.png)
TSR's 2024 Preseason D2 XC Top 10 Team Rankings (Men): #7 Adams State Grizzlies
- Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
- Sep 7, 2024
- 8 min read
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.
The Adams State men feel like the cross country version of the New England Patriots.
Both parties were once the perfect examples of excellence in their respective sports. Their ability to thrive each year regardless of their competition was beyond brilliant. The dominance of each of these teams seemingly went on for three times longer than it should have and at many points, we wondered if it would ever truly end.
Well, the year is now 2024 and both the NCAA and the NFL landscapes have changed dramatically.
The Grizzlies are no longer the invincible long distance power that could once compete with nationally ranked D1 men's programs. The Alamosa-based men men shockingly failed to qualify for the NCAA XC Championships back in 2022 and then fell off of the podium last fall, fading to 6th place in their season finale.
Now, as we prepare for the upcoming fall months, the Adams State men are going to have a lineup that looks completely different. They do bring in a large number of new names, but we are still left scratching our heads as we try to figure out what kind of damage this team can do in 2024.
* * *
The Grizzlies' first true test of their 2023 fall campaign came at the Louisville XC Classic. There, they would headline the "Blue" race alongside national rival, Grand Valley State.
The end results? Far from boring.
Frenchman Romain Legendre (3rd) thrived in his first collegiate cross country race, showcasing his tremendous aerobic talent. That low-stick result was a welcomed development for Adams State given that Awet Beraki, the team's focal star, faded back to 33rd place.
Thankfully, Dayton Brown (9th) provided his team with yet another fantastic low-stick result, ensuring that the Grizzlies would stay competitive the depth-centric Grand Valley State men. Yonas Haile (22nd) held his own with a performance that, in retrospect, was better than he may have gotten credit for. Beraki (33rd) had a tough outing, but teammate James Dunne (38th) was able to close out the scoring fairly quickly.
For the most part, Adams State had a solid showing, although the gap that separated the two sides of their scoring group wasn't ideal. And despite having great firepower, the Grizzlies still lost to GVSU...by a single point.
The RMAC XC Championships was a meet that Colorado Mines was heavily favored to win. However, if the Adams State men had an exceptionally great day, then an upset wasn't totally impossible.
Or at least, those were our thoughts until we saw that Awet Beraki was not toeing the line.
Legendre (6th) had a fairly solid race, although we thought he could have been three spots better. You could possibly argue the same thing for Brown (8th). Thankfully, Haile (10th) had yet another underrated performance, acting as the crucial third scorer who bridged the two halves of this lineup. With Dunne (12th) having one of the best cross country races of his career, the Adams State men looked great through four runners.
David Cardenas closed out the scoring with a fairly respectable 23rd place finish. And although there was a decent gap between him and the team's top-four, that largely wasn't going to matter. Yes, Adams State did have a fairly strong day, but the Colorado Mines men were simply too talented, putting five runners in the top-11.
The South Central Regional XC Championships would end up going a lot better for Adams State in 2023 than it did in 2022. The Grizzlies secured a runner-up finish with a fairly predictable scoring group of Legendre (2nd), Beraki (9th), Brown (10th), Haile (11th) and Dunne (19th).
The NCAA XC Championships, however, would end on a slightly sour note.
Brown (25th) was fantastic and delivered a great All-American performance that we figured he would. Beraki (32nd), despite dealing with an injury, still salvaged an excellent All-American finish of his own. Haile (42nd) wasn't an All-American, but he was still within the acceptable range of where we thought he could finish.
Through three runners, things seemed to be going fairly well for Adams State. However, the Grizzlies needed far greater scoring if they wanted to contend for the podium.
Kidus Begashaw (54th) stepped in admirably as the team's fourth scorer, but Legendre (55th) struggled greatly despite being favored for a top-10 finish. James Dunne also faded a good bit despite being someone who was once viewed as a fringe All-American candidate.
In the end, Adams State finished in 6th place. It was a result that most distance programs would be thrilled about. Of course, as many of you know, Adams State isn't like "most distance programs."
* * *
If you're an Adams State fan, then buckle up: This list of departures is lengthy...
...and that may be putting it lightly.
The Grizzly men are going to look very different compared to last year. That's because four of their top-seven names from the national meet are now gone. Some men have expired their eligibility while others have opted to finish their eligibility elsewhere as graduate transfers.
So...who exactly did leave?
Dayton Brown? Gone.
Awet Beraki? Gone.
Yonas Haile? Gone.
James Dunne? Gone.
As a whole, those are borderline crushing departures. Most teams would crumble by losing that much firepower and depth at once. In fact, they would likely require a multi-year rebuild to even sniff the top-10 of our rankings.
