.png)
TSR's 2023 Preseason D1 XC Top 50 Rankings: #20-11 (Men)
20. Joey Nokes, Junior, BYU
One of the biggest breakout stars from the 2022 cross country season was Joey Nokes, a little-know long distance talent who could do no wrong last fall.
Nokes had shown subtle signs of promise in 2021, running a fast 10k and making improvements elsewhere on the track. But even with his rise, I'm not sure anyone outside of BYU saw him having the season that he did.
The NCAA got a quick and stunning introduction to Nokes at the Cowboy Jamboree. There, he finished 10th place overall, a result that effectively gave BYU another low-stick that the rest of the country didn't know they had.
And suddenly, Nokes was on everyone's radar.
The BYU standout didn't slow down there. An equally-impressive 15th place finish at Nuttycombe not only told us that Nokes was the real deal, but it also suggested that he would thrive on large stages, specifically at the national meet.
That, however, was not the case. Despite his unreal talent, Nokes dropped to 52nd place in Stillwater, Oklahoma, ending a season that was, for the most part, excellent.
After running times of 13:29 (5k) and 28:05 (10k) on the oval, Nokes has done everything to prove that he is among the juggernauts who make up BYU's aerobic army. His raw fitness has reached an incredible level in such a quick amount of time.
Despite struggling on the national stage last year, a TSR #20 ranking seems about right for Nokes. He is far better than what we saw from him last November.
19. Shay McEvoy, Junior, Tulsa
Going into the 2022 cross country season, we knew that the Tulsa men had a trio of upper-tier low-sticks. What we didn't know, however, was that they had been developing a fourth low-stick in the shadows.
Shay McEvoy's first race of last fall came at the Cowboy Jamboree. There, he placed 22nd overall. And while that wasn't a superstar result, it was a clear uptick in his fitness that he had never shown before.
The Tulsa distance talent then dropped an even stronger and more convincing performance at Nuttycombe. McEvoy posted a 14th place finish in Madison, Wisconsin to emerge as his team's top scorer. However, maybe more importantly, the Irishman was building upwards momentum heading into the postseason.
Sure enough, McEvoy would cap off his fall campaign with a 23rd place All-American result on the national stage. And with that performance, the Tulsa ace had put together a complete season highlighted by progression, momentum, nationally competitive fitness and peaking for the postseason.
What's not to like?
Last fall, McEvoy went from "good" to "great". But in 2023, the Tulsa distance talent will be tasked with elevating his fitness from "great" to "all-star" status.
18. Acer Iverson, Senior, Harvard
When it comes to Harvard distance stars, Graham Blanks has been getting all of the attention as of late -- and understandably so. But what some people forget is that throughout most of last fall, it was Acer Iverson who was the better cross country runner.
And in a few instances, it wasn't even close.
At the Cowboy Jamboree, Iverson set the tone for the season with a massive 6th place finish. That result put him just outside of the national title favorites...but he wasn't done. The Crimson ace would then venture to Nuttycombe and secure an 8th place finish, yet again giving himself an argument to be a top-10 name in the NCAA last fall.
At one point, only the absolute best distance runners in the NCAA -- the national title contenders -- could take down Iverson.
After winning the Ivy League title and settling for a runner-up finish at the Northeast Regional XC Championships, expectations were high for Acer Iverson. Unfortunately, the Ivy League standout chose a bad time to have an "off" day.
Iverson would end his season with a 50th place finish at the national meet.
His teammate, Graham Blanks, would have the race of his life and place 6th.
On the indoor and outdoor ovals, Iverson found plenty of success, but he wasn't as potent as he had been on the grass. Times of 7:47 (3k) and 13:26 (5k) headlined his resume, although Iverson's postseason endeavors made it seem like he had taken a step backwards.
If Iverson had delivered on at least 90% of his potential at last year's NCAA XC Championships, then we're talking about a guy who could have been ranked in our top-10 this summer. And at his absolute best, he is arguably just as talented/effective as Blanks.
Iverson still needs to clean up a few areas of his postseason racing, but if he does, then he may surprise a few people who are currently ahead of him in these rankings.
17. Aaron Las Heras, Rs. Senior, Northern Arizona
And here we are. We have finally reached the name who could ultimately swing (or keep) the national title conversation in favor of the Northern Arizona men. Let's see why...
Prior to last fall, Aaron Las Heras was probably best known for his marquee 10k win at the Raleigh Relays back in 2021. But since then, he had been fairly quiet...that is, until last fall.
Las Heras began his 2022 fall campaign with a very strong 14th place finish at the Cowboy Jamboree. That result felt like a clear and concise message that the Demon Deacon veteran was going to translate his track success to the grass that year.
And sure enough, he did.
The former Wake Forest runner went on to snag a clutch bronze medal at the always-deep ACC XC Championships before heading to the national meet and placing 26th overall.
When you step back and reflect on Las Heras' 2022 cross country season, most of his results are aligned with each other in terms of their impressiveness. And if he can simply do that again later this fall, then the Lumberjacks should be able to return to the top of the podium.
