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TSR's 2024 Preseason D1 XC Top 25 Team Rankings (Men): #25 Gonzaga Bulldogs
- Gavin Struve
- Aug 8, 2024
- 8 min read
Written by Gavin Struve, edits & additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin
NOTE: Earlier this summer, The Stride Report reached out to nearly every team that was considered for a possible ranking this summer. While we did receive numerous responses and great clarity, we did not get a 100% response rate. On certain occasions, we are referencing TFFRS in order to talk about returners and athletes who are out of eligibility.
Once the 2020s began, the Gonzaga men somewhat surprisingly thrust themselves onto the national radar and they have stayed there ever since. We don't expect that to change in the months ahead as the Bulldogs appear primed for a fifth-consecutive NCAA XC Championship appearance.
As Gonzaga's long-time Director of Cross Country/Track & Field, Pat Tyson likely grew accustomed to (and tired of) consistently falling to Coach Rob Conner's Portland squads and Coach Ed Eyestone's BYU juggernauts.
These days, however, the Bulldogs have become the class of the West Coast Conference...and BYU has moved to the BIG 12.
Whether the Bulldogs can turn their newfound conference dominance and national relevance into long-term staying power may depend on how much they take advantage of focal star Wil Smith's final season. It may also hinge on whether or not someone on this team can bridge the gap behind Smith and show hints of being able to fill his place in the future.
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Coach Pat Tyson's contingent was ambitious in seeking out opportunities to race across the country in 2023. After an in-state opener over an unconventional distance (6000 meters), the Bulldogs ventured to Minneapolis for the famed Griak Invitational.
There, they ran respectably in a mid-sized field, but there were several areas where they could have been better in that early test. Wil Smith was excellent, finishing runner-up behind eventual NCAA 10k champion, Habtom Samuel.
From there, Kyle Radosevich provided strong complementary scoring in 7th place. Unfortunately, that would be the last time he'd race last fall or in a Gonzaga singlet, altogether. Drew Kolodge (16th) was decent in his first major race at the Division One level, but Bryce Cerkowniak and Cooper Laird ideally would have closed out the scoring faster.
Ultimately, Gonzaga finished considerably behind meet champion California Baptist. Even so, they were able to finish ahead of a handful of other capable regional foes in New Mexico, Portland, Boise State, Santa Clara, Wyoming and Colorado State.
While a solid early meet, the Griak Invitational likely wasn't enough of a warmup for what awaited them next at the Nuttycombe Invite, regularly the nation's most competitive regular season setting.
At the Wisconsin-based meet, Wil Smith arguably ran the race of his life to place 9th after his breakout came in the same setting when he placed 11th two years earlier. There wasn't much support behind him, though. Cerkowniak finished 109th, which wasn't necessarily a bad effort for the then-sophomore, and Kolodge was again the third scorer by placing 121st.
Without sufficient backend depth behind Smith in such a competitive setting, Gonzaga finished an inauspicious 26th place at Nuttycombe. Thankfully, their short-term fortunes got better as the Bulldogs won the WCC title after three consecutive years of runner-up finishes.
Smith wasn't as dominant as he'd been before, earning individual bronze on the conference stage, but his effort was buoyed by Cerkowniak emerging as a complementary lead scorer to place 4th. From there, their teammates closed out the scoring quickly with Kolodge, Logan Law, Paul Talens and Michael Maiorano all fitting into the backend of the top-15.
That was enough to defeat Portland, Santa Clara and the rest of the field somewhat comfortably for the conference crown.
The WCC champions moved up to 10k well to finish runner-up at the West Regional XC Championships, toppling Portland and, this time, California Baptist in what turned out to be a tremendously clutch team performance. Kolodge and Cerkowniak joined Smith in the top-15 to look like convincing middle-lineup scorers. And suddenly, new life had seemingly been breathed into the Bulldogs' lineup.
Alas, the same success didn't materialize at the most important meet of the season.
Most notably, Smith slipped outside of the top-100 on the national stage and the Bulldogs were unable to fit all five scorers within the top-200. That left them with a 28th-place result, ahead of only three other teams at the meet.
The Bulldogs finished three spots behind a team that they had beaten throughout the fall (Portland) and 10 (!) places behind California Baptist, numbing an otherwise strong season.
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The best news for the men of Spokane, Washington is that Wil Smith is returning for a fifth year. He's almost certainly the most accomplished veteran runner in the NCAA who's yet to become an All-American. Consider that Smith has raced at five NCAA Championships and holds PRs of 3:58 (mile), 7:44 (3k) and 28:04 (10k).
Gonzaga's leading man needs to be at his best when it matters most in order for his team to reach its full potential. Even so, it's reassuring that he advanced to the outdoor national meet for the first time this past spring where he placed a solid 12th over 10,000 meters.
That being said, there is no flashy new piece to join Smith as a low-stick star this fall. That, in turn, may limit Gonzaga's upside a bit assuming that they don't receive a massive leap from someone unexpected.
However, the number of returners on this team who boast valuable experience suggests that last year's season-ending effort should be Gonzaga's floor.
Let's start with Cerkowniak who was arguably the only Gonzaga man to finish last fall with a savory result. He was just five seconds behind Smith at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships, placing 120th which was a considerable improvement upon his placement at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships (220th).
