TSR's 2024 D2 Outdoor Top 25 Rankings (Men): Update #4 (FINAL)

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Written by Ian Dickenson & Gavin Struve

Additional edits & commentary by Garrett Zatlin & Gavin Struve

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Click here to see our Just Missed and Honorable Mention names.

Listed eligibility takes redshirts and Covid-related extensions into consideration.

TFRRS is used as a general, but not strict, guide when determining eligibility.

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25. Juan Diego Castro, Junior, Azusa Pacific (-16 / 9)

Even with one of the best resumes in Division Two, Juan Diego Castro faces a steep drop in our final rankings update after finishing 6th over 1500 meters at the outdoor national meet.

It wasn’t clear whether the underwhelming last few races to his season were flukes or an indication of genuine struggles. However, the latter notion seems to hold more validity now. As a guy with 1:48 (800) and 3:40 (1500) chops, the NCAA #2 metric mile mark this year (D2) and experience competing at national meets at the Division One level, Castro surely had high expectations and will hope to be more of a factor in the future. 

It speaks to his talent that a comfortable All-American finish in a variable race feels underwhelming. Fortunately, the Azusa Pacific junior has another year of eligibility to thrive over the middle distances.

24. Nixon Korir, Senior, Azusa Pacific (Unranked)

While Nixon Korir finished one spot lower at this year's outdoor national meet than last year's (albeit running almost 35 seconds faster), the effort that he just posted was arguably his most impressive performance yet.

Korir hung tough in an ultra-fast 3000-meter steeplechase final (that was largely dictated by one team) to finish 6th, needing an impressive PR of 8:44 in order to do so. In our eyes, the Azusa Pacific talent seemed to peak perfectly for the postseason, running a PR just two weeks before the outdoor national meet in an 8:47 victory.

23. Dylan Sprecker, Freshman, Pittsburg State (Unranked)

As one of a host of young talents who emerged in full force at this outdoor national meet, Dylan Sprecker just barely made it into the 1500-meter finals.

That race was a true sit-and-kick affair, but Sprecker -- with a recent 3:43 PR and a conference title -- showed that he had the turnover to contend with the best of them as he finished 5th place overall.

If Sprecker can capitalize on his potential, then the sky is the limit for him. Being able to run a nationally competitive mark and make it to the finals of the national meet is huge for any freshman. But to also find success in a tactical race against men who are far more proven than him was extremely encouraging to see.

22. Drew Dailey, Senior, Shippensburg (-1 / 21)

Over two years after running his gaudy 1:48 (800) PR and in his fourth national meet appearance, Drew Dailey finally reached a half-mile final.

A 5th place finish is about what we expected from Dailey given his previous spot in our rankings and his ceiling is probably higher than that. Even so, it was enjoyable to see him truly deliver on his potential (which we have been preaching about for quite some time) in a tangible way.

21. Johan Correa, Junior, Central Washington (Unranked)

After arriving at the outdoor national meet and sitting towards the middle of the pack seed-wise, Johan Correa had a couple of big days to end up in 4th place over 800 meters.

This past weekend was his Correa's first outdoor national meet appearance. Of course, he was excellent throughout this past fall as a top-half cross country All-American, so we didn’t know what was in the cards for Correa. Would he thrive just as he did on the grass? Or would the extreme top-heaviness of this field be too much for him to handle?

Apparently, it was the former. That result is further proof that Correa is maybe more comfortable when the pressure is the highest. A top-half All-American finish to a strong academic year feels emblematic of his unique talent.

20. Jan Lukas Becker, Senior, Mississippi College (-10 / 10)

It felt like the 10k field took a substantial step up this year, but we still thought that Jan Lukas Becker would be one of the medal favorites as the reigning champion.

Despite not rising all the way up to that level, the Mississippi College senior still competed respectably to place 6th among some fantastic runners. He also placed 15th over 5000 meters, but has never been mistaken for an excellent doubler.

It’s easy to be disappointed in a returning gold medalist doing anything other than winning, but that would be a dismissal of the elevated competition that Becker faced at this outdoor national meet. It’s worth mentioning that he managed to outperform his position on the national leaderboard, so if you look at this season in isolation, it’s not necessarily a disappointment.

