TSR's 2023 Preseason D1 XC Top 50 Rankings: #40-31 (Men)

Click here to read our rankings rubric

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40. Matthew Richtman, Junior, Montana State

Was Matthew Richtman snubbed from an end-of-season ranking in the fall of 2022?

Possibly, but despite that omission, this Montana State runner has done enough in the eyes of The Stride Report to be listed as a top-50 name in our preseason list.

After a highly promising 2022 outdoor track season which featured new personal bests of 13:47 (5k) and 28:46 (10k), the Montana State distance talent ventured to the grass. However, his success from the oval didn't immediately translate to the cross country course -- but it eventually did.

A 29th place finish at the Joe Piane Invitational was fairly solid given Richtman's background. Even so, that wasn't a result that would put him near the top-50 conversation, nationally.

And then he went to the Weis-Crockett Invitational.

On Oklahoma State's home course, Richtman made a statement. The Bobcat standout finished 4th place overall, but was actually the third-best collegiate in the field. The only men he lost to? Duncan Hamilton, Barry Keane and former Tulsa All-American, Peter Lynch.

That was very good company to be in.

However, more importantly, Richtman defeated two men who were "Honorable Mentions" in this year's rankings as well as two men who were in the "Just Missed" section of our preseason list. He also took down a highly-ranked name who you'll see later in these rankings.

After a modest 8th place result at the BIG Sky XC Championships, Richtman would place 4th at the Mountain Regional XC Championships. And although TSR doesn't often put much stock into regional meets, that result did validate his underappreciated performance from the Weis-Crockett Invitational.

On the national stage, Richtman would ultimately deliver a result that some fans may not have expected from him. By finishing 40th at the NCAA XC Championships, Richtman would earn the final All-American spot and put together a season that, in retrospect, was fairly complete.

As we venture into 2023, we feel pretty good about what this Montana State returner could do on the grass. He caught fire last fall and never let his momentum fade.

That said, Richtman's performance at Joe Piane and his somewhat light racing schedule last fall makes it hard to list him much higher in our preseason rankings. He also didn't have the sharpest year on the track, either.

Even so, this is a guy who was often overlooked throughout 2022. We won't make that same mistake again in 2023.

39. Luke Houser, Rs. Junior, Washington

Luke Houser was a name who sparked plenty of debate among our TSR writers.

The Washington veteran has been, for the last few cross country seasons, arguably the Huskies' most reliable scorer on the grass -- or at least since the winter of 2021.

On the other hand, there are only a handful of standout cross country results on his resume. We're also not sure how his recent personal bests of 3:52 (mile) and 7:48 (3k) will translate to the grass later this fall.

It's better to look at Houser's overall cross country career rather than just last season -- which may have been his best yet.

In total, Houser has made three appearances at the NCAA XC Championships. He has finished 51st and 42nd on that stage, the latter result coming in the fall of 2022. This is also a guy who was 10th at the 2021 PAC-12 Winter XC Championships and 27th at the Cowboy Jamboree from last fall.

That said, there have been a handful of races from Houser over his career that weren't necessarily bad, but they also left room for improvement.

Based strictly on his cross country results, Houser fits the mold of being a fringe top-40 runner. He may not always be favored to do so, but he'll get close.

And when you tack on the massive improvements that he made on the track, it felt appropriate to give this Washington veteran just the slightest bump into the top-40 portion of our rankings.

38. Nathan Lawler, Senior, Syracuse

Throughout last fall, the Syracuse men flexed outstanding depth. They always seemed to field a complete group of five scorers and the gaps in their lineup were fairly minimal. They did, however, need a true low-stick to give them a scoring edge.

Lawler began his 2022 season at the Cowboy Jamboree, one of the most competitive early-season cross country meets in recent memory. The Syracuse veteran would go on to finish 35th place overall which was very solid, but not quite enough for a top-50 ranking.

But then this Orange distance star caught fire.

At Nuttycombe, Lawler proved that he was the real deal, placing 27th overall in a performance that forced TSR to look at him as a legitimate lead scorer. And if you weren't convinced about Lawler's firepower, then a 7th place result at the ACC XC Championships almost certainly cleared any lingering doubts.

The aerobic-centric distance talent ended his season with a 46th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships. It was a good result, but it was clear that Lawler had the ability to flirt with a top-30 performance.

There's admittedly not much to say when it comes to Lawler. He was excellent at Nuttycombe and the ACC XC Championships. He was also solid at the Cowboy Jamboree as well as the national meet. Simply put, he didn't have a truly poor race all season long.