Another 100-place improvement this fall is almost out of the question. However, new PRs of 13:49 (5k) and 28:45 (10k) from earlier this year, and steady efforts throughout last fall, indicate that Cerkowniak could very well be a top-80 name this fall and a respectable second scorer.
Kolodge was the third scorer for much of last year, but came away with a DNF at the cross country national meet. He's a former D2 cross country All-American at Michigan Tech and should be capable of something similar to what Cerkowniak produced last season.
Gonzaga likely brought Kolodge in last fall under the assumption that he'd be a middle lineup scorer. Coach Tyson's recent developmental acumen is strong, so we expect that Kolodge will be more reliable in 2024. That being said, Kolodge had a super clutch performance at the West Regional XC Championships and did provide respectable scoring value when he was firing on all cylinders.
The Bulldogs' actual third scorer at the 2023 national meet doubles as their only departure from last year's top-seven: Michael Maiorano.
Admittedly, that lone loss is a pretty tough blow. Maiorano was a prized recruit in the class of 2022 and Gonzaga's best incoming freshman since James Mwaura in 2018. He raced on a top-30 team's varsity squad throughout his debut season and he narrowly placed top-15 at the WCC XC Championships as well as top-150 at the cross country national meet last year.
Unfortunately, we never saw him in a Bulldogs singlet after an 8:14 (3k) effort in December.
While Maiorano was the highest-regarded prep recruit to land in Spokane, Washington in recent years, his wasn't the best incoming class. That honor would go to last year's group which featured a horde (five individuals) of Oregon-based incoming talent.
Among that group, Logan Law had the earliest look at a meaningful role, gaining valuable experience in the three postseason meets last fall. He finished 12th at the WCC XC Championships and placed inside the top-200 at the NCAA XC Championships to emerge as a scorer.
That, in theory, gives him an edge over Beaver State-based classmates Samy Anderson, Gus Clevenger and Joshua Augustine to retain his varsity spot, but all had comparable resumes entering college.
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The other two returners from Gonzaga's 2023 outfit are Cooper Laird and Paul Talens, both of whom hold at least three years of NCAA experience entering this year.
Laird's 2023 cross country campaign showed noticeable progress, but a new 3000-meter steeplechase PR of 8:49 (he ran 8:50 in a runner-up effort less than a month later) is more exciting. Perhaps he can turn that momentum into something more significant in his sendoff season. If so, then he would be an ideal candidate to replace the scoring value of Maiorano.
Talens also ran a slew of PRs earlier this year, albeit none as relevant as Laird's steeplechase endeavors. He too could benefit from having his first full fall season behind him.
Maiorano's departure only leaves one opening to fill from last year's top-seven. And generally speaking, that's great news. On paper, there's enough talent on hand for one of last year's backend pieces to be displaced.
Aside from Law (who feels somewhat locked in as a projected scorer), Samy Anderson raced most often among last year's freshman crop, improving upon his high school PR by running 8:22 over 3000 meters. It's certainly conceivable that one of those second-year talents fills Maiorano's spot.
Then there's redshirt sophomore Jacob Alfonso who holds a new 14:12 (5k) PR and is a year ahead of the redshirt freshman contingent. Or, if you're looking for an even more experienced option, redshirt senior Nick Braz has the track chops -- 14:15 (5k) and 29:27 (10k) -- to be a serviceable member of the rotation. Redshirt junior Ansel Tucker raced over them in a couple of varsity meets (Nuttycombe and the WCC XC Championships) a year ago.
The Bulldogs also brought in a solid freshman class, but it's difficult to envision any immediate contributors emerging as soon as this fall.
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Another cross country national meet appearance and a repeat WCC title feels likely in 2024. However, the men of Gonzaga are probably hoping for something closer to their 2022 NCAA XC Championships finish (13th) than what they produced in the winter (27th) or fall of 2021 (26th) or in 2023.
Such a placement may take a perfect storm and a top-20 finish feels like a more likely aspiration.
Smith's NCAA XC Championships finish is unavoidably among the most important subplots of this season for the Gonzaga men. We think it's more likely than not that he finishes closer to his preseason placement in our rankings (TSR #24) than it is that he again lands outside of the All-American spots. Still, he needs to (and deserves to) run up to his potential at the end of the season.
We expect there to be more reliable scoring behind him, although the construction of Gonzaga's lineup and the men within it seem more suited to thrive in smaller to mid-sized fields.
There's also the matter of someone needing to emerge as a future lead scorer, ideally as soon as this fall, if Gonzaga wants to continue their postseason streak sans Smith into the back-half of this decade. Could that be Cerkowniak? One of the second year guys? Could Drew Kolodge take that next step only to run out of eligibility on the grass after this fall?
Considering that this team was consistently better than how they finished at the national meet last season and they now return the bulk of their roster, this ranking is probably closer to the Bulldogs' floor. And perhaps that makes it too low.
And yet, so much continuity could suggest that their ceiling isn't as high as some other teams toward the bottom of our top-25 as there are fewer new variables that could introduce significant change.
All that's to say, Gonzaga is a safer bet to finish the season in this range of our rankings than most of their peers (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). After all, the novelty of being a consistent top-25 team shouldn't have worn off for a program that was long a comparative afterthought to its WCC peers.
Nowadays, that is most certainly not the case.
