TSR's "If Everything Was Normal" D3 Top 20 XC Rankings: #20-16 (Men)

Kevin Fischer
Aug 20, 2020
5 min read

As mentioned in our rankings rubric article, we are aware that certain conferences and universities will not be competing this fall due to ongoing concerns surrounding COVID-19. However, for the sake of content, we have constructed these rankings as if a regular cross country season will happen.

Just Missed (in no particular order)

Kyler Lueck (UW-Eau Claire)
Eli Decker (Colby)
Tyler Morris (Colby)
Sair Salgado (Berea)
Alex Makrounis (North Central)
Tucker Cargile (Redlands)

20. Connor Dolan, Senior, UW-Eau Claire

In his second go at the National Championships on the grass, Dolan was able to earn his first All-American honor, squeezing the penultimate spot by taking 39th place over -- a big improvement from the 2018 National Championships where he finished outside of the top 100.

It was also a performance that exceeded expectations following the rest of his postseason where he finished 14th at the WIAC Championships and 17th at a highly competitive Midwest regional meet. His win at the St. Olaf Invitational and 5th place finish at the Blugold Invite were solid early-season performances as well.

The rising senior went on to have a very strong indoor track season where he ran 8:39 for 3000 meters. He also holds personal bests of 4:19 in the mile and 15:03 in the 5000 meters. We have no doubt that Dolan would have improved upon his sophomore year PR of 9:32 in the steeplechase if meets had occurred during the spring.

Dolan has steadily improved over the last few years, and it would not have been surprising to see him continue to do the same this fall. His resume isn't unbelievable, but he's very consistent and performed his best at the National Championships when some guys who beat him during the regular season did not.

19. Sanjay Raman, Sophomore, MIT

Earning an All-American honor as a freshman certainly isn’t easy, but Sanjay Raman was able to do just that in 2019 with a 30th place finish at the National Championships.

The Engineers had a very young team set to return this fall with three rising sophomore already boasting championship experience. The talent is undeniable and Raman is central to their success.

The MIT ace is part of one of the best duos in D3 alongside with Andrew Mah. They recorded a huge 1-2 finish at last year’s NEWMAC Championships and would have had legitimate shots to end up in the top 15 at this year’s national meet.

Raman faced his share of top-tier competition in 2019, having finished 5th at Purple Valley, 17th at the Louisville Classic, and 15th at the Connecticut College Invite. Going through a gauntlet in the regular season prepared him well for the National Championships, despite his relative lack of experience with collegiate running.

The freshman followed up his successful fall campaign with an indoor season which saw him race only once on the flat-track at the Springfield Triangle Classic. Assuming he is healthy, there is no doubt that he would have been itching to compete again and surprise some people now that he has a year of experience under his belt.

18. Lucas Mueller, Senior, Carleton

Mueller was a bit of a question mark for us following his underwhelming indoor season. Still, it was hard not to rank him considering what he’s done in the past. He has earned All-American honors twice on the cross country course and three times on the track, including a 2nd place finish in the 10,000 meters in 2019 where he gave Dhruvil Patel a run for his money.

The main concern with Mueller is consistency. After finishing 17th in the country as just a sophomore, he dropped to 29th in 2019. He had a pair of top three finishes at the MIAC Championships and Central Regional Championships last fall, but an 80th place result at the Connecticut College Invitational and a 111th place finish at the Blugold Invitational left us scratching our heads a little bit.

Of course, the talent and experience as a rising senior is still there. Although his junior year was certainly not up to par with what we’ve come to expect, he has shown a great deal of versatility on the track in the past, carrying personal bests of 4:12 (mile), 8:17 (3k), 14:22 (5k), and 29:45 (10k).

We're not sure which Lucas Mueller we would have seen this year and that's a big reason why we ranked him at this spot. Still, when he's at his best, Mueller is up there with the biggest and best names in the NCAA.

17. Hunter Moore, Senior, Otterbein

The transfer from Indiana and Eastern Michigan has yet to run a cross country race in an Otterbein uniform, but he did run 8:25 in the 3000 meters this past indoor track season, as well as a sub-25 8k at the Bradley Pink invite in 2018 which he then followed up with a 65th place finish at the BIG 10 Championships against a very deep field.

Moore competed at some huge meets as a Hoosier in 2018 and 2019, most notably Joe Piane, Nuttycombe, the BIG 10 Championships and Pre-Nationals. He was never at the front of the pack in those meets, but the experience certainly has to help.

Division III is a completely different atmosphere. The fields at some of these meets will be large and competitive, but for the most part, you won’t be on the line with any future professionals. In many ways, there is less pressure. But in some ways, there is more.

Moore has become the probable low-stick for this Otterbein team, and it would have been interesting to see how he handled the transition to being a big fish in a small pond this year.

16. Andrew Mah, Junior, MIT

Mah arrived at MIT as one of the most heralded recruits in all of D3, having won the 5000 meter national title at the 2019 New Balance National Championships. He was immediately one of the Engineers’ top runners, but the expectations were already so high that it felt like there was still more we could have seen from him.

In 2019 he had a good fall season, winning the NEWMAC title after finishing 10th at both the Louisville Classic and the Connecticut College Invite, both of which were highly competitive meets. But his performance at the Nationals Championships -- where he placed 60th overall and missed out on All-American honors -- was underwhelming

Mah was able to rebound with a statement indoor track season in which he managed to solidify himself as one of the better distance runners in Division 3. He recorded impressive times of 8:32 in the 3000 meters and 14:29 in the 5000 meters.

The MIT front-runner was primed for a massive improvement upon his individual placement at the national meet this fall. However, he will have to wait a little longer for that opportunity.