Masanz Track and Field Classic doesn’t really exhibit a ton of confidence. But when you look at the results, you see that he won the half-mile by a second and a half and he also won the 1500 meters by seven seconds.

We don’t really know why the races were so slow -- could they really have been THAT tactical -- but we don’t think that should be a knock against the MSU-Moorhead freshman. The talent is clearly there and that’s highlighted by his incredible double from the Bryan Clay Invitational.

He’ll need to replicate either of those California performances at the outdoor national meet in order to be competitive for an All-American honor, but Gregoire certainly can.

22. Matthew Storer, Sophomore, Colorado Christian (Unranked)

We initially took Matthew Storer out of our ranking the last time around because the meets in California, specifically Bryan Clay, brought in too many good results for us to keep him in here.

Luckily for him, we're adding Storer back into these rankings because he got to race at the Payton Jordan Invitational where he dropped a huge time of 13:54 in the 5000 meters to set a new outright personal best by two seconds.

Combine that result with his altitude converted mark of 28:57 in the 10k, and Storer has quickly become a favorite to finish as a double All-American at the end of this month.

Storer and his teammate Josh Pierantoni will enter their respective events as (very deep) dark horses for national titles in the 10k and the 5k. And their chances for NCAA gold will only be boosted by the fact that they’ll be racing at altitude.

This Colorado Christian star has already proven that he’s an aerobic monster and we could see that be on full display when it matters the most.

21. Drew Weber, Sophomore, Western Washington (+3 / 24)

Drew Weber is moving forward three spots largely due to athletes dropping out of our rankings and him performing better than some of the other athletes who are now listed behind him.

Since running 1:49 (800) and 3:44 (1500) at the Bryan Clay Invitational, Weber has contested two more half-mile races, clocking marks of 1:50 both times out. While these aren’t any better than his 1:49 mark, it’s a strong showing in terms of strength and his fitness level.

We don’t know yet if Weber will attempt the 800/1500 meter double at the outdoor national meet and that has effectively caused some murkiness in terms of what to expect from him.

If he opts for just a single event, then he could be an extremely difficult out in the preliminaries and in turn, that would make him a dangerous opponent in any kind of championship final.

20. Loic Scomparin, Junior, Colorado Christian (Unranked)

Loic Scomparin nearly made our top-25 rankings last time out, but he ultimately fell short due to a lack of racing.

After Scomparin’s fantastic 13:45 (5k) at the Payton Jordan Invitational, we may have another athlete who could win the 5000 meter national title if things break exactly right for him (but that's also a generous suggestion). He also ran 3:45 (1500) at the Bryan Clay Invitational, proving to us that he might have the finishing speed to be competitive over 5000 meters.

As a true freshman (2021), we saw Scomparin finish 3rd in the 5k at the indoor national meet and then followed that up with a 4th place finish during the outdoor track season that same year.

And in 2023, there’s a fairly realistic that chance that he will finish better than that in at least one of those races at the end of this month. On paper, he has all of the tools to be one of the most dangerous long distance talents that D2 has to offer.

Let's not forget, this Colorado Mines ace be racing at altitude once he reaches the national meet and he can work with his teammate Dillon Powell if necessary. If it comes downs to the final 400 meters, then we expect Scomparin to find himself in the mix where he could sneak out with another top-three All-American finish.

19. Isaac Prather, Senior, Concord (+2 / 21)

After his blistering 8:47 steeplechase personal best, Isaac Prather followed up that result with a double gold showing at the Mountain East Outdoor Championships.

Prather won the 1500 meters (3:54) and the steeplechase (9:11) in one-round finals, giving him his eighth and ninth conference titles between the MEC Indoor and Outdoor Championships in his Concord career.

We won’t look too much into this recent string of races as this was expected of Prather while competing in the MEC. Anything other than two wins would have been concerning going into the outdoor national meet.

Instead, Prather has shown us that he is locked-in and this could be in store for the best finish to a season in his career -- and it would only be fitting if he left Concord on the best terms possible.

18. Josh Pierantoni, Senior, Colorado Christian (-1 / 17)

Josh Pierantoni has not raced since our last rankings update.

17. Zach Kreft, Rs. Senior, Walsh (+1 / 18)

This is the Zach Kreft that we expected to see when the outdoor track season began!

The Walsh star clocked a personal best of 29:15 in the 10k while taking home the victory at the G-MAC Outdoor Championships. He then doubled back the next day to earn another gold medal after winning the 5k in a time of 14:13.