19. Mason Strader, Rs. Junior, Pittsburg State (Unranked)

The metric mile was shaping up to be one of the more unpredictable events at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. However, Mason Strader was poised and thus thrived in the chaos.

That's no shock considering that Strader was making his eighth NCAA Championships appearance dating back to early 2021, but this was only his second top-half All-American finish.

By placing 4th and seemingly helping teammate Dylan Sprecker finish 5th, Strader should feel vindicated following multiple All-American placements throughout this academic year (including from the winter months). His experience clearly paid odd this past weekend even in a race scenario that may have benefitted a few others a bit more than him.

18. Matthew Storer, Rs. Sophomore, Colorado Christian (-5 / 13)

At the 2023 outdoor national meet, Matthew Storer left a deep mark in both the 5k and the 10k, placing 2nd and 4th, respectively. This time around, his best result was 5th place over 10,000 meters and he was much further back in the 5k.

That 10k effort is still one to be proud, but Storer was always going to have a difficult time replicating last year’s finish while facing better fields this year and with the 5k being as tactical as it was.

As a star on the grass, this outdoor track season still leaves Storer in a great place for the upcoming cross country campaign. If he can make further improvements this summer, he could be in the conversation for his first national title. 

17. Samuel Idiens, Freshman, Charleston (WV) (Unranked)

The bronze position was the top spot up for grabs in the half-mile considering how good Wes Ferguson and Harry Ross-Hughes have been. That's why Samuel Idiens finishing 3rd place overall is a huge accomplishment, especially given his age.

Even with classmate George Couttie in the transfer portal, it appears that the Golden Eagles should retain a bright young talent in the middle distances anyway. As a runner with great range, Idiens could be a threat in multiple events if he chooses to, effectively giving him some of the best long-term value of anyone in D2 nowadays.

16. Duncan Fuehne, Junior, Colorado Mines (Unranked)

Duncan Fuehne has hinted at deserving elite status before, but a 4th place finish in the 10k (his best-ever national meet result on the track) is a huge validation of his ability. Colorado Mines always seems to have a real ace leading their squad and Fuehne stepped up as their top man in Loic Scomparin's absence this spring. 

Although Fuehne was unranked before this (albeit, just outside of our rankings), he is a consistent and proven talent who appears here to stay as one of the best distance runners in Division Two especially as we head towards the fall. 

15. Caleb Futter, Senior, Grand Valley State (-11 / 4)

After taking down one of the fastest milers in Division Two history to claim his first national title just a few months ago, we had higher expectations for Caleb Futter than his 5th place and 12th place finishes in the steeplechase and the 1500 meters, respectively, would suggest.

With the frightening kick that we’ve seen Futter throw down before, the tactical nature of this year's 1500-meter final should have been right up his alley. 

Whether it was the difficulty of the double or just that he was not quite in the shape that he was during the indoor track season, Futter didn’t perform the way we thought he would this past weekend. Even if this Grand Valley State ace was not able to fully capitalize on his senior outdoor track season, he should be proud of the career that he's had in Division Two. 

14. Felix Perrier, Junior, Azusa Pacific (+9 / 23)

While we were bullish on Felix Perrier this season, his postseason performances cemented a jump to the next level of Division Two distance running that we weren't even sure he was ready for.

That's because, in a seriously competitive and quick steeplechase final, Perrier finished just outside the Wingate trio for a top-half All-American result and an 8:41 PR.

This Azusa Pacific junior then posted one of the nation's best displays of versatility by coming back to place 5th in a tactical 5k race. Perrier has been steadily improving over the last two years, and after a fantastic end to this season, the future looks exceptionally bright for him.

13. Ricardo Barbosa, Junior, Wingate (-1 / 12)

After this former JUCO superstar wasted little time translating his talent to the NCAA level, Ricardo Barbosa entered his first NCAA Outdoor Championship as a national title contender.

And while he came away with a 3rd place finish in the 3000-meter steeplechase, it's hard to think that this Wingate ace is upset with a bronze medal considering that his Bulldogs finished 1-2-3 in the same race!

