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TSR's 2024 Preseason D3 XC Top 10 Team Rankings (Men): #7 Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens
- Conor Daly
- Sep 7, 2024
- 7 min read
Written by Conor Daly, edits & additional commentary via Gavin Struve & 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.
The Pomona-Pitzer men put on an absolute show at last year’s cross country national meet. Coming into the day, the thought of the Sagehens winning a national title really hadn’t crossed our minds. In fact, they weren’t even projected to be on the podium.
But once the race got going, none of those preconceived notions seemed to matter.
Through six kilometers of that championship race, the Sagehens sat in a distant 3rd place. But by the time they crossed the finish line, they were the surprise national champions over UW-La Crosse by a score of 158-to-159.
Yes, the Sagehens won by one point. A single point. A point that was thrilling for the Pomona-Pitzer team, but crushing for the UW-La Crosse men.
It was insane racing and an absolute spectacle for all the fans.
Of course, the chances of that happening again this year look quite slim since so many top names depart. That being said, this group should still be plenty strong, but also quite young.
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Outside of a small tri-meet during the first weekend of September, the Sagehens first got rolling at the UCR XC Invitational. With few other Division Three programs in that race, it was difficult to extrapolate exactly where this team was at.
What could be deduced is that sub-30:00 (10k) man Lucas Florsheim was in awesome form, recording a 12th-place finish against D1 competition. The same could be said for Colin Kirkpatrick finishing as the team’s second runner in 30th place.
Overall, the team’s depth looked good, as there weren’t any concerning gaps in the rest of the pack. Even in the absence of third star Derek Fearon, this team was head and shoulders above fellow Division Three programs Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and UC Santa Cruz.
Fearon made his debut the following week at the Master's University Cross Country Invitational. He didn’t look to be in his best form, but with a lot of season left, that was not overly concerning.
Next, our then-TSR #3 squad took to their first (and only) true test against Division Three competition in the regular season at D3 Pre-Nationals. That showing did not go well, to put it lightly. In fact, at the time we described it as “an ugly day for them."
The star front-runners who we expected to perform did not live up to that expectation. Florsheim, who was seen as a candidate to win the race, faltered to 23rd place. Fearon still looked to be far from his best, finishing 55th, while Kirkpatrick recorded a "DNS" (the team only ran six men).
That’s not to say that the meet was void of positives. Cameron Halter, usually a backend scorer, became the first Sagehen across the line. He finished 10th, which was a very impressive result for him that boosted his stock immensely. Ian Horsburgh and Jack Stein both had fine days, placing 20th and 30th, respectively, to stabilize much of the team’s scoring.
All told, the meet was a bit disappointing for these southern California-based men, who ultimately finished 4th in the team competition.
The Sagehens rebounded nicely at the SCIAC XC Championships, where Florsheim took home the individual win followed by an encouraging 3rd-place run from Fearon. With the rest of the scorers landing in the top-eight, Pomona-Pitzer walked away with a dominant win, although not against any particularly notable teams.
It was more or less the same story at the West Regional XC Championships, with the Florsheim-Fearon duo taking home 2nd and 4th place, respectively. With Hatler, Stein and Kirkpatrick also in the top-18, it was smooth sailing to the national meet.
In stark contrast to D3 Pre-Nationals at the same venue one month earlier, the 2023 NCAA XC Championships in Carlisle, Pennsylvania was a dream day for the Sagehens.
Florsheim and Fearon were just as fantastic as they had been in their previous two outings, finishing 9th and 10th, respectively. Hatler had his best race of the season at just the right time to finish 25th, while Kirkpatrick was right with him in 27th place.
That quartet had to wait for almost a minute to see a sophomore, Stein, close out the scoring in 119th. That proved enough to edge out the UW-La Crosse men for the national title by a one-point margin.
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As you probably deduced by now, the reason that the defending national champions sit at TSR #7 in our top-10 team rankings is because they have lost a considerable amount of talent.
The departures of Florsheim, Fearon and Kirkpatrick (all to D1 Power Five programs) are significant and limit just how good this team can be this year.
The first two men are both sub-30:00 (10k) guys and were top-10 finishers at the cross country national meet. Kirkpatrick, while oftentimes thought of as more of a steeplechaser, is highly accomplished in his own right as a two-time cross country All-American.
Although not of the same caliber as the aforementioned men, Horsburgh -- the team’s second runner and 20th-place finisher at D3 Pre-Nationals -- is another key loss for the Sagehens.
Even amidst these losses, there is still plenty of talent returning, including three men from that national title-winning team.