This Syracuse ace will obviously bring great scoring value in the coming months, but he'll need to break through to the next tier which he couldn't truly breach in 2022.

37. Victor Kibiego, Rs. Sophomore, UTEP

Last fall, almost no one knew who Victor Kibiego was.

That, however, has likely changed.

As a redshirt freshman, the UTEP distance talent put together numerous top-six finishes in small fields before placing 20th at the Mountain Regional XC Championships. That result allowed him to qualify for the national meet. And in his season finale, Kibiego placed a respectable 102nd place overall.

Strictly on paper, those results wouldn't have put him in consideration for a top-50 ranking this summer -- but then the UTEP standout went to the outdoor oval.

This past spring, Kibiego caught fire. The sophomore distance talent built steady momentum and ran an impressive steeplechase PR of 8:26. He later earned bronze in that event at the outdoor national meet.

This is likely the point in our analysis where our readers will say, "Wait, Kenneth Rooks made a big leap in the steeplechase this past year and he's only ranked at TSR #42! What makes Kibiego better than him?"

Good question, reader. Allow me to explain.

Rooks is almost certainly going to be an improved cross country runner this fall. It would be surprising if he's not. But Kibiego's 102nd place finish on the national stage is arguably better than anything that Rooks has done on the grass.

However, maybe more importantly, Kibiego is still VERY young and therefore has far more room to grow. Rooks, who is a long-time veteran, theoretically doesn't have the same upside that his Mountain region counterpart does.

And that, in our minds, is what makes Kibiego so dangerous this fall.

36. Izaiah Steury, Sophomore, Oregon

Ah yes, Izaiah Steury. The rising sophomore who left Notre Dame earlier this year to transfer to Oregon. And in doing so, the Indiana native will act as a key building block for a program that, in a few years time, will be a nightmare for their opponents.

Steury was quite possibly the best true freshman in the country last fall -- depending on how you feel about Fouad Messaoudi. A 14th place finish at the Joe Piane Invitational felt like a significant early-season statement for the then-rookie; one that was almost meant to say, "I'm good as you think I am."

Of course, the former Fighting Irish runner didn't stop there.

At the Nuttycombe Invitational, Steury tossed aside any concerns about his youth and inexperience. A 28th place finish on such a massive stage was a wildly encouraging development for the young distance talent.

And suddenly, we began asking if this guy could be an All-American.

A 9th place finish at the ACC XC Championships largely matched the high expectations that Steury had set earlier in the year. It was at the NCAA XC Championships, however, where the freshman would have his "worst" race of the season -- a 63rd place finish.

If a 63rd place finish on the national stage during your first-ever collegiate season is the "worst" race that you have that year, then that's a VERY good problem to have.

Now, as we enter the fall of 2023, the stakes are different. Steury is now with the Oregon men. He is likely going to be viewed as their focal low-stick this fall. And in our eyes, we believe that he has MASSIVE upside. In fact, it could be soon as this year where we start referring to this underclassman as a legitimate collegiate star.

Yes, this ranking is based more heavily on his upside rather than his cross country results. Even so, we don't see too much downside for Steury going into 2023.

35. Haftu Strintzos, Senior, Villanova

Let's not make this any more complicated than it needs to be. When it comes to Haftu Strintzos, there are really only two things that you need to know about him: 1) he was borderline elite in the fall of 2021, and 2) he struggled a bit throughout the fall of 2022.

After placing 10th at the 2021 NCAA XC Championships (which validated a phenomenal regular season), this Aussie distance talent held big expectations going into last year.

However, placing 47th at Nuttycombe, 15th at the Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Championships and 185th at the NCAA XC Championships forced us to leave Strintzos out of our rankings. He did, however, post an impressive 2nd place finish at the BIG East XC Championships.

Truthfully, we have no idea how to rank this Villanova veteran.

At his best, he's a juggernaut low-stick who can go toe-to-toe with almost anyone. He even replicated many of his best marks on the outdoor oval this past spring. But after last fall, we just don't know what version of this Wildcat senior we're going to get in the coming months.

34. Santiago Prosser, Junior, Northern Arizona

33. Brodey Hasty, Rs. Senior, Northern Arizona

We're lumping the analysis for these two men together. Not necessarily because they're from the same school, but because the general theme of their 2022 cross country seasons were largely identical.

Throughout most of last fall, both Santiago Prosser and Brodey Hasty were top-seven afterthoughts for a Northern Arizona team that seemed a bit lost at times.