A couple of men ranked below him had better or equal postseason placements on the national stage, but it helps that Barbosa had the fastest mark in the steeplechase prelims on Thursday and was a few tenths of a second off of his 8:40 PR in a historically fast steeplechase final.

12. Roberto Fajardo, Senior, Lee (Tenn.) (+8 / 20)

To cap off his breakout year, Roberto Fajardo came through to finish as the national runner-up over 1500 meters. Despite having never previously qualified for a national meet on the track, Fajardo firmly established himself as a contender by notching his NCAA #3 mark of 3:40 (1500) and running 1:49 (800) this season as well.

Having the fitness to comfortably advance to the outdoor national meet is one thing, but to then have the tactical savvy and foot-speed to earn silver (particularly in this year's final) in one's first showing is far more impressive. 

The only thing to lament about Fajardo's season is that it appears to be his last. The Lee (Tenn.) senior had a sparse collegiate career, but finished it with a bang.

11. Hamza Chahid, Sophomore, Wingate (-6 / 5)

Hamza Chahid's ceiling was certainly higher than the 10k bronze medal and middle-of-the-pack 5k finish he produced at the 2024 outdoor national meet would indicate. After all, he has won two national titles over his first two years in the NCAA.

It seems clear by now that Chahid is better at the indoor national meet than the outdoor national meet. But he also finished better this spring than last. It's unfair to look down upon him for finishing 3rd in the 5k this past weekend even though he was defending his national title in the event from the 2024 indoor track season.

Chahid could have been better in the 10k than 12th place considering that he posted a 28:37 PR in that event this season. But it doesn't feel fair to move him much further back than this after what was still a solid double effort. Not to mention, Chahid also produced a 3:44 (1500) PR this spring after finishing as an All-American in that event last year.

10. Sam Wilhelm, Junior, Alabama-Huntsville (+8 / 18)

There were fair questions coming into this past weekend about whether Sam Wilhelm could obtain his first track All-American honor given that his middle distance credentials are far less fleshed out than many of his competitors.

Wilhelm rendered that concern moot in both the 5k and the 10k, largely filling in the gaps between the winner and the rest of the field by finishing toward the front of the chase pack.

That bore fruit with a bronze medal in the 10k and a top-half All-American finish in the 5k. At the conclusion of a breakout academic year, it's clear that this Charger star is more than just a cross country talent.

9. Soheil Boufrizi, Junior, Wingate (+2 / 11)

If Sam Wilhelm had a breakout year, then Soheil Boufrizi enjoyed the same to an even greater extent. As such, the latter entered this outdoor national meet with grander expectations.

Boufrizi was a comfortable All-American in both the fall and the winter and ran a slew of PRs, including this season's NCAA D2 #1 mark in the steeplechase (8:37). It appeared for portions of Saturday's 3000-meter steeplechase final that all of that momentum may materialize into Boufrizi's first individual national title.

Alas, he finished with silver instead (behind his teammate) before doubling back to place 17th in the 5k on Saturday. His 4:02 mile chops weren't enough in the end, but considering that Boufrizi finished last place in the steeplechase finals at the 2023 outdoor national meet, we anticipate that he'll be back next year hungry for further improvement.

8. Josphat Meli, Freshman, Harding (Unranked)

If our top-25 rankings are littered with men who experienced exponential growth over the past year, Josphat Meli deserves a lion's share of the praise as the only rookie in the top-half of our final rankings.

He seemed poised for his first All-American finish after coming one or two spots away in two different events at the 2024 indoor national meet, but few could have expected Meli to comfortably earn two top-eight finishes on the outdoor oval. Nonetheless, there he was finishing as the best of the rest behind William Amponsah for the 10k silver medal before placing 6th in the 5k.

Get used to seeing Meli in this range of our rankings.

7. Harry Ross-Hughes, Sophomore, Lake Erie (0 / 7)

As his movement (or lack thereof) in these rankings suggests, there's not much to discuss concerning Harry Ross-Hughes. That's almost entirely a positive for an underclassman who has been a mainstay in our top-10 since earning half-mile bronze this past winter.

