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TSR's 2024 Preseason D2 XC Top 10 Team Rankings (Men): #9 Colorado Christian Cougars
- Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
- Sep 5, 2024
- 6 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.
Over the last few years, both the Colorado Christian men have become a national power under the guidance of Coach Jon Poag. And while we expect the team to continue to find success in the fall of 2024, they will have to do so with a new leader.
With Poag now taking over as CCU's newest Athletic Director, the keys of the men's and women's programs has now been turned over to All-American alum, Evan Verbal. Thankfully for him, the structure that the Cougar men will field this fall will look somewhat similar to the group that toed the line throughout the 2023 cross country season.
It may be a new era in Lakewood, Colorado, but the top-heavy scoring and national-caliber performances are likely not ending any time soon.
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The only real regular season test that the Cougars' faced during their 2023 fall campaign was the Lewis XC Crossover, a meet that is slowly approaching the status of being the Nuttycombe Invite of the D2 level.
There, superstar low-stick Matthew Storer was absolutely brilliant, securing a massive win in what felt like a statement performance. That monumental victory was complemented by Trent Cochran's outstanding 4th place effort, a slightly better result than what we were expecting from him. With Alexander Vance taking home 9th place, the Cougars actually had a better scoring trio than the juggernaut that was Colorado Mines.
Despite Colorado Christian not being able to keep up with the scoring pace of the Orediggers, their backend group still beat expectations. Zachariah Vance (25th) had one of the more underrated efforts of the meet while freshman Caleb Hershey (38th) was surprisingly great as a close-out scorer.
In the end, CCU posted just 77 points, 43 points behind Colorado Mines, but 78 points ahead of the 3rd place team, Lewis.
Generally speaking, the Lewis XC Crossover was a grand success.
Colorado Christian immediately jumped into the postseason, although their top men were rested for the RMAC XC Championships. That was a relatively unsurprising development given that Coach Jon Poag had often implemented that same approach in prior seasons.
The South Central Regional XC Championships was next on tap for Colorado Christian. And while the team fared well enough to qualify for the national meet, it was also clear that the Cougars were a fairly volatile team.
Storer (4th) was unsurprisingly great, Cochran (15th) had a fairly decent outing, Zachariah Vance (32nd) was arguably just as good as he was at the Lewis XC Crossover and the same could be said about Hershey (39th). However, with Alexander Vance (40th) fading a good bit, the CCU men ultimately faded to 5th place overall.
Of course, the bigger priority was the NCAA XC Championships. And if the Cougars were firing on all cylinders, then they had a realistic shot of ending their season on the podium.
That, however, didn't happen.
Storer (3rd) further proved that he was one of the most elite long distance talents that Division Two had to offer last fall. Alexander Vance (44th), meanwhile, at least held his own even if we thought that he could have finished 10 spots higher. Hershey (79th) ended a very underrated season, thriving in a variety of different race scenarios and offering great consistency despite his youth.
The challenge, however, is that both Trent Cochran (101st) and Zachariah Vance (104th) faded a good bit from expectations, specifically the former. And yet, at the same time, those weren't "poor" results. Of course, if the Cougars were going to land on the podium, then that part of their lineup needed to be better.
In the end, CCU settled for an 8th place team finish at the NCAA XC Championships.
* * *
Unfortunately for Colorado Christian, Coach Jon Poag isn't their only departure from last year's team. The Cougars are also losing veterans Trent Cochran and Alexander Vance, two highly valuable scorers who, for the most part, could be viewed as low-sticks when they were at their best.
Don't forget, Cochran was the 4th place finisher at the Lewis XC Crossover. Vance, meanwhile, was 9th at the Lewis XC Crossover and was just four spots out from being an All-American last fall. Not having those two men on the roster for the 2024 cross country season is going to be a brutal blow for a squad that was extremely top-heavy and very low on depth last year.
So how is it that CCU will remain as a top-10 squad in 2024?
Well, this team is still heavily influenced by the direction and roster construction of Jon Poag despite him stepping away from the program. And given the history of success that the Cougars have established over the last decade, it's hard to envision this group taking a significant step back, especially with a new coach Evan Verbal who is plenty familiar with the program that he once represented.
Thankfully, the CCU men do return Matthew Storer. And as we saw last fall, he is a truly elite low-stick. Maybe the most important racing trait of Storer is the fact that he's incredibly consistent when competing at the highest levels of competition. That will be huge for a team that may have zero room for error this fall.
Behind Storer will likely be crucial support scorers in Zachariah Vance and Caleb Hershey.
We really like both Vance and Hershey. Both of those men provided underrated scoring value for Colorado Christian last fall and Hershey, despite his youth, was VERY reliable. That's a rarity among underclassmen.
Unfortunately, we didn't see either of those men compete on the track this past winter or spring. That lack of recent racing makes it difficult to guess their trajectory for this fall.
Even so, both men showcased excellent potential last fall. Hershey is someone who could absolutely be an All-American this fall as long as he follows the natural progression that most underclassmen go through. The same could be said for Vance given his pedigree and the fact that he was a top-25 finisher at the Lewis XC Crossover last fall.
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Of course, it's the supporting cast behind the Storer-Hershey-Vance trio that will truly determine how far this team is able to go in 2024.
Hudson Majeski is a really interesting name. He is primarily a miler who has been able to put himself on the national stage at that distance. The CCU veteran ran a 3:43 (1500) conversion this past spring and was a mile All-American in the winter of 2023.
We didn't see Majeski race last fall, but it's important to remember that he is still a very effective scorer who should not be overlooked. Remember, in the fall of 2022, the Cougar ace finished 19th at the RMAC XC Championships after placing 46th at the Lewis XC Crossover.
The Colorado Christian men don't necessarily need Majeski to be a low-stick star this fall. If they can simply get the same cross country runner who toed the line for them two years ago, then this RMAC power will seemingly have a fairly complete top-four.
Klay Grant, who was a sophomore last fall, was often at the backend of CCU's lineup last fall and was a truthfully a good ways off from his team's top-five. Even so, his 62nd place finish at the Lewis XC Crossover was fairly promising. If he can replicate that result on a more consistent basis, then that could lead to Grant making a few appearances as a scorer for the Cougars this fall.
Other guys such as Mateo Luna, Ethan Wampler and Isaac Roberts could also be candidates to find their way into CCU's lineup this fall. However, expecting them to be a high-impact scorer, while certainly possible, is far from a given.
Colden Welsh is probably the main name to watch as far as the current freshman class is concerned. He has run 15:24 for 5000 meters on the grass, owns a 9:17 (3200) PR and placed 4th at the North Carolina XC State Championships (4A). He will likely be the team's biggest x-factor, especially as he makes the move to altitude.
* * *
For the most part, we feel like Colorado Christian's structure hasn't changed a ton compared to last year. Of course, the men who did depart certainly left some big shoes to fill.
Thankfully, Storer brings a level of known scoring potency to this team that other programs can't say that they have. It's also hard to see a scenario where Vance and Hershey aren't noticeably better than they were last year.
But after those three men, there are significant questions about this team that we don't have the answer(s) to...yet.
What should we expect from Hudson Majeski? Can he return to his 2022 form? Who is going to take that fifth scoring spot? And when we do find out who that is, then how impactful will they end up being? Should we expect anything from Colden Welsh or any of the other freshmen this fall? Will there be any hiccups with the recent coaching change?
There's a very good chance that all of those questions are answered favorably for the Cougars this fall. And if that happens, then this preseason ranking is too low for Colorado Christian. However, until then, we felt it was appropriate to list them at TSR #9 before the fall months truly unfolded.
