.png)
TSR's 2023 Preseason D2 XC Top 10 Rankings (Men): #2 Adams State Grizzlies
- Marissa Kuik
- Sep 13, 2023
- 7 min read
Written by Marissa Kuik, edits & additional commentary by Gavin Struve & Garrett Zatlin
NOTE: Earlier this summer, The Stride Report reached out to nearly every team that was considered for a possible ranking this summer. While we did receive numerous responses and great clarity, we did not get a 100% response rate. On rare occasions, we are referencing TFFRS in order to talk about returners and athletes who are out of eligibility.
The most stunning result of the 2022 cross country season (across all divisions) was seeing the Adams State men not only get beat at the South Central XC Regional Championships, but also finish a distant 7th and miss the national meet altogether.
A team that was favored for the podium and viewed as outside contenders for the national title were not even going to the line for the season finale.
Understandably, the Grizzlies went to work during the indoor track season with revenge on their minds. Many of their runners came away with provisional marks, personal bests and top times, nationally, reminding the rest of the Division Two world that they are still an all-time elite distance program.
Even though the Grizzlies built momentum through the first-half of 2023, they will enter the fall without several key names from last season's top-seven. Of course, Coach Damon Martin has always been a top-notch recruiter, and their present roster has enough firepower to make up for the lost names.
In fact, this year's team may have even more firepower than last year.
* * *
Adams State kicked off their 2022 cross country season in typical fashion at their home opener, the Joe I. Vigil XC Open. The Grizzly men came away with the win, almost pulling off a perfect score. Awet Beraki, Cameron Allan, Yonas Haile and Elijah De La Cerda swept the top-four spots. James Dunne and Clement Duigou placed 6th and 7th, respectively.
It was a dominant performance, but largely unsurprising considering that the meet was basically a three-team affair against Fort Lewis and Trinidad State.
The Adams State men next took on some western schools at the Highlander Invitational in California. Once again, Beraki took home the individual victory and the squad came away with another dominant performance, winning with 24 points.
Behind Beraki were Allan and Duigou in 4th and 5th place. They were followed by Dunne in 7th place while Miguel Coca rounded out the top-five in 9th place. To no one's surprise, the Grizzlies had a very tight scoring structure and continued to display elite depth with their entire top-seven placing in the top-18.
And let's not forget, this field featured a handful of Division One programs (Colorado was running a "B" squad), making Adams State's win that much more impressive.
The Grizzlies then took on their rivals, the men of Colorado Mines, at the RMAC XC Championships. Unfortunately, even on one of the team’s better days, they could not quite take down the Orediggers. Nevertheless, the Grizzlies still came away with a 2nd place team result even with Beraki struggling (by his standards).
Beraki faded back to 7th place. Instead, Cameron Allan led the team, filling in for Beraki with a 4th place finish. The rest of the team's top-five also kept the gap small with Miguel Coca in 10th place, Duigou in 12th and Haile finishing in 13th.
The 2nd place result was a forgivable performance against a significant challenge. And for any other team, that top-five would be viewed as an incredible display of firepower. Unfortunately, Beraki's struggles at the conference meet ended up bleeding over to the rest of the squad at the regional meet...and those struggles spilled over to his teammates as well.
There is a large amount of speculation as to what exactly happened to Adams State at the South Central Regional XC Championships. But regardless of what the reason was, the Grizzlies did not perform up to their standards and they did not make it to the national meet, finishing 7th overall on the regional stage.
Even worse, no Adams State individual advanced.
Allan led the way once again, this time in an underwhelming 25th place, while the Grizzlies' final scorer crossed the line in 60th. With the spread so large and the pack so far back, the points added up and the Grizzlies ultimately ended up missing the national meet for the first time in 25 years.
That was a difficult reality to confront after the men of Alamosa, Colorado were expected to be a podium lock and compete for a national title.
* * *
Ranking the Adams State team so highly after such a poor performance at their 2022 regional meet may seem a bit odd, especially since their roster is now without the likes of Cameron Allan, Clement Duigou, Miguel Coca, Aron Orar and Mitchell Dervin, all key scorers in 2022.
That is a ton of scoring potency, lineup stability and depth that is no longer available to support this team in 2023.