Ross-Hughes one-upped those honors on the outdoor oval this past weekend, beating all but Wes Ferguson for a runner-up finish over 800 meters. He now seemingly enters the second half of his NCAA career as the bellwether in that event beginning in 2025.

6. Simon Kelati, Rs. Junior, Western Colorado (-3 / 3)

It feels a bit wrong to drop Simon Kelati several spots following a pair of strong All-American finishes, but he should take solace in his status as the highest-ranked individual who did not win a national title this spring (and he didn't earn silver either).

The Mountaineer man earned bronze in a tactical (and perhaps variable) 1500-meter final, placing one spot higher than he did over the same distance at the 2023 outdoor national meet. He also matched his 5k finish from last year by placing 7th.

We thought Kelati to be capable of winning a national title in one of those events after doing so in the 3k this past winter, but this spring season was hardly a disappointment as Kelati became a nine-time All-American (and a five-time All-American in this academic year alone).

If you're banking on any D2 men's distance talent to score postseason points regardless of the season, Kelati may be your pick.

5. Aziz Mohamed, Sophomore, West Texas A&M (+12 / 17)

Clearly, Aziz Mohamed and the West Texas A&M staff led by Coach Zach Daniel knew something we didn't as he surprisingly chose not to contest the half-mile at the outdoor national meet. That came just two weeks after he ran a 1:48 PR for a Lone Star Conference title and the NCAA #3 mark this season.

Perhaps we should have seen Mohamed as a more obvious metric mile title threat after he won a 1500-meter conference crown and earned an NCAA #4 mark of 3:41 (converted) earlier this season. Regardless, the decision to focus solely on the 1500 meters appeared prescient when Mohamed clearly had the most turnover in the field as he held off the entirety of his competition in a tactical metric mile final.

Credit to TSR D2 writer Marissa Kuik who foretold Mohamed's gold medal candidacy in both the event preview and our predictions.

4. Titouan Le Grix, Junior, Wingate (+11 / 15)

Titouan Le Grix raised his level just a bit higher than his aforementioned star teammates did en route to a steeplechase national title on Friday. Unlike fellow Bulldogs Ricardo Barbosa and Soheil Boufrizi, Le Grix did not compete over the barriers and water pits at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

Instead, Le Grix made his season debut in the 3000-meter steeplechase at the Charlotte Invitational where he procured the outright victory in a then-PR of 8:40. That winning experience (compared to running a fast time in a loaded field as his fellow Wingate harriers did) seemed to pay dividends when Le Grix once again ran a PR (this time 8:38) to win steeplechase gold one month later even after he had one of the slowest prelim times.

An 11th place result in the 5k on Saturday didn't help or hurt Le Grix's stock in these rankings, although it was his third-highest national meet finish and capped what's been an incredible developmental year for him and his program.

3. William Amponsah, Junior, West Texas A&M (+3 / 6)

The fact that William Amponsah led Romain Legendre (the D2 record holder in the event) entering the final lap of the 5000 meters in his first outdoor national meet appearance is an achievement unto itself.

That's especially true considering that Amponsah won the 10k national title two days prior. He went gun-to-tape in that event both on the national stage and throughout the season, running away with the title in 29:00 after running what was by far D2's fastest 10,000-meter mark this spring (28:00).

Through five races on the national stage, Amponsah has earned five All-American finishes and two national titles. Even among this type of elite company, it's hard to find many men who can contend with that level of early career ultimate success.

2. Romain Legendre, Junior, Adams State (0 / 2)

In hindsight, a 5k gold medal makes it seem like a wise decision for Romain Legendre to eschew the 1500 meters and the 10k at the outdoor national meet after being NCAA #1 and NCAA #2 in those events, respectively, this spring.

And even though all three of our D3 writers projected him to win the 5k national title, it wasn't a sure thing that this Grizzly great would earn gold considering that he finished as the 5000-meter national runner-up in the winter and hadn't raced over that distance in a month and a half heading into this past weekend.

