TSR's 2024 D2 XC Top 10 Team Rankings (Men): Update #2

TSR Collaboration
Oct 28, 2024
7 min read

Written by Marissa Kuik, Gavin Struve & Garrett Zatlin

Edits & additional commentary via Gavin Struve and Garrett Zatlin

NOTE: These rankings are based on how an individual fared throughout the entirety of a season, not just how they ran at a singular meet or (eventually) at the 2024 NCAA XC Championships. Click here to learn more about our ranking criteria (which was published in 2023).

KEY

(Unranked):

Was not ranked in our last update.

(#/#):

First number indicates how much the athlete has moved in the rankings.

The second number indicates where the athlete was ranked in our last update.

10. Lee (Tenn.) Flames (Unranked)

In what was expected to be a close battle with Alabama-Huntsville, the men from Lee (Tenn.) ended up on top at the GSC XC Championships for the third consecutive season, scoring 24 points as opposed to the Chargers' 52 points.

Even with a strong showing from Sam Wilhelm to take the individual title for UAH, the Flames’ pack allowed them to take home the team title. Lee (Tenn.) ended up putting their top three guys across the finish line before Alabama-Huntsville’s second scorer and rounded out their scoring lineup before the Chargers’ third individual finished.

The Flames finished with a 16-second scoring spread, pointing to a level of depth that should make them competitive with almost anyone considering that they quietly have some high-level talent leading the way.

9. Western Washington Vikings (0 / 9)

The depth of the Vikings was on full display at the GNAC XC Championships, where they won another team title despite usual front-runner Kevin McDermott not having as strong of a race as expected.

The Viking who did take home the individual victory was Jeret Gillingham, as he outran some tough competition from in-state foe Central Washington. Gillingham hadn’t been close to this team’s top runner heading into the postseason, but his re-emergence highlights the depth of this squad.

Western Washington finished with half of the GNAC’s top-12 finishers, and it helped that McDermott (11th place) didn’t entirely implode on an “off” day.

The ‘Vikes have looked very strong in their past two 8k races (the Lewis Crossover and their conference meet) and seem almost assured of holding their top-10 ranking assuming they don’t suffer any hiccups upon moving up to the 10k distance.

8. Chico State Wildcats (0 / 8)

After winning competitive meets like the WWU Bill Roe Classic and the UAH Chargers XC Invitational, Chico State was expected to dominate the CCAA XC Championships. Sure enough, they delivered, finishing with only 18 points for an almost-perfect score.

The Wildcats swept the top four spots, and their fifth runner finished less than eight seconds behind their fourth. This is a team of interchangeable lead scorers, and they don’t have a singular low-stick that defines their identity. That flexibility gives Chico State a high floor, but it may ultimately hold them back from finishing much higher in the top-10.

Fortunately, top-half All-American candidates exist between veteran Brayden McLaughlin (who was almost in that range with a postseason surprise last year) and promising sophomore Mario Giannini (a newly minted individual conference champion).

7. East Central Tigers (-2 / 5)

It runs contrary to expectation and general precedent that a team should move down in our rankings despite continuing to win.

However, it doesn't help that the lone Division Two team to beat East Central (a result that happened before our last rankings update) also moved down in our rankings.

Worse, East Central's individuals have not been able to replicate the form that they held for ECU's 2023 podium run, and that concern may bear itself out when they face national competition over the coming month.

The Tigers have yet to really be tested in a field that mimics the national meet, and few of their men have matched the lofty individual expectations we had for them. On paper, that doesn't translate to another top-four finish on the national stage.

East Central expectedly won the Great American Conference title by a wide margin this past Saturday, tallying 26 points, but last year they did so with a perfect score. None of the ECU men were in contention for the win or especially close to individual runner-up status. Their focal star, Aspel Kiprob, didn't even race after struggling earlier this season.

The Tigers still have podium upside and a scoring lineup full of All-American candidates, but it's starting to feel increasingly likely that they won't be able to put it all together this season. We'll see if an increase in racing distance to 10,000 meters helps this aerobic-centric outfit.

6. Western Colorado Mountaineers (-2 / 4)

Considering that several things went wrong for Western Colorado at the RMAC XC Championships this past weekend, the Mountaineers should feel relieved with a 3rd-place team finish.

Lead scorer Tyler Nord fell back to 16th place, and another 2023 All-American, Kyle Partin, finished back in 33rd place on Saturday. The Mountaineers' saving grace was the fact that they still had three men in the top-20 and three more in the top-30.

Considering how well the RMAC's top two teams ran, it was going to be exceedingly difficult for Western Colorado to place any higher than they did even on a near-perfect day.