We should also note that Las Heras secured an often-overlooked 22nd place finish at the World XC Championships this past year. And the guy who finished directly behind him? Stanford's Ky Robinson.
We'll still need to see that kind of performance on a more consistent basis, but that's why the 26th place finisher from last year's national meet is sitting at TSR #17.
The question now turns to, "What is Aaron Las Heras' ceiling in 2023? How much better can he be with the NAU men?" Well, after running 13:27 for 5000 meters and 3:36 for 1500 meters back in June, it doesn't seem ridiculous to suggest that Las Heras could be a top-10 name in the nation by season's end.
16. Patrick Kiprop, Junior, Arkansas
Let's be blunt: The first two races of Patrick Kiprop's 2022 cross country season were highly underwhelming -- and even on the line of concerning.
The Arkansas star faded against JUCO standout Sanele Masondo at the Chile Pepper XC Festival and later crossed the line at the Weis-Crockett Invitational in 13th place. Simply put, things were not looking good for the Razorbacks' top low-stick through two meets.
But then the postseason came, and Kiprop slowly began to peak.
At the SEC XC Championships, the former Fresno Pacific standout finished 5th place overall. And at the South Central Regional XC Championships, Kiprop earned a confidence-boosting victory. Finally, on the national stage, Kiprop saved his best race for last, placing 24th in Stillwater, Oklahoma to earn his first All-American honor.
The end to Kiprop's 2022 cross country season was encouraging to see, but it wasn't the reason why we have him ranked as high as TSR #16.
Instead, we would implore you to look at his performances on the track. Sure, his newest personal bests of 13:24 (5k) and 28:00 (10k) are highly impressive, but it's racing IQ that has seen incredible growth this past year.
Throughout the winter and spring months of 2023, Kiprop has shown far greater patience and composure when he's in nationally competitive settings. He knows what racing styles suit him and he knows how to respond in those scenarios. Two All-American honors between the indoor and outdoor track seasons seem to validate this observation.
If Kiprop can translate his improved understanding of race tactics, as well as his patience, to the grass, then you're looking at someone with top-10 potential. He already had some of the best raw talent in the country, but now he knows how to properly utilize it.
15. Cole Sprout, Junior, Stanford
Cole Sprout doesn't necessarily belong in this section of our rankings based on raw talent alone, but given recent circumstances, we don't know where else we could put him.
Let's be clear: This Stanford veteran is a collegiate star. A true, legitimate star. He has national name recognition, years of success across multiple levels and he's a key focal point on one of the best teams in the country.
All of that was plenty apparent during the fall of 2022. That season, Sprout came out of the gates on absolute fire. A 4th place finish at the Cowboy Jamboree, a 7th place result at Nuttycombe and a 3rd place effort at the PAC-12 XC Championships were highly impressive.
But then Sprout sat out of the West Regional XC Championships. And when we realized that Sprout had started running less, per his Strava page, we began to ask some questions.
Sure enough, Sprout had sustained a partial hamstring tear leading up to the NCAA XC Championships. And although he gave a valiant effort, the Colorado native had to settle for a 118th place finish on the national stage.
If that was the only hiccup on Sprout's recent resume, then we could have looked past that. But instead, the Cardinal star ended his indoor track season early due to yet another injury. And although he did come back for the outdoor track season, he wasn't able to advance past the West Regional Championships.
As we venture into the 2023 cross country season, there aren't necessarily any major questions we have about Sprout's abilities, potential, consistency, etc. Instead, the questions are, a) can he stay healthy in the postseason, and b) how long will it take him to return to top form later this fall?
We don't know the answer to that first question. Honestly, no one does. But if his 3:56 (mile) and 7:44 (3k) personal bests from this past winter are any indication of his ability to rebound from an injury, then I like Sprout's chances.
14. Bob Liking, Junior, Wisconsin
In the fall of 2021, Bob Liking had a breakout season. In fact, the Wisconsin distance star not only became a nationally competitive name, but he also became one of the very best cross country runners that the NCAA had to offer.
Of course, his national meet showing wouldn't have led you to believe that.
Last fall, after a rust-buster race at the Griak Invitational, the Badger distance star finished 4th on his home course at the Nuttycombe Invitational. The only men he lost to? Ky Robinson, Nico Young and Charles Hicks.
Liking would later secure an unsurprising victory at the BIG 10 XC Championships, but falter once more on the national stage. Luckily, the Wisconsin ace was able to salvage an All-America result as he finished 34th place overall.
Times of 13:27 (5k) and 28:00 (10k) from this past outdoor track season were incredibly impressive. But truthfully, those marks didn't tell us anything new. We knew that Liking was incredibly fit when it came to the longer distances. Given his cross country resume, he should be hitting those times.
Generally speaking, Liking has a near-flawless cross country resume. But relative to expectations, every NCAA Championship that he has toed the line for has given this Badger standout varying levels of trouble (excluding the DMR). And at this point in our rankings, national meet success has to hold a heavier amount of weight.