Hatler, in particular, projects to be a low-stick who this team can rally around. Last fall, he was the 10th-place finisher at D3 Pre-Nationals and an even better 25th at the NCAA XC Championships. His track season was strong, as he ran 14:18 (5k) and 8:56 (steeple) and finished as an All-American in the latter event. But our TSR #7 individual is arguably at his best on the grass.
With talent like his, Halter is likely a top-half All-American even on a sub-par day. That’s some immense scoring value and insurance that lessens the concerns we have for the rest of this group.
Jack Stein, the team’s fifth scorer at the national meet, also returns. He was solid last fall, but not necessarily amazing, concluding his season with a 119th-place run at the NCAA XC Championships that felt like a fair representation of his fitness.
Stein looks primed to take a step forward on the grass after furthering his personal bests in a multitude of events on the track. Most notably, he produced a 14:26 (5k) effort, which is very encouraging for the Sagehens as he'll likely be a key middle-lineup piece.
Owen Kobett was not one of Pomona-Pitzer's top talents entering last fall, but he built up nicely throughout the season to end up on the varsity lineup by mid-November thanks to his 15th-place effort at the SCIAC XC Championships and a 40th-place finish at the West Regional XC Championships.
Ultimately, he had a tough day at the national meet, but he is the kind of experienced name who the Sagehens need this year.
On the track, Kobett continued to develop his aerobic capabilities, as evidenced by a 14:53 (5k) PR and a 31:34 (10k) best. That 10k mark, in particular, shows that he could be ready for an increased role this fall while racing over a distance nearly as long.
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Even though many of the other projected members of the varsity lineup haven’t been in that position before, that doesn’t mean they are unqualified.
The Sagehens will likely be counting on a pair of highly accomplished rising sophomores: Quinn White and Peter Neid.
In his rookie year, White was this team’s 11th runner at the SCIAC XC Championships, where he placed 32nd. That was only the tip of the iceberg, though. He went on to have an even better season on the track, where he ran impressive marks of 3:51 (1500) and 14:33 (5k).
Neid was often ahead of White during the 2023 cross country season, where his 20th-place finish at the SCAIC XC Championships was good for the ninth Sagehen finisher on the day. His track season, however, was a bit more modest albeit still impressive for a freshman.
Tending to gravitate toward the middle distances, Neid enters the 2024 season with a strong 3:52 (1500) while also holding 14:48 (5k) strength. That 5k may not be fully representative of his fitness, however, as that event seemed to be more of a side hustle while he pursued excellence in the middle distances.
With a lot of potential over 8k, White and Neid will look to translate their success on the track over to the cross country course. They’re both key runners to keep an eye on who could accelerate this team’s success this year.
Incoming freshman Jefferson Wright could also be a key young piece in this lineup. Coming in with blistering personal bests of 4:12 (1600) and 9:07 (3200) as a prep runner, we can fathom seeing him as a varsity runner in November.
As his 3200-meter personal best suggests, Wright has enjoyed a lot of success on the grass. He was the 20th-place finisher at the hardest state meet in the country, the CIF Division 1 XC Championships, as well as a 48th-place finisher at the Foot Locker XC West Regional Championships. Those efforts indicate that he's battle-tested entering his collegiate career.
The transition from 5k to 8k is far from a perfect science, but with accolades like his, Wright is someone who we can’t overlook making an immediate impact for the defending champs.
As for who is in contention for what we are going to call the Sagehens' seventh spot, it’s a race of many men. Oscar Roering is a 1:49 (800) and 3:53 (1500) man who has only raced two cross country races over the past two seasons, but certainly is talented enough if he can improve his aerobic capabilities.
Graduate student Evan Villano is another solid option after a 17th-place finish at the 2023 SCIAC XC Championships ahead of White and Neid.
* * *
We’re not going to beat around the bush: The loss of three multi-time All-Americans is going to hurt, especially when you consider that firepower was arguably this team’s strength last fall. But it’s really a testament to the Sagehens' program under Coach Emma DeLira that even amidst these devastating losses, they still sit as podium contenders entering 2024.
After all, the Sagehens won a national team title in DeLira's first season at the helm.
Living up to this preseason placement is far from a guarantee, of course, as many of the men who are expected to fill scoring positions are not nearly as experienced at this level as we’d like them to be. Their success on the track is encouraging, but will it translate?
For that reason, Pomona-Pitzer has one of the wider ranges of expected outcomes among teams in our top-10 preseason rankings.
At any rate, this is a dangerous team to doubt. The Pomona-Pitzer men have established themselves as a Division Three powerhouse in recent years. And the thing about powerhouses is that they don’t really have “off” years.
There is, after all, a reason why this team has won three of the last four NCAA D3 men's cross country team titles.