However, with the improvements made by the men who are still on this roster, the addition of a few new runners and the pedigree of this program in general makes Adams State just as dangerous as they were in 2022.
And this time, they should be prepared for a more fitting end result.
Beraki continued to be a consistent low-stick star for the Grizzlies even after his struggles in the postseason last fall. After the abrupt end to his 2022 cross country season, Beraki ran an incredible time of 13:39 for the 5000 meters on the indoor oval.
He also ran a 3k PR of 8:04, a time that earned him a 7th place finish at the indoor national meet where he also earned a runner-up result in the 5k.
During the outdoor track season, Beraki ran close to his PRs, but it was his performances at the outdoor national meet that really turned heads. He placed 2nd in the 10k and easily came away with the win in the 5k at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships. In fact, Beraki was so far ahead of the field in the latter event that he was not affected by the faulty bell lap.
Beraki isn't just a low-stick -- he's a star. There's a reason why the Adams State ace enters the 2023 cross country season atop of our preseason top-25 individual rankings at TSR #1.
We then come to Yonas Haile and James Dunne who consistently ran in this team's top-seven last fall. And although both men struggled a bit during the indoor track season, they were better on the outdoor oval.
During the spring, Haile ran a time of 29:42 (10k) while Dunne ran an 8:57 mark in the steeplechase, ultimately earning a bid to the outdoor national meet.
Both of those men hold valuable experience in high-pressure situations at this level. We expect both runners to help the Grizzlies pick up the slack and scoring responsibilities from other now-departed key names. We don't know exactly where in this lineup they'll be, but at the very least, they offer great support and raise the floor of this team.
Another athlete on this squad who is perhaps flying a bit under the radar is Dayton Brown.
The senior actually transferred to Alamosa from Saginaw Valley State last winter after an incredible 2022 cross country season in which he finished 7th at the cross country national meet. Unfortunately, he seemingly struggled to acclimate to altitude training and underperformed during both track seasons earlier this year.
Brown still managed to run 29:51 (10k) in the spring which was about 20 seconds from his PR, but it showed a lot more progress from him than what we saw in the winter.
Regardless of how he performed on the grass after a major transition, Brown should still be a factor for the Grizzlies simply based on his history. If Brown returns to his 2022 form, then this team will have two elite low-sticks to help lead Adams State throughout this season.
We also need to mention Mikah Paiz, another talented carryover who has been a staple name on the Grizzlies' roster for the last few years.
The Adams State veteran was an All-American at the 2021 NCAA XC Championships, placing 26th, as well as at the 2022 indoor national meet. At his best, he has proven that he can be a legitimate low-stick. Paiz did not race at all last fall, but after seeing him run a couple of personal bests on the oval early in 2023, there's reason to believe that he'll be back to his top form on the grass.
And here is where things get interesting.
Two new faces could help this team over the coming months.
Enter Romain Legendre and Emil Bezecny.
Legendre already has invaluable experience on the international stage, competing for his home country of France. He comes in with outstanding personal bests of 13:35 (5k) and 3:42 (1500). Those are marks that would put this Frenchman among the very best in the NCAA.
And if he can translate his track times to the grass immediately, then he should be a true top-end All-American in his first year in the NCAA.
As for Bezecny, he has run times of 14:22 (5k) and 8:22 (3k). Neither mark is especially eye-catching, but Bezecny is only 18 years old. With a little training under Damon Martin, he could be another factor in helping this team contend for NCAA gold if he adjusts to his training.
* * *
All things considered, the Adams State men should have a comparable talent level to their 2022 team...just with better postseason results. Yes, the Grizzlies no doubt suffered painful scoring losses, but there is enough talent on hand (and joining this roster) to remain at the forefront of Division Two.
Beraki and Brown offer two coveted low-sticks, while Haile, Dunne and Paiz are proven scorers with All-American potential. The biggest x-factors will, of course, be Legendre and Bezecny who tout an immense amount upside.
The Grizzlies have added intriguing international talent and those who are still remaining on have seen tons of growth throughout the last nine months. The Adams State men will have a chip on their shoulder entering 2023 and with some uncertainty about Colorado Mines’ team this fall, Adams State could legitimately win the national title this fall.
Some good advice: Stay out of the way of a motivated Grizzly.
