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TSR's 2023 Preseason D3 XC Top 20 Rankings: #10-6 (Men)
- Kevin Fischer
- Jul 30, 2023
- 5 min read
Written by Kevin Fischer, additional edits and commentary Gavin Struve & Garrett Zatlin
10. Colin Kirkpatrick, Junior, Pomona-Pitzer
It was admittedly a little difficult to figure out where to rank Colin Kirkpatrick coming into these fall months. On one hand, he was the 61st place finisher at the cross country national meet in the fall of 2022. And despite his great success on the track, it's always hard to tell how steeplechase results will translate to cross country.
But on the other hand, this is a guy who was the 10th place finisher from the 2021 cross country national meet. And that aforementioned 61st place finish in 2022 was pretty consistent with how a lot of his teammates and other warm-weather schools fared in the snowy conditions of Lansing, Michigan.
However, what this Sagehen ace recently did on the track is what ultimately allows him to crack our top-10. After a tough showing at the NCAA XC Championships, Kirkpatrick bounced back admirably on the oval. He ran a steeplechase personal best of 8:41.92 (a D3 record at the time) before placing 4th at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships in that event. Kirkpatrick also ran personal bests over 1500 meters (3:46) and the 5k (14:19) this past spring.
Overall, it's hard to question Kirkpatrick’s status as a bona fide elite talent. And even though he has been a bit inconsistent at times, like placing 7th at the deep Augustana Interregional Invitational, but only 17th at the SCIAC XC Championships last fall, we know that he can be as dangerous as virtually any man in the Division Three ranks.
That’s why we feel that this ranking is perfectly reasonable if Kirkpatrick is at (or near) his best.
9. Spencer Moon, Senior, Simpson
Throughout the 2021-2022 academic year, as just a sophomore, Spencer Moon established himself as one of the top talents in Division Three.
First, he qualified for the indoor and outdoor national meets as an individual, suggesting that he had some room to improve upon his 118th place finish at the 2021 NCAA XC Championships. However, few could have expected a top-10 result at the 2022 iteration of the cross country national meet, even if Moon’s lead up hinted at it all season long.
Last fall, Moon won the Aurora Invitational as well as the competitive Platte River Rumble. He then finished an admittedly modest 12th place at the American Rivers Conference XC Championships before bouncing back to finish 3rd at the Midwest Regional XC Championships. That latter effort gave way to his massive 10th place result at the national meet, his only All-American honor.
The veteran followed those performance with additional success, or at least more consistency, on the track. He qualified for the indoor and outdoor national meets in a pair of events, each. And while he didn’t finish in the top-eight in any of those races, he still ran times of 14:04 over 5000 meters and 29:27 over 10,000 meters.
Moon still needs to refine some of his tactics and how he approaches certain races. But in terms of raw talent, this Simpson distance star is more than deserving to be listed at this spot. He has taken down top-tier names before and we wouldn't be surprised if he cracked the top-10 portion of our rankings by then.
8. Cory Kennedy, Junior, RPI
With the departure of star teammate Matthew Lecky, RPI's Cory Kennedy is now the veritable leading man for the Engineers. It's new territory for him, but he should be more than ready for his new post after a phenomenal breakout year.
Kennedy enjoyed a considerable breakthrough during the 2022 cross country season. During that time, he put himself on our radar and ultimately came away with a 20th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships.
Yes, that was a strong result, but it was also fairly unsurprising, and maybe even a touch underwhelming given his consistency throughout the fall months. Leading up to the national meet, Kennedy's season was highlighted by a PR and top-60 result at the Division One-laden Paul Short Invite as well as a Liberty League individual title.
However, it's the momentum and newfound confidence that Kennedy brought to the oval this past year as the reasons why we view him as a top-10 cross country talent this fall.
This past spring, Kennedy ran a slew of PRs from the 1500 meters through the 10k. He placed 8th overall in the 5k at the NCAA Indoor Championships in just his third time on the national stage and then improved with a 6th place result in that event at the outdoor national meet. He also won two more Liberty League individual titles.
While he may feel more pressure and attention entering this season, Kennedy has displayed all of the makings of being an elite low-stick on a nationally competitive team. He should be a force to be reckoned with this year given his incredible consistency and poise.
7. Lucas Florsheim, Junior, Pomona-Pitzer
As the highest of three Sagehens in the top-13 portion of our preseason rankings, Lucas Florsheim has been incredible over the past two years. And in 2023, he could reach a new level that makes him even scarier to compete against than he already is.
The Pomona-Pitzer star has built his resume out with two All-American finishes at cross country national meets. You can’t find much better than that in terms of proven top-end ability.
Florsheim placed 16th at the most recent cross country national meet after a strong backend to the season in which he was 5th at the Augustana Interregional Invitational, runner-up at the SCIAC XC Championships and won the West Regional XC Championships.
Sure, Florsheim arguably could have been better last November after finishing 14th overall at the 2021 NCAA XC Championships, but it’s hard to quibble with a second top-20 All-American result on the grass.
The Sagehen veteran also hinted that he could still be on an upwards trajectory on the track as he ran a 5000 meter PR of 14:01 this past spring and reached the outdoor national meet in two events. If all goes to plan, Florsheim is more than capable of improving upon his last two national meet finishes on the grass and producing a third-straight top-half All-American finish.
6. Simon Heys, Senior, Wilmington (OH)
Simon Heys has been relevant on the Division Three scene for a very long time, playing a key role in the competitive growth of the division as a whole over the past couple of years.
After producing a jaw-dropping 5th place finish at the 2021 NCAA XC Championships, Heys seemed to get overshadowed by other top distance talents on the track. He failed to qualify for the indoor national meet and settled for 13th place over 10,000 meters at the outdoor national meet -- all in the winter and spring of 2022.
The Ohio-based runner had strong success during the 2022 cross country season, but not of the same ilk that he enjoyed the year prior, at least not on the national stage.
Last fall, Heys won a pair of meets, placed 3rd at the All-Ohio XC Championships, was 5th at the D3 National Preview, took bronze at the OAC XC Championships and snagged silver at the Great Lakes Regional XC Championships. All of that led to a still-excellent 15th place finish at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships.
After not meeting the immense expectations that he had set for himself on the national stage, Heys responded with aplomb on the track. He earned a pair of top-five All-American finishes between the 5000 meters (indoors) and the 10,000 meters.
This year, we have every reason to believe that Heys can once again be in (or around) that top-five range in both our rankings and at the national meet. His fitness has taken a leap, as indicated by his new 10k PR of 29:12, a translatable distance to the cross country course.
Heys has such a strong baseline of cross country success that it would be a surprise to not see him at least grace the top-10 at the NCAA XC Championships once more this fall.
