TSR's 2023 Preseason D2 XC Top 25 Rankings: Just Missed & Honorable Mentions (Men)

Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Jul 25, 2023
8 min read

Updated: Jul 27, 2023

Here we go. Our 2023 Division Two men's and women's preseason individual cross country rankings. Let's start with our Just Missed and Honorable Mention names.

As a reminder, you can find our rankings rubric here. This week will be our D2 and D3 rankings. You can also check out our D1 rankings on our ARTICLES page from last week!

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Cas Kopmels, Junior, Wingate

A relative unknown entering the 2022 cross country campaign, Cas Kopmels feels like a fitting name for this portion of our Division Two men’s preseason rankings.

Loaded with upside and one of the faces of a powerhouse program, there’s still a level of mystique surrounding Kopmels’ potential, but now he carries earned expectations. His 27th place finish at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships stands far above anything else he’s produced thus far, but that doesn’t mean it’s a fluke.

Kopmels was solid at the UAH DII Festival Year Showcase where he placed 15th and dipped under 24:00 over 8000 meters for a second-straight meet last fall. The prior result came at the Lehigh Paul Short Run (84th), a meet in which he finished ahead of a number of Division One and Two adversaries in the middle of the field. He did all of that in his first season with a new team after transferring just months before.

The Bulldog distance talent then followed his success on the grass with a pair of personal bests in the early months of winter, running 8:12 (3k) and 14:07 (5k). He also improved his 1500 meter time to 3:50 and has run 29:32 for 10k, the latter result coming while he competed for Mount Olive.

Unlike many of his contemporaries in these preseason rankings, Kopmels has yet to race on the national stage on the oval, and that, as well as his 2022 regular season, is a large part of why he finds himself just on the fringes of this list.

Even so, Kopmels has the top-end All-American result, general improvement and a solid team structure around him to warrant placement here. All of that supports the expectation that he’ll not only replicate that national meet result, but improve upon it this November. He’ll need to in order for Wingate to continue their own upward trajectory and reach their goals.

Mikah Paiz, Junior, Adams State

Few names were more challenging to figure out than Mikah Paiz. The Adams State veteran has clearly proven to be a nationally competitive name in recent years, but his 2022 cross country campaign gave us very little to analyze.

Last year, Paiz placed 24th at the Ted Castaneda XC Classic and 4th at the 2022 Colorado Springs XC Open. Those results, however, would be the main highlights for a runner who never got to race in a truly competitive setting.

However, we also can't forget that Paiz finished 26th at the 2021 NCAA XC Championships to cap off a very strong fall campaign from almost two years ago. And on the track, this Adams State runner had held his own, producing times of 3:46 (1500), 4:07 (mile), 8:13 (3k) and 14:36 (5k).

Sure, Paiz doesn't have a crazy resume compared to a few others, but at his best, he's plenty dangerous and is more than capable of being a top-25 runner in the country (for D2). For now, he'll sit in on the fringes of our rankings, but no one should be surprised if he cracks our list in the coming months.

Matthew Oglesby, Rs. Junior, Pittsburg State

Possibly one of the more underrated and underappreciated distance talents in Division Two, Matthew Oglesby could end up being ranked inside of our top-15 by the end of the season. And truthfully, it hurts to list him outside of our top-25.

The Pittsburg State ace was fantastic throughout last fall. He was 22nd overall at the often-competitive Louisville XC Classic (Gold race), earned top-three finishes and at the MIAA XC Championships and the Central Regional XC Championships and later secured a 38th place All-American finish on the national stage.

And truthfully, one could argue that this national meet performance from last fall was arguably his "worst" of the 2022 season. That result was likely not indicative of his actual talent.

Sure enough, Oglesby would venture to the outdoor oval where he would end up running 29:36 for 10,000 meters, a promising effort as we head into the fall months.

For now, the Pittsburg State veteran sits on the outside portion of our rankings. While he was terrific last fall, his national meet performance left us wanting more and the end of his outdoor track season wasn't entirely ideal, either.

Even so, Oglesby is a veteran who offers tremendous consistency and little downside. That, in turn, could have him cracking our top-25 list in the not-so-distant future.

Ricardo Vargas, Sophomore, Cal Poly Pomona

Strictly on paper, Ricardo Vargas' credentials don't necessarily match the resumes of the other men who can be found in our "Just Missed" section. However, when you look at what he did as only a freshman, then you can't simply dismiss the incredible upside that this Cal Poly Pomona ace could exhibit over the next few months.

Throughout last fall, Vargas steadily got better. And despite his youth, the rookie showed promising consistency.

After a few unexciting results to start his season, Vargas posted a promising 12th place finish at D2 Pre-Nationals. There were only five men who finished ahead of him who weren't from Colorado School of Mines.

From there, Vargas would earn a decent 7th place finish at the CCAA XC Championships before improving to 6th place at the West Regional XC Championships. He would later cap his season with a 60th place finish on the national stage.

Sure, Vargas wasn't a star-caliber name last year, but he showed tremendous promise. While there were certainly others in this section who we would rank ahead of him, those names may not have the same ceiling that he does.