We expected John Houdeshell (19th place) to be a potent middle-lineup scorer, but it was Oliver Diaz (13th) who was the surprise standout of this team. The freshman built upon the promise he showed in his NCAA debut in which he was his team's second scorer last month, this time delivering a low-stick effort on a high-stakes stage.

We're eager to see if Diaz can carry that success over to the regional stage when the racing distance increases to 10k. At any rate, this team's depth and an expected return to form for Nord should provide some cushion.

5. Adams State Grizzlies (+2 / 7)

Welcome back to the podium conversation, Adams State!

The Grizzlies have flown under the radar for much of this fall, but just delivered on virtually all accounts at the RMAC XC Championships. We expected this to be a top-10 team no matter how many returnees they had, but the Grizzlies may be even better than they were in 2023, and perhaps as good as they've been since 2021.

Romain Legendre produced an expected but excellent result, winning the individual conference crown. Thanks to Juan Rosales (7th), Kidus Begashaw (8th) and Housem Hrabi (11th) all slightly outperforming our expectations, the Grizzlies put forth a formidable core four of scorers.

With David Cardenas absent from this race (and since the season opener nearly two months ago), there wasn't anyone capable of closing out the scoring in short order. Nathan Scherbarth ultimately stepped up as an unexpected fifth runner with a respectable 18th-place finish.

Emil Bezecny was Adams State's sixth finisher at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships, where he ran solidly as a freshman after a less-impressive RMAC XC Championships finish.

He's a candidate to fill that fifth-runner role after improving a bit at this year's RMAC meet (placing 28th a year after placing 34th), but he finished just outside of the top-100 at the national meet last year. Adams State will need far more from whoever is their fifth runner this fall.

The inexperience of some of these men on the national stage -- Legendre and Begashaw are the only returning scorers from last year's national meet lineup, and they were the final two scorers -- and the apparent gap back to the fifth runner could limit this team.

However, it was going to be hard to top any of our top-three teams anyway. What we saw over the weekend suggests that the Grizzlies could beat everyone else.

4. Grand Valley State Lakers (+2 / 6)

A perfect score at the GLIAC XC Championships and the success of Adams State (who GVSU finished ahead of at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational), moves the Lakers up in our rankings.

Grand Valley State's 15-point total at their conference meet makes the GLIAC seem less competitive than it actually is. This league annually sends two or three teams to the national meet, and GVSU produced 11 of its top-16 finishers on Saturday.

While largely expected, that was a positive sign that the Lakers should have a reserve of sufficient support behind low-stick superstar Caleb Futter (the newly minted conference champion) and solid sidekick Koby Fraaza (the conference runner-up).

3. Colorado Mines Orediggers (0 / 3)

There is a very strong argument to be made that the Colorado Mines men should move up one spot in our rankings. That's because the Orediggers thrived at the RMAC XC Championships this past weekend, posting a score of just 24 points to defeat an Adams State team that also had a great day.

However, the more important caveat is that Colorado Mines didn't have Ethan Grolnic or Jeremiah Vaille in their lineup on Saturday. The former placed 3rd at the Lewis XC Crossover earlier this season while the latter placed 7th in that same field.

Seeing Scomparin, Knight and Bocovich be as dominant as they were (going 2-3-4) wasn't surprising. However, Matt Mettler stepping up to place 6th was huge from a depth and stability perspective. And with Max Bonenberger (9th) offering a low-stick-caliber result as well, it was hard to see how there was any flaw in a lineup that wasn't even at full strength.

2. West Texas A&M Buffaloes (0 / 2)

It's hard to put much emphasis into West Texas A&M's latest result.

The Buffaloes easily cruised through the Lone Star XC Championships this past weekend, sweeping the top-five individual spots en route to a perfect score. Sure, there was decent competition in the field, but West Texas A&M was hardly tested.

1. Wingate Bulldogs (0 / 1)

The Wingate men opted to send a small handful of their top men to the Panorama Farms XC Invitational two weeks ago. However, we couldn't properly gauge how strong the Bulldogs were as a team given that most of their top men were absent.

Thankfully, we were able to see veteran Scott Nutter (9th) secure a top-10 finish. That was an impressive performance in a quietly top-heavy field filled with accomplished Division One talent. Lukas Ehrle (12th) wasn't far behind. He looks like he'll also remain as an option for Wingate's lineup as we approach the NCAA XC Championships.

We could talk about the SAAC XC Championships, but truthfully, the race wasn't all that close that. Wingate held back essentially all of their top men and still won the race with a score of just 19 points.

There's a good chance that we won't see a full version of Wingate's lineup until they reach the cross country national meet next month.