TSR's 2023 Preseason D1 XC Top 50 Rankings: #30-21 (Men)

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30. Haftu Knight, Senior, Texas

For a handful of seasons, it felt like Haftu Knight was on the verge of truly breaking out as a nationally competitive name. And while there were certainly moments of excellence, this Texas veteran had seemingly hit his ceiling.

That is, until November of 2022.

The Longhorn standout began last fall with a 24th place finish at the Cowboy Jamboree. That result was roughly on par with expectations given that Knight had finished 63rd at the 2021 cross country national meet.

But then the Texas ace ventured to the Panorama Farms XC Invitational, a race where he finished 8th place overall. And while it was a fine result, he also left us wanting more. The same thing could be said about his performance at the BIG 12 XC Championships where he finished 8th place overall.

After cruising past the South Central region, the narrative around Knight was that, on an absolutely perfect day, the Texas standout could maybe contend for a backend All-American honor.

That assessment, however, was wrong.

Instead, Knight had the single-greatest race of his life, finishing 27th overall and smashing past expectations. And while that performance was certainly an outlier, this Longhorn runner did eventually validate his first All-American honor by running a huge time of 13:32 over 5000 meters this past outdoor track season.

We'll admit, a TSR #30 spot is probably on the better side of where we were considering to rank Haftu Knight. He was good last fall, but a 27th place finish on the national stage has completely shifted how we view him.

If Knight's junior year was highlighted by just that performance, then I'm not entirely sure that he would be ranked this high. But after running 13:32 for 5000 meters, we now have a separate result of his to look at and say, "He's the real deal."

And truthfully, when you review his performances from last fall, Knight never really had an "off" day -- and there aren't many guys outside of our top-20 who can say that.

29. Aidan Troutner, Junior, BYU

On a team that was loaded with seven men who could have realistically been All-Americans, Aidan Troutner was one of the most underappreciated distance runners in the NCAA last year.

The former NXN champion from 2017 only competed in three meets last fall -- and only two of those efforts held significant weight towards his ranking (Nuttycombe and the national meet).

In Madison, Wisconsin, we saw Aidan Troutner produce a result that likely took many of us by surprise -- a 17th place finish. The rising BYU talent ran with teammates Joey Nokes and Brandon Garnica to overtake some of the best distance runners in the nation.

Men such as Isaac Akers (Tulsa), Cormac Dalton (Tulsa), Austin Vancil (Colorado), Aaron Bienenfeld (Oregon) and Graham Blanks (Harvard) all fell to Troutner.

After cruising through the West Coast Conference XC Championships, Troutner toed the line for the NCAA XC Championships. A top-30 finish seemed well within reason. But instead, the BYU standout faded a bit, settling for a still-solid 48th place finish.

It's admittedly impossible to get a decent gauge on Aidan Troutner. As we just detailed, there were only two meets on his schedule that held any major significance. You could make any argument for him to be in the low 20s or the high 30s -- and I'm not sure we would argue.

When we look at his indoor track season, we see that Troutner ran strong times of 7:50 (3k) and 13:45 (5k). Even so, those marks, at least at this point in our rankings, can only do so much for his stock.

At the end of the day, we felt like we gave Troutner a nod of respect by having him crack the top-30. When BYU men show signs of being nationally competitive, they usually deliver on their potential in future seasons. Maybe not all the time, but most of the time.

And given the pedigree of this former high school national champion, we're willing to bet that Troutner will still be a top-30 name in our rankings by November.

28. Kirami Yego, Junior, Arkansas

Last fall was a breakout season for Kirami Yego. But truthfully, we didn't know exactly how good he was until the national meet. His schedule, for the most part, was just him racing the Alabama trio every few weeks.

At the North Alabama Showcase, Yego finished 2nd place overall, sandwiched between the Alabama duo of Victor Kiprop and Hillary Cheruiyot.

At the Joe Piane Invitational, Yego would win the "Gold" section with ease.

At the Alabama Crimson Classic, Yego once again finished runner-up to Victor Kiprop.

And at the Sun Belt XC Championships, Yego had no issues taking home the win.

On the national stage, Yego produced a result that was roughly on par with our expectations for him. A 37th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships seemed to fit the season that he was having.

But when the indoor and outdoor track seasons rolled around, Yego got even better.

The former South Alabama runner ran 13:38 (5k) on the indoor oval, but later improved that time to 13:34 during the spring months.