Nevertheless, there was Legendre powering away from William Amponsah on the backstretch of the final lap and giving himself a comfortable enough lead to celebrate as he prepared to cross the finish line for his first national title.

1. Wes Ferguson, Rs. Senior, Nebraska-Kearney (0 / 1)

Wes Ferguson fittingly ends his NCAA career atop our top-25 outdoor track rankings after he earned his fifth national title exclusively over 800 meters. Ferguson hasn't lost a half-mile final to a fellow collegian in over a year and never appeared to be in danger of doing so during a one-second win at the 2024 outdoor national meet.

A kid who was winning state titles in Nebraska a half-decade ago closed his amateur running career by stacking national titles while residing in the same state.

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ADDED

Josphat Meli (Harding)

Duncan Fuehne (Colorado Mines)

Mason Strader (Pittsburg State)

Samuel Idiens (Charleston (WV))

Johan Correa (Central Washington)

Dylan Sprecker (Pittsburg State)

Nixon Korir (Azusa Pacific)

KICKED OFF

Reece Smith (NW Missouri)

Jagger Zlotoff (UC-Colorado Springs)

Tyler Nord (Western Colorado)

Prince Mcabelo (West Texas A&M)

Logan Bocovich (Colorado Mines)

Dayton Brown (Adams State)

George Couttie (Charleston (WV))

JUST MISSED (in no particular order)

Reece Smith (NW Missouri)

Jagger Zlotoff (UC-Colorado Springs)

Tyler Nord (Western Colorado)

Prince Mcabelo (West Texas A&M)

Logan Bocovich (Colorado Mines)

Dayton Brown (Adams State)

Benjamin Sumner (Azusa Pacific)

Daylen Madison (Ashland)

Ryan Hartman (Augustana (SD))

Harry Louradour (West Texas A&M)

Josh Pierantoni (Colorado Christian)

Dominic Suliman (Saginaw Valley)

Braxton Bruer (MSU-Moorhead)

Nolan Moeller (Drury)

Luca Poppe (Wingate)

Patrick Lyell (Grand Valley State)

Cole Benoit (Mississippi College)

Aspel Kiprob (East Central)

Grant Bradley (Fort Hays State)

Edwin Siuda (Western Colorado)

Jeret Gillingham (Western Washington)

Paul Korir (East Central)

Lars Laros (Wingate)

Lukas Ehrle (Wingate)

Antonin Saint Peyre (Wingate)

HONORABLE MENTIONS (in no particular order)

Jacob Hatcher (Lee (Tenn.))

Cas Kopmels (Wingate)

Ramen Felumlee (Cedarville)

Warren Thiel (Charleston (WV))

Brock Drengenberg (Colorado Mines)

Aris Houston (Cal Poly Humboldt)

Titus Lagat (Lee (Tenn.))

Drew Weber (Western Washington)

Trent Cochran (Colorado Christian)

Elliot Dotson (Anderson (SC))

JP Rutledge (Colorado Mines)

Ero Doce (Stanislaus State)

Emil Bezecny (Adams State)

Cole Nash (Alaska Anchorage)

Peter Kipkemboi (East Central)

Ben Surratt (Wingate)

Will Aitken (Wingate)

Paul Knight (Colorado Mines)

Kevin McDermott (Western Washington)

Alberto Campa (Colorado Mines)

Ethan Anthony (Oklahoma Christian)

Isaiah Rodriguez (Western Oregon)

George Couttie (Charleston (WV))

Hudson Majeski (Colorado Christian)

Dawson Gunn (Colorado Mines)

Maxime Touron (NW Missouri)

Nick Melanese (San Marcos)

Riley Witt (NW Missouri)

Nik Shilling (Davenport)

Antonio Blair (Angelo State)

Samuel Lange (Michigan Tech)

Brayden McLaughlin (Chico State)

Richie Johnston (Hillsdale)

Joshua Bishop (Tiffin)

Alexander Vance (Colorado Christian)

Kaleb Beloy (CSU-Pueblo)

Adnew Stueven (MSU-Moorhead)

Tim Brown (Black Hills State)

Matisse Virey (CSU-Pueblo)

Notes

- N/A