TSR's 2023 Preseason D2 XC Top 25 Rankings: #25-21 (Men)

Written by Gavin Struve & Grace McLaughlin, additional edits by Garrett Zatlin

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Click here to read our rankings rubric

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25. Brock Wooderson, Rs. Sophomore, Grand Valley State

Brock Wooderson surprised many distance running fans last year with a faster assimilation to the higher levels of Division Two than could be reasonably expected, particularly as an under-the-radar high school recruit.

But a redshirt season on the sidelines in one of the most elite NCAA distance programs (followed by a track campaign that offered a proper ramp-up) helps explain at least some of his breakout success.

With that in mind, it’s not a total shock that Wooderson fared well upon making the Lakers’ varsity group in his debut cross country season last fall. What is a surprise, however, is that he maintained such great reliability, continually positioning himself in the middle of GVSU’s scoring lineup regardless of the meet or level of competition.

Throughout the fall of 2022, Wodderson was 15th at the MSU Spartan Invitational, 26th at the Louisville XC Classic, 20th at the Bradley Pink Classic, 7th at the GLIAC XC Championships and 19th at the Midwest Regional XC Championships.

Fittingly, he was the 39th place All-American finisher at the NCAA XC Championships, serving as the third Laker to cross the finish line.

No, he didn’t return to the NCAA Championships once he reached the oval, but he did finish his academic year with a 29:27 (10k) PR and made tangible improvements from his freshman track season a year prior.

It’s rare for a first-year athlete to perform at this level and be a constant contributor for a top-flight distance-running program. Of course, with a year of experience under his belt, the study infrastructure surrounding Wooderson should all but ensure he continues making improvements. Not only will he be racing for himself, but also a team podium spot.

That’s why it’s easily conceivable that in his second collegiate cross country season, Wooderson could cut the amount of men in front of him at the national meet in half and fight for a top-20 result. If successful, he could position himself as the Lakers’ next great developmental story.

24. Aron Orar, Senior, Adams State

Aron Orar comes in at TSR #24 in our preseason rankings after his 7th place finish in the 10k at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Orar’s current momentum, and the fact that he holds a higher ceiling than most of his competitors, were the determining factors in him gaining a spot in the top-25 portion of our rankings.

We'll admit, most of Orar's performances on the grass over the past year were not flashy, and his cross country season, in which he never broke 25:00 over 8000 meters and finished 89th at the South Central Regional XC Championships, was just flat-out not great.

But his outdoor track season? Well, that was solid enough to prove that he’s a top-level talent.

The Adams State veteran had a stellar outdoor track season after not performing to his ability on the grass or the indoor oval. Prior to his All-American performance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, the Grizzly ace produced personal bests of 29:24 over 10,000 meters at the Bryan Clay Invitational and 14:05 for 5000 meters at the Portland Twilight Invite.

Comparing his outdoor track season to his finish at the regional stage shows us that Orar is on an upwards trajectory. He’s one of the few men who would not surprise us if he emerged as a top-half All-American after not even reaching the national meet a year prior.

Still, similar to several of his teammates, we have a lot of questions about Orar’s consistency heading into the cross country season. And for that reason, we have capped his preseason ranking at TSR #24.

23. Trent Cochran, Senior, Colorado Christian

Trent Cochran enters the first section of our men's D2 preseason rankings as an athlete with an abundance of collegiate experience and accompanying consistency.

Not only has Cochran run 3:48 for the metric mile, but his 8:10 (3k) and 14:07 (5k) marks hint at impressive range. That dynamic talent corroborates the versatility that makes him at his best on the cross country course despite not being a traditional aerobic-based athlete.

The Kansas native’s career-best 2022 cross country season is made even more impressive by the fact that he achieved it with a relatively thin race schedule.

Cochran began last fall with a rust-busting race at the CU Time Trial. There, he finished 17th place in a 7200 meter race and beat a number of better-known Buffalo adversaries.

In his first 8k of the season, Cochran had arguably his best race of 2022, finishing runner-up at the Lewis XC Crossover while emerging as the top scorer on his own team (which was one of the better squads in D2 last year). And given how the Lewis XC Crossover is one of the more competitive D2 regular season meets of every cross country season, we couldn't ignore that result when crafting these rankings.

