XC Preseason Individual Rankings: #20-11

Feel free to check out our rankings from earlier in the week! As always, be sure to comment below what you like or don't like.

#50 - 41

#40 - 31

#30 - 21

---

#10 - 1

Next set of 10 (#10-1) coming on Monday!

---

#20 Sean Tobin / Mississippi / Senior

For the past few years, Mississippi has climbed the ranks to become a legitimate distance running powerhouse. Guys such as Ryan Walling, MJ Erb, Robert Domanic, Ryan Manahan, and Craig Engels have helped move this team to a completely new level. Yet, it has been Sean Tobin that this team seems to build around. Unlike many of the names I just mentioned, Tobin has been at Ole Miss since day one and has been contributing to the success of this program for the entirety of his college career.

We've seen Tobin show some steady and consistent improvement over his career, but the 2016 season was when he really broke out. The first big race of his season was at Notre Dame. In a field that held superstars like MJ Erb, Sam Parsons, and Jonah Koech, it was Sean Tobin that blew away the field and emerged victorious with his first career cross country win.

It's not easy to match the expectations that come with winning the title at Notre Dame, but Tobin put together strong performances throughout the rest of the season. His next three races would include a 10th place finish at the Penn State Open, a runner-up finish at SEC's, and a 9th place finish at the South Central Regional Championships.

The Ole Miss junior would enter NCAA's as one of the very few individuals who had been there more than once. In 2014, Tobin had qualified for the National Championships, but broke his foot mid-way through the race and could not finish. He would later rebound in 2015 with a 68th place finish.

The hope was that Tobin would be able to grab All-American in his third effort, but he came up short once again. The Ireland native did improve on his 2015, but it was only to 62nd place overall. Of course, that didn't matter in the big picture. The Rebels rallied around MJ Erb's 6th place finish and earned a spot on the podium as a team.

There are very few individuals in the NCAA that have the experience that Tobin does. If he makes it to NCAA's this fall, he will have gone to the National Championships for four straight years. That is a rare accomplishment that not many of the best can even say they have done.

I also like the fact that he has a big-time win on his resume and a slew of other solid performances to follow that. Hopefully, Tobin can improve on his postseason races, grab a title at the conference or regional level, and finally grab a spot among the top 40 individuals at NCAA's.

#19 Yusuke Uchikoshi / Boise State / Senior

Every year, it seems like Boise State has a new front-runner guiding the Broncos to success. In 2014 it was Andrew Rafla, in 2015 it was Michael Vennard, and in 2016 it was Yusuke Uchikoshi. And the best part? All three of them return in 2017...

But the focus of these rankings is the individuals and Uchikoshi is one of the best returners in the NCAA for this upcoming fall. In his first cross country season with the Broncos (2016), Uchikoshi made some noise by quietly placing 7th at Roy Griak and 33rd at Wisconsin. However, his upset victory over Jerrell Mock at the Mountain West Championships was what really caught the attention of fans around the nation.

Uchikoshi would later step to the line at West Regionals, but ended up with a very average performance where he placed 21st overall. Luckily, the Boise State junior would more than make up for his regional performance with an incredible 18th place finish at NCAA's to become All-American.

When you least expect him to, Uchikoshi comes up big and throws down monster performances. Sure, his Wisconsin and West Regional races could've been a touch better, but his conference and All-American performances are not to be slept on. He will be a legit contender in 2017.

#18 Alfred Chelanga / Alabama / Junior

Although we've been following Chelanga over the past two track seasons, we have not yet seen him run cross country for Alabama at the division one level. Yet, unlike Gilbert Kigen and Vincent Kiprop, Chelanga has proven that he's still capable of adjusting to the new level of competition on the track.

Before transferring to Alabama, Chelanga had huge success at Shorter. In his two seasons of cross country, he grabbed 7 career wins (one of those being the 2015 national title). The only loss he ever took during cross country was at the D2 National Championships in 2016 where he lost to his now teammate, Vincent Kiprop.

Cross country may be a different season, but after running 28:04 for 10k and becoming an All-American during the winter, it's safe to say that Chelanga knows how to race against this level of competition. With two new training partners, Chelanga could find even more growth and consistency throughout his next two years with the Crimson Tide.

#17 Matthew Maton / Oregon / Junior

With Cheserek now gone, Matthew Maton has become the de facto leader for this historic Oregon program. It'll interesting to see how the Ducks perform in the post-Cheserek era, but Maton has been maturing and learning for the past two years. He is the best guy to take on the low-stick role that Cheserek left behind.