His current 5000 meter time for the outdoor track season won’t be good enough to qualify him for the national meet, but Kreft will be a worthy competitor over 25 laps on the track. He was 4th during the fall months over the same distance and there’s no reason to believe that he’s worse now than he was nearly six months ago.

16. Afewerki Zeru, Senior, UC-Colorado Springs (+3 / 19)

Afewerki Zeru won his second-straight 5000 meter conference title this past weekend at the RMAC Outdoor Championships, winning by a margin of 28 seconds in the process.

There’s not much to analyze here except that Zeru is in good shape. He’s the reigning 5k champion from last year’s outdoor national meet and he gets to defend that national title at 4000+ feet of elevation at the end of the month.

On paper, a lot of things are falling in Zeru's favor right now. He is rebounding from a quieter indoor track season, clearly getting healthier, building momentum and thriving at altitude. He may not be favored for NCAA gold over 5000 meters, but his case to defend his title is slowly growing stronger.

15. Caleb Futter, Junior, Grand Valley State (-1 / 14)

Caleb Futter moving backward a single spot is not because of his efforts since our last rankings update.

The Grand Valley State star clocked a personal best of 14:01 for 5000 meters at the GVSU Extra Weekend Meet, shaving eight seconds off of his previous PR in the event. Then, at the GLIAC Outdoor Championships, Futter claimed a conference title in the steeplechase for the third-straight season.

It’s obvious that Futter is continuing to get in better shape and he’ll need every bit of that fitness to contest for the steeplechase national title in Pueblo, Colorado. After running 14:01 for 5000 meters, it’s almost certain that Futter will double back in that event vying for double All-American honors.

14. Jan Lukas Becker, Senior, Mississippi College (-1 / 13)

Jan Lukas Becker took home the gold at the GSC Outdoor Championships in the steeplechase and the 10k this past weekend.

He slides a single spot solely due to some other strong performances, but he’s one of the top contenders in the 10,000 meters this year and there is no denying that.

Unfortunately, the only event that Becker is currently a "lock" to qualify for in the national meet is the 10,000 meters. Becker has run 9:05 for the steeplechase and 14:13 for the 5k, both marks are currently outside of the top-20 of the national leaderboard.

If he does put all of his eggs in the 10k basket, then Becker could be a viable pick to upset Dillon Powell for the national title, especially if the race turns tactical.

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

In our last rankings update, we suggested that Luke Julian could be on the verge of finally winning a national title. And while we still believe that to be the case, making that argument just became a little bit tricker.

Julian finished 3rd in the 1500 meters at the RMAC Outdoor Championships this past weekend behind Reece Sharman-Newell and Evan Graff. It was safe to assume that Julian was the title favorite entering the weekend, so naturally, finishing 3rd is a tad concerning.

It’s not the end of the world as the RMAC is obviously loaded (especially in that race), but Julian was the most talented man in that field. And as we enter the rest of the postseason, that recent lack of consistency isn't ideal.

Luckily for Julian, he’ll be contesting his strongest event at the national meet at altitude which should give him a slight advantage against some of his competition.

12. Cameron Allan, Junior, Adams State (+4 / 16)

Cameron Allan has probably had the biggest rise in the latter stages of the 2023 outdoor track campaign compared to anyone else in Division two.

After running the fastest time in Division Two this year for 10,000 meters, Allan returned to the track to run 13:50 (5k) this past weekend at the Portland Twilight. That was a huge showing compared to his 14:06 (5k) result from the night before at the Oregon Twilight.

Allan was sensational for the Grizzlies in the fall as the longer distances seemed to suit him. His time in the 10k backs up that notion. He sees the biggest jump in this edition of our rankings because while we think he can run faster than 13:50 over 5000 meters, it’s nice to know that we will at least see Allan at the national meet in two events.

11. Charlie Dannatt, Junior, Simon Fraser (+1 / 12)

This is the best that we’ve seen from Charlie Dannatt in a Simon Fraser uniform.

Yes, he has run 3:39 for 1500 meters before, but he’s now run 3:41 while actually donning a Red Leaves singlet, making him one of the favorites to take home the national title at that distance in late May.

We didn’t get a chance to see Dannatt at the indoor national meet due to an unexpected illness, but that should change during the outdoor track season. He’s a dynamic runner with strong racing wits and that type of running will always be tough to shake in a championship setting.

10. Clement Duigou, Junior, Adams State (0 / 10)

Clement Duigou posted a seasonal best in the steeplechase this past weekend while competing at the Oregon Twilight.

On Friday night, the French distance talent ran 8:53 over the barriers and water pits to crack the top-10 on the D2 national leaderboard and secure himself a spot at the outdoor national meet. He then doubled back on Saturday night, running 8:57 in the steeplechase, making it two consecutive days under 9:00 for the event.