Admittedly, this spot is largely speculative, but the "Just Missed" section seems like a good spot for someone like himself.

Noah Fisher, Junior, Findlay

We like Noah Fisher quite a bit at The Stride Report. He is a true long distance ace with usually-great consistency and a recent amount of well-earned experience. On paper, he could end up being a major problem for his competitors this fall.

Throughout last fall, Fisher was excellent, almost never having a poor race. The Findlay distance talent was runner-up at the All-Ohio XC Championships, placed 18th at the Louisville XC Classic and later earned a pair of silver medals between his conference (G-MAC) and regional (Midwest) meets.

However, the only "off" day of Fisher's fall campaign came on the national stage where he faded to 71st place. And while that isn't necessarily a bad result, that performance ultimately has him dropping outside of our top-25...and we feel like we're making a mistake.

Even so, Fisher would go on to run times of 8:18 (3k), 14:17 (5k) and 29:17 (10k). He would also qualify for the outdoor national meet in the latter event where he placed 10th overall.

Outside of his race at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships, Fisher is a true low-stick who can be competitive with the best of the best. And if he had even finished in the top-50 of last year's national meet, then he may have been able to crack our preseason rankings.

But before that happens, we just need to see a few more performances where Fisher is a bit more dominant. Although, truthfully, it probably won't take much for him to break into our top-25 as long as he replicates last year's efforts.

Ricardo Barbosa, Junior, Wingate

Seeing Ricardo Barbosa in this section of our rankings may upset a few people who are familiar with his talent. Allow us to explain...

The newest member of the Wingate men has proven to be an exceptional distance talent at the JUCO level. Not only did Barbosa finish 3rd at the NJCAA XC Championships (D1) last fall, but he has also run 8:42 in the steeplechase!

On paper, Barbosa is a no-brainer All-American candidate...but what is his ceiling in his first season of Division Two competition? How effectively can he translate his talent to a national stage where the racing distance is 10k and not 8k?

Admittedly, this spot may seem a bit too conservative for the newest Bulldog standout. If someone wanted to rank him in their own top-25 list, we probably wouldn't argue. However, we simply want to see him translate his talent to the grass at the D2 level before we get any more speculative about his potential.

And if we had to guess, he'll probably show us fairly early-on that we under ranked him.

Brayden McLaughlin, Junior, Chico State

There isn't necessarily a good way to rank Brayden McLaughlin. He is clearly experienced and has top-tier All-American upside. However, his 2021 cross country season and his 2022 fall campaign clash -- that first season was great and his second season was "just alright".

In the fall of 2021, McLaughlin was 2nd at the Cougar Challenge, won the CCAA individual cross country title, earned bronze at the West Regional XC Championships and later secured All-American honors at the national meet with a 32nd place finish.

After a series of strong marks on the track, running times of 14:16 (5k) and 29:22 (10k), McLaughlin ventured into the 2022 cross country seasons with expectations of being a top-25 runner in Division Two. That, however, didn't necessarily pan out.

The Chico State ace was 22nd at D2 Pre-Nationals, 5th at the CCAA XC Championships, 13th at the West Regional XC Championships and then 72nd at the NCAA XC Championships. It was a respectable season, but not one worthy of a ranking.

At his best, McLaughlin can absolutely be a top-25 name. If he can build off of his rookie year performances, then he'll be ranked in the next few months. Of course, without any reassurance of that happening, and no recent results on his resume, we had to settle for putting McLaughlin in the "Just Missed" section.

Evan Leist, Senior, Cedarville

No one would have been surprised if Evan Leist was one of the first names to begin our top-25 Division Two men’s countdown with. We ultimately had to leave him out, but that's more based on the talent around him -- it's no fault of his own.

Leist’s collegiate career is a story of admirable linear progression, even if he took an unconventional route (transferring in as an NAIA runner without any All-American honors) to get to this point.

The G-MAC standout stacked top-10 finishes throughout last fall, first placing 7th over 5000 meters at the Mike Baumer XC Classic. He then jumped up to the 8k racing distance and finished 6th at the All-Ohio XC Championships, 3rd at the Lucian Rosa Invitational, 5th at the G-MAC XC Championships and 4th at the Midwest Regional XC Championships.

His only departures from that range came in a pair of races that each saw him finish 37th, one being at the D2 Festival Year Showcase and the other being at the NCAA XC Championships. And while his All-American result was plenty admirable, it wasn't quite enough to make him a top-25 name this fall when paired with his other effort that was outside of the top-30.

Luckily, once Leist broke through on the grass last fall, he continued that success on the track. The Cedarville star qualified for the 5k at the NCAA Indoor Championships and the 10k at the NCAA Outdoor Championships after running a new PR of 29:21 in the latter event.

Admittedly, Leist is no shoe-in for another linear leap in fitness. One could argue that his veteran status leaves him with less upside or potential for improvement than many of his competitors. He also holds just one All-American honor, and truthfully, he wasn’t too far off from finishing outside the top-40 spots that earn those billings.

Even so, the entirety of his 2022-23 resume speaks to a level of patience, progress and command of his fitness which makes us confident that Leist can eventually be a top-25 guy.