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TSR's 2023 Preseason D3 XC Top 20 Rankings: #15-11 (Men)
- Andrew Muskevitsch
- Jul 29, 2023
- 5 min read
Written by Andrew Muskevitsch, additional edits by Gavin Struve & Garrett Zatlin
15. Emmanuel Leblond, Sophomore, Johns Hopkins
After a phenomenal freshman year, Emmanuel Leblond is primed to continue his ascent to the top ranks of Division Three cross country.
The effective bet that we're making with ranking Leblond at this spot is centered around his youth-based upside. We're assuming that he can extend and build upon the strides that he made during his freshman year in which he finished 26th at the NCAA XC Championships.
Leblond spent most of his 2022 cross country season working his way up the Blue Jays' roster, eventually emerging as the top runner at the NCAA XC Championships (it is important to note that teammate Gavin McElhennon finished just 0.1 seconds behind him).
That fantastic result came on the tails of a 5th place result at the Centennial Conference XC Championships and retrospectively great finishes in the middle of a number of deep fields such as Paul Short, Panorama Farms and the MSU Spartan Invitational.
As a high schooler just one year ago, Leblond had impressive 4:24 and 9:08 performances over 1600 and 3200 meters, respectively. Since then, the Mountain View graduate moved to Baltimore and adapted to the collegiate scene almost immediately.
After Leblond reached the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships in the 5k and ran personal bests in both the 10k and the steeplechase in the spring, we have little doubts about his versatility or trajectory.
Now, this rising sophomore should be able to team up with McElhennon to create a feared 1-2 punch on the grass come October and November.
14. Gunner Schlender, Junior, UW-Whitewater
Gunner Schlender has been a picture of reliability throughout his collegiate career, posting a pair of top-30 finishes at NCAA XC Championships (30th in 2022 and 26th in 2021).
Most recently on the grass, his 2022 campaign included a top-three finish at the regional meet as well as runner-up efforts at both the Ken Weidt Classic and the Tom Hoffman Invitational. He also secured a promising 4th place finish at the WIAC XC Championships, a very top-heavy conference last fall.
Of course, potentially the strongest argument for Schlender to be higher in our preseason list is his 2023 track season. Throughout his indoor and outdoor track campaigns, he landed in the top-10 in three separate NCAA Championship finals.
Most notably, Schlender finished 3rd over 10,000 meters at the outdoor national meet. He also placed 10th in the 5k during that same weekend and was the 9th place finisher in the 5k at the 2023 indoor national meet. Oh, and he was 10th in the 10k and 6th in the indoor 5k going back to 2022.
Schlender seems to have somehow continued his seemingly linear progression throughout his career, running incredibly impressive times of 14:00 and 29:05 over 5000 and 10,000 meters, respectively, this past spring.
That track success is not guaranteed to translate to a golf course, but the consistency and strength demonstrated by Schlender over the past six months is proof of his aerobic gains. He looks set to be the secondary low-stick in the already-full war chest that the Warhawks boast.
13. Derek Fearon, Junior, Pomona-Pitzer
Given his prior performances on the national stage (24th place at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships and 12th at the 2021 NCAA XC Championships), it seems fair to expect a similar performance from Derek Fearon this fall coming off of a solid year on the track.
In fact, he may have an argument for a higher ranking considering the departure of runners who finished in front of him at last year's national meet.
In the fall of 2022, Fearon found his way into the lead group at several meets, most notably at the 2022 SCIAC XC Championships. There, he ran 24:44 over the 8000 meters, good enough to win the meet by over 10 seconds. And from that race, you can see why we opted to rank him closer to his 2021 national meet result rather than what he did in 2022.
Of course, it was not simply strength on the grass that justifies Fearon’s placement at TSR #13 in our preseason rankings; the Sagehen veteran has also shown his ability to push the pace on polyurethane.
This past spring, Fearon ran to a 14:18 (5k) personal best in Los Angeles. He also took home the 2023 SCIAC Championship title over 10,000 meters, his second conference title. However, the only thing that he’s truly lacking on his resume is high-stakes results, and the implied momentum that they carry, on the oval.
Sure, certain regular season results of Fearon's could have been a bit better, but there isn't necessarily a poor race on his resume, at least not as of late.
Fearon could very well be the top runner on a loaded Pomona-Pitzer team on his best day. He will be integral to the success of one of the teams poised to compete for a national title.
12. Will Kelly, Junior, St. Olaf
Between 2021 and 2022, Will Kelly made one of the biggest jumps in the country, improving from 129th at the NCAA XC Championships to 13th on the same stage the following season.
Our TSR #12 athlete also happens to be coming off of a top-10 finish in the steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Championships from this past May. The toughness learned in arguably the most physically demanding event should transfer fairly well to the grass where mentality often outlasts physicality.
That continued improvement helps validate the idea of another leap on the grass for Kelly.
Since he was last seen on grass, Kelly was able to show some speed, running 14:15 over 5000 meters as well as 8:53 over the barriers. While those marks may not be eye-popping, they are further proof that Kelly will be able to make big moves when they’re required in a loaded national field.
Calling his 2022 season on the grass a success feels like drastically underselling it. Kelly did not finish outside of the top-10 in any race save for the Connecticut College Invitational and the NCAA Championships. Yes, it's true, his regular season schedule wasn't crazy competitive outside of the Connecticut College Invite, but this Saint Olaf standout still delivered time and time again.
Some may discount that season as a “hot streak,” but we sincerely believe that stretch of performances to be a leap in fitness that Kelly can maintain and build upon in 2023.
11. Isaac Wegner, Senior, UW-La Crosse
The 2022 cross country season that Isaac Wegner put together may have been one of the most impressive and consistent fall campaigns of anyone in these preseason rankings.
From his season opener on September 10th through the regional meet on November 12th, Wegner went on a complete tear, finishing in the top-six in six-straight races, including a 3rd place result at the WIAC XC Championships. That result was key in the UW-La Crosse men securing an overall team victory. Wegner finished his campaign with a massive 12th place finish at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships.
His 2021 cross country season was also incredibly solid as he showed similar consistency through the regular season before finishing 67th at the national meet. Admittedly, this past spring was not completely storybook for the Eagle, but he still managed to place 5th at the WIAC Championships over 10,000 meters, a very deep conference at that distance.
The UW-La Crosse standout also ran personal bests over the 3k (8:15) and 5k (14:24) distances this past winter and contested the former event at the indoor national meet. Sure, a DNF result on that stage didn’t leave the best taste in our mouths, but Wegner has shown himself to be prolific on the cross country course.
We hardly expect that to change for the Eagle veteran in 2023.