That said, when I look at the rest of the men in this section of our rankings, I'm not 100% sold that any of them will be definitively better than Liking this year.
13. Carter Solomon, Junior, Notre Dame
It seems fair to say that last summer was a tumultuous time for the Notre Dame men. They had lost numerous collegiate stars to expired eligibility, their superstar coach was taking a new job at Tennessee and their only supposedly returning low-stick later followed him.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why the rise of Carter Solomon has proven to be so monumental for this Notre Dame team. In a year filled with so much uncertainty, it was Solomon's breakout campaign that gave the South Bend men a true star to rally around.
At the beginning of the 2022 cross country season, Solomon recorded a respectable 13th place on his home course at Joe Piane. That was an encouraging result which showed progress, but that race didn't prepare us for what was to come.
The Fighting Irish later ventured to the Nuttycombe Invitational. And in a stunning development, it was Solomon who was not relenting from the lead group. Truthfully, we kept waiting for him to hit a wall -- he had never been close to this good before -- but he didn't.
And in the end, the Notre Dame ace finished 9th place overall.
Naturally, with such a monster breakout performance, there were questions about just how legit this rising distance talent was. Luckily, Solomon would silence any doubters (myself included) at the ACC XC Championships.
In one of the more thrilling cross country races of the last few seasons, it was Solomon pulling off an incredible comeback win. The Notre Dame standout would out-kick UNC star Parker Wolfe for the individual conference title and solidify himself as a true national-caliber star.
Solomon ended his season with yet another excellent performance -- an 18th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships. For someone who had never been on the national stage before, that was quite the performance, although a top-15 result wouldn't have surprised anyone, either.
On the track, Solomon ran times of 3:57 (mile) and 13:26 (5k), qualifying for both the indoor and outdoor national meets. He would earn 7th place All-American honors in the latter event back in June.
There isn't a bad thing that we can say about Solomon. He translated his nationally competitive fitness to the oval and he has quelled any doubts about his ability to be a top-tier name. The next goal, however, will be seeing if Solomon can go from "NCAA star" to "NCAA superstar".
12. Dylan Schubert, Junior, Furman
When you really think about it, Dylan Schubert and Carter Solomon were essentially the same runner throughout last fall.
Their first legitimate challenge of the 2022 cross country season didn't capture any attention. But then they both had major breakout races at Nuttycombe and both validated their newfound fitness on the national stage.
Admittedly, Schubert's 53rd place finish at the Cowboy Jamboree is a result that holds him back from cracking our top-10. If we're being fair to everyone, then we have to look at the entirety of his resume -- not just the best parts.
Even so, it would not surprise us at all if Schubert ended up being a top-10 talent by November. The Paladin star finished 12th at the Nuttycombe Invitational last fall and later produced a fantastic 11th place finish on the national stage.
Since then, the Furman distance talent was able to produce a handful of solid personal bests on the indoor oval, but he was absent from the outdoor track season. And without any notable results as of late, it's hard to gauge exactly how Schubert is trending.
Of course, after seeing what he did last year, I'm not willing to doubt him again in 2023.
11. Victor Kiprop, Junior, Alabama
Truthfully, this one hurt.
From a raw talent perspective, Victor Kiprop is more than qualified to be a top-10 cross country runner in the NCAA this fall. Heck, you could probably say that he's talented enough to be in our top-five!
But as we all know, success at this level requires more than just naturally great fitness. It requires consistency, tactical refinement and delivering on the biggest stages. And while Kiprop has developed nicely in a handful of those areas, it's that last aspect that has continued to create challenges for him.
Last fall, Kiprop looked unstoppable. Going into the national meet, the Alabama star was undefeated. He took home wins at the North Alabama Showcase, the Joe Piane Invitational, the Alabama Crimson Classic, the SEC XC Championships and the South Regional XC Championships.
And in a lot of those races, Kiprop won fairly comfortably.
Despite being viewed as a potential national title contender, Kiprop struggled on the rolling hills of Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Alabama star would fade outside of All-American contention and ultimately settle for a 66th place finish.
When we take a high-level look at Kiprop's resume, it's hard not to be impressed. He has been a true low-stick star in almost every race that he has toed the line for, even back in 2021. He has also run 27:57 for 10,000 meters, nearly getting the win at the Stanford Invite this past spring.
But in the fall of 2021, Kiprop recorded a DNF result at the cross country national meet. At the 2022 outdoor national meet, he faded to second-to-last in the men's 10,000 meters. Last fall, he fell outside of the top-60 on the national stage. And at the outdoor national meet this past June, Kiprop earned a dreaded 9th place finish in the men's 10k, the first non-All-American spot.
If the Crimson Tide star had just one example of struggling in the postseason, then he would probably be ranked in our top-10. But at some point, we have to put an emphasis on how someone performs on the stages that matter the most.
And yet, despite all of that, I sincerely believe that Victor Kiprop could win a national title this fall. He is absolutely talented enough to do it and I don't think I would say that about anyone else who is ranked outside of our top-10.