Yes, it's true, Prosser's 33rd place finish at the Cowboy Jamboree and 36th place finish at Nuttycombe were a pair of promising results. Clearly, the Alaska native was making a jump up in his fitness. Even so, the Lumberjacks needed greater firepower next to Nico Young and Drew Bosley -- not extra depth.

Meanwhile, Hasty struggled at Nuttycombe, placing 137th overall. And although he toed the line for the BIG Sky XC Championships (4th) and the Mountain Regional XC Championships (14th), TSR generally didn't put much emphasis on those races.

Of course, as almost everyone remembers, the NCAA XC Championships brought out an entirely new side in both Prosser and Hasty.

In what had to be the most stunning individual result of the entire weekend, Prosser threw down a jaw-dropping 19th place finish at the national meet, completely shattering expectations. Hasty, meanwhile, continued to be one of the most clutch postseason performers in the NCAA with a 25th place All-American honor.

And that NAU team that looked lost just a month prior?

Well, they ended up winning the national team title.

If you look at the overall seasons of both Prosser and Hasty before the national meet, it would be safe to say that they aren't top-50 runners. But after peaking beautifully for the national meet last fall, placing these two men at TSR #33 and TSR #34 felt like a good compromise.

Hasty ultimately gets the edge over Prosser based on his history. The long-time Northern Arizona veteran has a tendency to underwhelm during the regular season and then have his best performance on the national stage.

With two cross country All-American honors and four top-46 national meet finishes, there may not be a single men's distance runner in the NCAA who is more clutch than Brodey Hasty. Prosser, however, seems to have the most upside going into this fall.

32. Toby Gillen, Sophomore, Ole Miss

There isn't any need to ramble on and on about Toby Gillen's 2022 cross country season. Compared to the men listed in our top-50 rankings, it wasn't that great of a fall campaign.

But on the indoor oval, Gillen ran a pleasantly surprising 5000 meter PR of 13:43. He then went to the outdoor oval and won the 5k at the Raleigh Relays in a new PR of 13:35. And at the West Regional Championships, Gillen yet again ran a new 5k PR, this time of 13:30.

That latter performance allowed this former Saint Louis runner to qualify for his first-ever national meet where he finished 13th place overall. And since then, he has opted to transfer to Ole Miss.

Gillen is a completely different runner now than he was last fall. To put any emphasis on what he did in the fall of 2022 would be a mistake. The newest Rebel low-stick made a tremendous leap in his fitness this past year and it's possible that he has yet to find his ceiling.

We'll admit, we don't entirely know how Gillen is going to translate his 5k success to the grass come October and November. This ranking is truthfully a shot in the dark. Even so, it's hard to envision this breakout star not being a top-50 talent at the very least.

31. Devin Hart, Rs. Junior, Texas

This may be the name who we'll have the most fun writing about in this section.

Going into the 2022 cross country season, we knew that the Stanford men had a formidable trio of stars. They did, however, need complementary fourth and fifth scorers who could offer additional firepower of their own.

One of the prime candidates to fill that role was Devin Hart, a veteran of the Cardinal distance program. And yet, through the first meet of the year, he didn't necessarily look like the guy that Stanford needed him to be, placing 75th at the Cowboy Jamboree.

But then Stanford ventured to Nuttycombe, a stage that would add an extra layer of depth, competitiveness and pressure. That, however, is what allowed Hart to thrive.

The Stanford ace threw down a stunning 13th place finish in Madison, Wisconsin that day. And in turn, he gave the Stanford men a potential fourth low-stick -- as well as the status of "national title favorites."

After placing 10th at the PAC-12 XC Championships and 8th at the West Regional XC Championships (both we're unsurprising results), Hart ventured back to Stillwater, Oklahoma.

But once more, the rolling hills got to him.

Hart handled his second effort on that course a bit better, placing 51st on the national stage. However, his Nuttycombe result suggested that he could be a top-30 All-American.

Lost in the madness of the indoor and outdoor track seasons, Hart quietly put together a couple of outstanding races in the longer distances. He ran new personal bests of 7:51 (3k), 13:29 (5k) and 28:07 (10k). He hasn't, however, raced since late March.

Nowadays, Hart is (going to be) a graduate student as the University of Texas. There, he'll team up with a sneaky-good cross country squad and likely offer highly valuable low-stick scoring.

Overall, this former Stanford runner has a ton of raw talent. The best version of Hart makes him a true low-stick on essentially any national title contending team in the country. Of course, trying to establish greater consistency, specifically at that level, will likely be the main goal for Hart over the next few months.