Still, this isn’t the same Duigou that we saw last year. Instead of chasing fast times, it appears that he is working on his ability to run consecutive races while being competitive.

Would a faster time have helped his case in these rankings? Potentially, but he has run 8:28 in this event before and was the runner-up finish at last year's outdoor national meet. As long he makes it into the finals, he should be the biggest threat to Reece Smith and the steeplechase national title.

9. Awet Beraki, Senior, Adams State (0 / 9)

This past weekend was a good one for Awet Beraki, but it’s not quite up to the standards that we have come to expect from him.

The Adams State distance talent ran 14:00 for 5000 meters at the Oregon Twilight and then turned around and ran 13:50 in the same event the following day at the Portland Twilight.

Those are strong times in the grand scheme of things, but we saw Beraki run 13:36 (5k) during the indoor track season and most recently, he ran 28:42 for 10,000 meters, telling us that he should be faster than this.

Despite all of that, Beraki has the aerobic capacity to be a threat in these longer distance events at the outdoor national meet. After all, he is the national meet runner-up in both of those events from the 2022 outdoor track season.

8. Butare Rugenerwa, Senior, West Texas A&M (-1 / 7)

It was an interesting end to Butare Rugenerwa’s final Lone Star Outdoor Championships as he took home a silver medal in the 1500 meters and then landed a 5th place finish in the 800 meters.

In the metric mile, it appears that Rugenerwa did his best to knock-off Ousamma El Bouchayby, but his efforts fell short, finishing three-tenths of a second behind his national-caliber rival. That effort ultimately hurt him later on in the half-mile as he faded to 5th place.

Rugenerwa has proven that he can bounce back to have stellar races and we would expect that again at the outdoor national meet in a couple of weeks. He’s the epitome of a veteran and that will make him a viable option against the rest of the field.

7. Reece Sharman-Newell, Sophomore, CSU-Pueblo (+1 / 8)

You could argue that Reece Sharman-Newell had the best conference meet weekend of anyone in these rankings.

The Thunderwolf ace has moved himself out of the "specialist" role and into one of the country’s most well-rounded athletes. At the RMAC Outdoor Championships, we saw Sharman-Newell take home titles in both the 800 meters and the 1500 meters.

Oh, and he won the 4x4000 meter relay title as well!

Obviously, Sharman-Newell came in as the conference title favorite for the half-mile distance. However, what was most impressive was that his 1500 meter victory came over the likes of Luke Julian and Evan Graff! Both of those men are seasoned veterans on a conference and national level and were nearly two full seconds back of the CSU-Pueblo star.

If this is how Sharman-Newell races at the outdoor national meet, then the idea of him winning gold over 1500 meters, despite his slower seed time, is hard to ignore. Plus, his home track advantage could very well give him the edge in the grand scheme of things.

6. Hamza Chahid, Freshman, Wingate (0 / 6)

Hamza Chahid is a unique talent within the Division Two world.

He proved during the indoor track season that he had the raw speed necessary to run a fast mile and be a star over 3000 meters. Then, he proved earlier during this outdoor track season that he could be a threat over the course of 12 and a half laps, running 13:33 (5k).

And now, most recently, we’ve seen Chahid run 3:44 for 1500 meters to enter the conversation as a serious 1500/5k threat at the outdoor national meet. Oh, and after that metric mile performance in Charlotte, Chahid earned the SAC title in the 1500 meters.

This Wingate rookie is a massive threat at 1500 meters to fight for a national title and he’s just as serious of a threat to double back to challenge for the 5000 meter national title as well. Of course, that is all predicated on whether or not Chahid even attempts the double.

5. Reece Smith, Junior, NW Missouri (0 / 5)

Dating back to the weekend of the Bryan Clay Invite, Reece Smith has finished inside the top-three of five-straight races.

He won his heat of the 5k at the Bryan Clay Invite and was 2nd in the steeplechase at the same meet. Two weeks later, Smith finished 3rd at the Drake Relays in the steeplechase, running 8:38 (a seasonal best) in the event. Then, two weeks after that, we saw Smith secure two gold medals (in the steeplechase and the 5k) at the MIAA Outdoor Championships.

Smith is proving to be an elite tactician and we feel comfortable saying that he hasn’t reached his peak level of fitness. He ran 8:33 for the steeplechase at the outdoor national meet and before that, he had run 13:57 for 5000 meters.

He’s already run 13:50 for 5k this outdoor track season, telling us that he should be in better shape now than he was a year ago. Of course, that’s all theoretical at the moment.