Cochran wasn’t as strong at the South Central Regional XC Championships, but he didn’t need to be as he and his team did enough to reach the national stage. In his season finale, Cochran was the third Cougar scorer at the NCAA XC Championships, but that still helped his team to a spot on the podium as he earned a 31st place All-American result.

And while that was his first such honor, it was hardly his first time racing at that level. After all, this is a guy who pieced together four-straight top-eight results during the 2021 cross country season before underwhelming a bit at the national meet that year.

That’s why a spot in the top-25 feels like a natural next step for Cochran, particularly now that the Cougars find themselves with one less low-stick following Josh Pierantoni’s graduation. The CCU men will likely be in need of a significant result from Cochran now more than ever.

22. Andrew Hylen, Senior, Grand Valley State

If you’re looking to buy the dip on an athlete, then Andrew Hylen may be your guy. He’s a proven veteran who runs for an established national power, and with this ranking, we’re banking on the idea that a letdown performance from the last time we saw him was a fluke.

The performance in question was a 124th place finish at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships. It came on the heels of competitive finishes at the GLIAC XC Championships (9th), Bradley Pink Classic (24th), the Louisville XC Classic (16th) and the MSU Spartan Invitational (8th) against relatively stout competition.

For much of last season, Hylen was actually better (in the same meets) than he was leading up to his 12th place finish from the 2021 NCAA XC Championships.

Truthfully, Hylen's 2022 national meet result feels more like the outlier for someone who has otherwise progressed each season and has been at his best in the postseason. This ranking certainly sides with that belief, while hedging ever-so-slightly. Frankly, our biggest concern is his absence from the 2023 indoor and outdoor track seasons.

Relatedly, Hylen’s track times — 14:16 (5k) and 29:54 (10k) — while hardly jaw-dropping compared to his peers — are not disqualifying.

This is someone who has finished measurably higher than this landing spot at the national meet, a stage that he has raced on three times now. He also placed 51st in his debut NCAA XC Championships appearance in 2019.

It’s more likely than not that Hylen returns to form as a top-25 runner on the grass this fall in what will be his final collegiate cross country season.

21. Gideon Kimutai, Senior, Missouri Southern

Over the last few years, Gideon Kimutai has seen (almost) every up and down of competitive distance running. The Missouri Southern talent has been viewed as a D2 superstar at some points of his career while at other times, he's been forgotten, possibly unfairly.

In a "what have you done for me lately?" world, Kimutai is at a disadvantage. However, his historical resume is loaded with marks that could easily put him in the top-10 portion of our rankings and maybe even the top-five.

Throughout last fall, Kimutai was excellent. He won the Missouri Southern Stampede meet, was 7th at the Chile Pepper XC Festival and later won both his conference and regional titles. But on the national stage, the long-time D2 star faded hard, dropping to 82nd place, a result that wasn't at all indicative of his true talent.

And since then, Kimutai hasn't made our lives any easier when trying to rank him.

After not racing during the winter months, the Lion distance ace competed only twice, producing a 14:40 (5k) mark at Bryan Clay and later cruising to a 10k title at the MIAA Championships in a modest time of 30:02. Those results, however, are the only performances we have seen from Kimutai since early December.

At his best, Kimutai is as elite as they get. He was, after all, a top-five finisher at the NCAA XC Championships back in 2018 and 2019. But there are also numerous aspects of his resume that make it difficult to rank him much higher than this.

The Missouri Southern runner didn't compete on the grass between 2019 and 2022. His most recent national meet performance was wildly underwhelming relative to expectations. He didn't race at all this past winter and when he did race in the spring, he only produced two modest results. And for a guy who owns a personal best of 13:57 (5k), it's fair to say that we were looking for more.

If Kimutai only had one area of concern on his resume, then he would likely be ranked much higher in our preseason list. He is, after all, one of the most naturally talented and accomplished distance runners in Division Two right now.

But without any certainty as to what he'll do during the fall months, we had to settle with placing him at TSR #21...for now.