At the Raleigh Relays, Yego ran 28:22 (10k) to take down Graham Blanks for the win. And in retrospect, that win is a lot more impressive when you consider how good Blanks was throughout last spring.

We'll admit, Yego's regular season was fairly limited in terms of competition. And as far as top-30 runners are concerned, it would have been nice if the newest Arkansas ace had finished a little higher on the national stage.

Of course, when you look at all of the men who have since left the NCAA, and those who had unexpectedly great days on the national stage, a TSR #28 ranking may be slightly too conservative for someone like Yego.

27. Austin Vancil, Senior, Colorado

Based strictly on his performances, Austin Vancil seemingly embodies the ethos of Colorado's distance program. He has never been a high-octane scorer, but he has been a consistent and reliable All-American who does his job -- and he does it well.

Last fall, Vancil finished 22nd at Nuttycombe, 12th at the PAC-12 XC Championships and later 36th at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships. The year prior, the Colorado runner finished 24th at a competitive Pre-Nationals race, 6th at the PAC-12 XC Championships and 70th on the national stage.

When it comes to the track, Vancil is as good as you would expect him to be. With personal bests of 7:55 (3k), 13:49 (5k) and 28:16 (10k), it's clear that this Buffalo ace gets better as the racing distances get longer.

Vancil's resume truthfully feels a bit unexciting -- but that's not to be confused with underwhelming. In fact, "unexciting" may be a good thing.

This Colorado low-stick has been so. darn. reliable. Sure, he has never blown you away with a monumental performance, but he is incredibly steady and most of his results are very strong.

If I'm a coach with a team on the national stage, then I would probably take Vancil over a higher-ranked name who is noticeably more volatile.

26. Nickolas Scudder, Senior, Charlotte

In the fall of 2021, Nickolas Scudder placed 11th at the Southeast Regional XC Championships. And in a fairly surprising development, the Charlotte ace did not advance to the national meet.

But throughout the 2022 cross country season, Scudder looked like he was on a revenge tour. In fact, at one point, he was ranked as high as TSR #14 in our top-50 rankings.

At the Joe Piane Invitational, Scudder fell only to Victor Kiprop. However, the men who he beat were considered to be among the best in the nation. Names such as Eliud Kipsang, Yaseen Abdalla, Fearghal Curtin, Hillary Cheruiyot, Ian Shanklin, Dylan Jacobs and Barry Keane all had no answers to Scudder.

And of course, the Charlotte star didn't stop there.

At the Panorama Farms XC Invitational, Scudder didn't just secure the win -- he dominated. The 49er ace ended up being victorious by 11 seconds over Zach Facioni. And two weeks later, he convincingly took down steeplechase bronze medalist, Victor Kibiego, for the conference title.

This time, Scudder would make it out of the Southeast region. However, the national stage didn't treat him nearly as well as his earlier races had. After a season where he had finished no lower than 2nd place, the Charlotte runner had to settle for a 65th place finish.

Scudder would go on to (mostly) redeem himself on the track. The long-time veteran ran outstanding times of 13:33 (5k) and 28:28 (10k), eventually qualifying for the national meet in the latter event.

How do we rank someone like Scudder? He dominated a handful of distance stars throughout last fall, but his schedule didn't include the Cowboy Jamboree or Nuttycombe. His times on the track suggest that he is a top-30 talent, but he has struggled in the postseason over the last two years.

At the end of the day, one not-so-great race at the national meet shouldn't overshadow all of the success that Scudder had in 2022. That result does limit him from cracking our top-20, but TSR #26 still feels like a pretty fair placement.

25. Yaseen Abdalla, Junior, Tennessee

We'll fully admit, when Yaseen Abdalla finished 32nd at the 2021 NCAA XC Championships, we weren't totally convinced that he was actually that good. Compared to his regular season resume, it seemed like he may have gotten lucky.

But then the former Texas runner thrived on the track, running times of 3:57 (mile), 13:33 (5k) and 28:33 (10k). He also anchored the Longhorns to a DMR national title.

And yet, despite his success, Abdalla would transfer to Tennessee the next summer. There, he proved that his 2021 national meet result wasn't a fluke.

In fact, he picked up right where he left off.

The Volunteer standout made a massive statement in early October of last year when he finished 4th place overall at Joe Piane.

And if taking down numerous stars in South Bend wasn't enough, Abdalla would earn bronze at the SEC XC Championships, handing losses to Hillary Cheruiyot, Patrick Kiprop, Anthony Camerieri and Eliud Kipsang.