Of course, Coach Damon Martin is not one to stand aside and be passive in recruiting -- and you could see that in his latest haul of talent.
Thankfully, he also has a trio of returners from last year's team who will almost certainly have a big impact for this team in 2024. Those men are Romain Legendre, Kidus Begashaw and Emil Bezecny.
Over the last year, Legendre has evolved into one of the most talented long distance runners in the entire NCAA, not just Division Two. He ran 13:24 (indoor) and 13:16 (outdoor) for 5000 meters, both of which are D2 records. He has also run 28:28 for 10,000 meters and he won the outdoor 5k national title this past spring.
Yes, Legendre finished outside of the top-50 at the NCAA XC Championships, but that was very obviously a fluke. This is someone who has a favorable argument of being the best overall distance runner in Division Two and it wouldn't surprise us if he ends up scaring William Amponsah for the national title this fall.
Begashaw, meanwhile, was a solid support scorer last fall. The Adams State runner placed 54th at the NCAA XC Championships and held his own at the RMAC XC Championships to place 29th.
However, there's a very realistic possibility that Begashaw emerges as an All-American in 2024. That's because the Grizzly veteran dropped a fantastic 14:03 (5k) PR on the outdoor oval this past spring. That's a very impressive mark that leaves us encouraged about him potentially flirting with the top-40 of the national meet results in November.
In fact, it's a very similar story for Emil Bezecny, another veteran who ran a 14:04 (5k) PR this past spring (also at the Bryan Clay Invite). The difference, however, is that Bezecny is far less established on the grass than Begashaw is. That, in turn, leaves us with a few more questions and less certainty about what he'll do this fall.
David Cardenas was very solid at the RMAC XC Championships last fall en route to a 23rd place finish. That, however, was the main highlight of his 2023 fall campaign. For what Adams State needs, he'll be a more-than-serviceable backend contributor, but we don't necessarily expect him to dramatically alter the direction of this team one way or another.
* * *
The rest of this team is where things get tricky. Coach Damon Martin is plenty high on the potential and talent of his latest recruiting class, but we don't have a good idea of what these men are truly capable of (yet).
Ian Crocker, for instance, is now listed on Adams State's roster. He has run 14:18 for 5000 meters to pair with a sub-24:00 mark over 8000 meters on the grass (which, admittedly, doesn't give us a perfect understanding of his cross country fitness). On paper, he's one of the top guys among this new group of men.
Max Aldrich is an incoming transfer from Lewis & Clark. He has run 14:15 for 5000 meters, a time which suggests that he'll almost certainly have a place inside of Adams State's lineup. The only question is, where in that top-seven will he settle into?
And how about Housem Hrabi? He has run 8:59 in the steeplechase and 8:19 for 3000 meters. That, in theory, could translate to him being a scorer in 2024.
Oisin Lynch is an Irish middle distance talent who has run 1:50 (800) and 3:51 (1500). Is there any chance that he'll be able to translate that fitness to the grass this fall? It would be challenging, but Adams State may need it.
Caleb Wilcox is a rookie from Washington State who has run 9:22 (3200), 15:25 (5k XC) and was 11th at the Washington XC State Championships (2A). Don't be surprised if he makes early improvements and finds his way into Adams State's lineup this fall. Gabe Onelio is another strong freshman who has run 4:18 in the mile.
Johnathon Zavala is probably the biggest recruiting win of this entire incoming class. While at Mt. SAC, the newest Grizzly was a three-time All-American at the JUCO level. He was also the 2023 CCCAA cross country state champion.
Other men such as Julian Campos (14:29 for 5k), Harrison Boyd (8:17 for 3k) and Danyom Yoseif (14:34 for 5k) are also key names to monitor.
* * *
We don't really have a good idea as to what Adams State is going to look like this fall as far as their lineup structure is concerned. We know Legendre is going to be an elite superstar and we're somewhat confident that both Begashaw and Bezecny will be scorers for this team.
But even then, we don't know if Begashaw or Bezecny are capable of being the All-Americans that Adams State likely needs them to be. We have no idea which new men will be fielded this fall or when they will race. We know that Coach Damon Martin has plenty of lineup options to choose from, but how much better will some of these names be in their very first season with Adams State?
The Grizzlies could realistically land on the podium this fall, or they could fall outside of the top-10 portion of our rankings. We truly don't know.
And yet, we have opted to place Adams State at TSR #7 simply because they are a program that demands respect. History says that this group will almost certainly be a top-10 squad in 2024 and Coach Damon Martin has too many new scoring weapons to work with for this team to not be nationally relevant.
The Grizzlies and the Patriots have plenty in common. The only difference, however, is that Adams State still has their version of Bill Belichick at the helm of their program.