4. Dillon Powell, Sophomore, Colorado Mines (0 / 4)

We didn’t get to see Dillon Powell at sea level for his 10k debut this outdoor track season and we won’t get to see him race one before toeing the line in Pueblo, Colorado in just a couple of weeks' time.

At the Mines Mini-Meet, Powell ran 30:13 at his home track in Golden, Colorado. After the altitude conversion, Powell sees his time move to 29:02 for the 10,000 meter distance, effectively qualifying him for the outdoor national meet.

It’s a bummer that we won’t see him racing again at sea level, but he’s currently the reigning 10k national champion and the current favorite for the national title in 2023. There are still some questions about being the favorite in the 5k depending on how that race unfolds from a tactics perspective, but he owns the fastest time this season and he’ll be hard to beat regardless of who is going up against him.

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

Since Wes Ferguson’s huge day at the Bryan Clay Invite, he has toed the track three more times for individual races.

At the prestigious Drake Relays, Ferguson took home gold by running 1:49.33 for 800 meters. Two weeks later, Ferguson earned his fifth-straight MIAA title at the half-mile distance.

The Nebraska-Kearney ace has arguably had one of the best seasons for a half-miler in Division Two history, but has been overlooked due to Ousamma El Bouchayby’s incredible season. It's one things to run as fast as Ferguson has, but his consistency is just as commendable.

This Loper star is the best tactician in Division Two when it comes to his main event and he’ll get one more shot at taking down El Bouchayby to regain what was once his -- NCAA gold.

2. Miguel Coca, Senior, Adams State (0 / 2)

Miguel Coca finally made his way onto the track again this past weekend in Oregon.

On Friday night, Coca clocked a time of 3:41 for 1500 meters, setting a new personal best by two seconds in the process. Then, on Saturday night, Coca returned to the track and ran 1:50 for the half-mile distance, setting another personal best, this time by six seconds.

It’s not quite up to the 3:39 (1500) conversion that Coca received earlier this season, but Friday's effort was definitely a step in the right direction. His continued improvement bodes well for postseason racing and that, combined with his newfound endurance, makes Coca an incredibly tough out at the outdoor national meet.

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

Oussama El Bouchayby’s incredible season continues!

The Moroccan superstar took home gold in both the 800 meters and the 1500 meters at the Lone Star Outdoor Championships, taking down Butare Rugenerwa (who was 5th in the 1500 meters) for both wins. Sure, the times aren’t what we are used to seeing, but it’s championship racing and seeing El Bouchayby excel while doubling is encouraging.

This rookie is just an incredible talent. There’s no denying that. But racing this well while contesting an event outside of his strong suit (1500) only begs the question...will he opt for more than just the 800 meters at the national meet if he qualifies for the 1500 meters?

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ADDED

Matthew Storer (Colorado Christian)

Loic Scomparin (Colorado Mines)

KICKED OFF

Ryan Riddle (Missouri Southern)

Tanner Chada (Grand Valley State)

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Jagger Zlotoff (UC-Colorado Springs)

Evan Graff (UC-Colorado Springs)

Josh Jones (Northwood)

Tanner Maier (Minnesota State)

Angel Luera (Dallas Baptist)

Dillan Haviland (Northwood)

Jakob Rettschlag (Wingate)

David Cardenas (Adams State)

Braxton Bruer (MSU-Moorhead)

Tyler Nord (Western Colorado)

Simon Kelati (Western Colorado)

Duncan Fuehne (Colorado Mines)

Scott Nutter (Wingate)

Ben Arens (Nebraska-Kearney)

Nixon Korir (Azusa Pacific)

Albert Hesse (Western Colorado)

Soheil Boufrizi (Wingate)

Clayton Sayen (Michigan Tech)

Dylan Burrows (Oklahoma Christian)

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)

Elliot Dotson (Anderson (SC))

Davonte Jett-Reynolds (Adams State)

Jacob Hernandez (Western Colorado)

Paul Knight (Colorado Mines)

Steven Goldy (Colorado Mines)

Chris Cathcart (Colorado Mines)

Noah Fisher (Findlay)

Hunter Hutton (Western Oregon)

Cole Benoit (Mississippi College)

Lars Laros (Wingate)

Christopher Cherry (Illinois-Springfield)

Jeret Gillingham (Western Washington)

Isaac Russo (Colorado Christian)

John O'Malley (Colorado Mines)

Alexander Vance (Colorado Christian)

Alberto Campa (Colorado Mines)

Kaleb Tipton (CSU-Pueblo)

Harry Ross-Hughes (Lake Erie)

Warren Thiel (Charleston (WV))