The Tennessee low-stick ended his season with a 33rd place finish at the national meet, nearly matching his result from last fall and proving to the NCAA that he is a legitimate star on the grass.

That said, Abdalla has made it no secret that he was disappointed with his national meet race from last fall. And if he was trying to redeem himself on the indoor oval, then it was reflected in his incredible 3000 meter PR of 7:42.

On paper, Abdalla is probably right in his self-assessment.

His efforts at Joe Piane and the SEC XC Championships suggested that he could have been among the top-20 finishers in Stillwater. Of course, a 33rd place finish on the national stage is far from bad.

And as we try to find a fair compromise between Abdalla's national meet and regular season performances, we get a preseason ranking of TSR #25.

24. Creed Thompson, Junior, BYU

23. Davin Thompson, Junior, BYU

We're not just lumping the analysis for these two men together because they both go to BYU or because they're brothers. Instead, it's because their cross country resumes are VERY similar.

At the Cowboy Jamboree, Davin Thompson placed 20th overall while Creed Thomson secured a 27th place finish. At Nuttycombe, Davin (20th) and Creed (21st) would finish right next to each other. And on the national stage, Davin placed 30th while Creed was just five spots behind in 35th place.

From start to finish, the Thompson brothers were excellent throughout the entirety of last fall. They were successful on the nation's biggest stages and it feels like they still have a tremendous amount of upside remaining.

On the track, Davin Thompson ran 13:35 for 5000 meters, but that was back in December. He hasn't raced since then. Creed, meanwhile, has run times of 13:34 (5k) and 28:04 (10k), flexing that aforementioned upside this past spring.

Truthfully, there isn't a ton of downside between these two guys. They were just flat-out great last fall and they'll probably be even better three to four months from now.

22. Victor Shitsama, Rs. Junior, Oklahoma State

Victor Shitsama is a fascinating name. He entered last fall as a two-time All-American on the grass. However, the Oklahoma State runner had never finished higher than 29th on the national stage.

That's why at last year's Cowboy Jamboree, you can understand our surprise when we saw that Victor Shitsama had placed 3rd overall against a supremely elite field.

The names he beat? Cole Sprout (Stanford), Nico Young (Northern Arizona), Acer Iverson (Harvard), Casey Clinger (BYU), Andrew Kent (Colorado), Drew Bosley (Northern Arizona), etc.

And yet, despite that incredible performance, Shitsama would falter to 15th place at the BIG 12 XC Championships. It was a head-scratching result which contradicted all of the hype that he had produced just a few weeks earlier.

Shitsama would end his season with a 31st place finish at the NCAA XC Championships. It was a result that was perfectly on par with his two prior All-American performances. And as we reflect on his season, it felt like Shitsama took a roller coaster full of ups and downs to get to the same place that he's always been.

We would, however, be doing this Cowboy star a disservice if we didn't mention that he ran 8:30 in the steeplechase earlier this year. He also finished as the 7th place All-American in the event back in June. In our eyes, that helps his stock a decent bit.

At the end of the day, a three-time All-American who had a moment of elite brilliance should be enough for a top-25 spot in our preseason rankings. And sure, we don't always know what Shitsama will do when he toes the line, but we do know that it'll likely be exciting.

21. Luke Tewalt, Junior, Wake Forest

For most of last fall, Luke Tewalt was a respectable distance talent, but he wasn't truly contending for a top-50 spot in our rankings. Finishing 68th at the Cowboy Jamboree and 8th at the Panorama Farms XC Invitational didn't exactly inspire us.

But you know what did? His 4th place finish at the ACC XC Championships.

As it turns out, that race would act as a spark plug for the Wake Forest runner to have a very special year. Tewalt would go on to record a phenomenal 22nd place finish at the NCAA XC Championships and later earn 4th place All-American honors over 5000 meters back in June.

Oh, and he ran a new 1500 meter PR of 3:38 (twice).

Throughout this past spring, Luke Tewalt looked like he had matured significantly as a racer. He had far greater command of his fitness and he simply looked like he knew what he was doing. Tewalt was incredibly confident, and it showed.

We desperately want to rank Tewalt higher. A top-20 spot feels like it's a reasonable place for him to be. But at the same time, we have to be fair and look at the numbers.

Tewalt's fastest 5k time is 13:43 and he has never run a 10k on the track. Plus, his regular season results throughout last fall slightly counter how great his postseason efforts were.

And yet, despite all of that, we were able to place this Wake Forest star at TSR #21.