2016 was the year we saw Maton get around the freshman learning curve and become a legitimate threat on the national scene. He began his season by putting together a 4th place performance at the UW Invite and another 4th place finish at Pre-Nats. Those first two meets of the season showed us that this kid was for real.

Nonetheless, Maton is still human. He would finish 28th at PAC 12's in what was the first "bad" performance of his cross country career. Naturally, the Oregon sophomore had to rebound and he certainly did just that. Maton grabbed a huge 2nd place finish at the West Region Championships and rode that momentum into Nationals where he placed 29th overall to earn All-American.

Aside from a rough day at PAC 12's, there isn't a lot to criticize Maton about. He's trending in the right direction and shows up when it matters the most. Hopefully, he can grab a win and another All-American honor in 2017

#16 John Dressel / Colorado / Junior

#15 Joe Klecker / Colorado / Rs. Sophomore

This Buffalo duo has been on fire since entering the Colorado program. In their first two years, Klecker and Dressel have combined for a total of 8 All-American finishes between cross country and track. Some would argue that they are the best 1-2 punch that the NCAA currently has...a certain group from New York would probably disagree.

When Colorado was pursuing the team title in 2015, Dressel was called upon to give the Buffaloes an extra boost in the scoring. As a true freshman on the nation's biggest stage, Dressel gave his team an incredible race by placing 26th overall. Colorado didn't win the national title, but at least the Buffaloes knew that their future was safe with Dressel.

One year later, Dressel was finally joined by redshirt freshman Joe Klecker who took the 2015 season to build his base and fitness.

The Buffaloes began the 2016 season with a controlled effort at Pre-Nats where the team appeared to intentionally run a tight time-spread of 12 seconds. It wouldn't be until PAC 12's where we saw Dressel give his first all-out effort by placing 6th overall. Klecker didn't perform nearly as well in that as he finished back in 19th.

It wouldn't be until the Mountain Region Championships that we saw what Klecker was truly capable of. The redshirt freshman cruised through a deep field to finish 3rd overall and become the top Colorado finisher. He was followed by Dressel who placed 5th in that race.

The duo didn't ease up at Nationals either. Klecker walked away with a 28th place finish while Dressel walked away in 33rd. Those finishes would be the precursor to monster indoor and outdoor track seasons from both individuals.

Colorado strikes me as a team that likes to stay under the radar for most of the regular season. That would probably explain why I didn't expect them to win the PAC 12 title last year. Still, the rise of Klecker and Dressel won't help the Buffaloes lose any attention. All eyes will be on this 1-2 punch in 2017 as we await for a matchup against conference rivals Grant Fisher and Matthew Maton.

#14 Tyler Day / Northern Arizona / Junior

In 2015, Northern Arizona redshirted Futsum Zienasellassie and Nathan Weitz. The team would struggle, but it gave guys like Tyler Day valuable experience. Now, Day is one of the best in the nation and still has two years of eligibility to improve his already superb fitness.

Even in his first year of cross country (2015), Tyler Day showed that he was going to be a promising future talent when he finished 3rd at BIG Sky and 14th in the Mountain Region Championships. But 2016 was designed to be his breakout year...and it was. His 2016 season debut began with a spectacular 17th place finish at Wisconsin. He later followed that performance with a 3rd place finish at BIG Sky and an excellent 7th place finish at regionals.

Northern Arizona were the favorites to win the title, but they needed everyone on their squad to step up if they wanted to match the firepower of Syracuse and Stanford. Sure enough, NAU did just that and can give credit to Tyler Day for doing so, as he walked away with a 23rd place finish.

We should be very excited about what Tyler Day could bring to the trails in 2017. Not only is he an All-American who has consistently improved over his career, but he'll also enter this season with national championship experience (something he didn't have in 2016). If he can continue to build on all of these positives, then don't be surprised to see Day in our Top 10 later this season...

#13 Jack Bruce / Arkansas / Senior

Many know Jack Bruce from this past track season where he finished runner-up in the 5000 meters at NCAA's. However, his story begins in 2014 where he began his running career at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. It wasn't until his sophomore year that Bruce transferred to Arkansas and became a Razorback.

In 2015, Bruce showed a lot of inconsistency. He placed 67th at Pre-Nats and couldn't even break into the top 10 at the South Central Region Championships. That's why it was such a shock that Bruce ripped open an unbelievable 23rd place finish at Nationals in 2015.

Even with his incredible finish, I was still skeptical of Bruce and wanted to see what more he could do in 2016. Sure enough, he proved that he really was that talented with an 8th place finish at the Chile Pepper XC Festival, a 12th place finish at Pre-Nats, a 4th place finish at SEC's, and a 6th place finish at the South Central Regional Championships.

His result at Nationals? Another All-American finish where he placed 19th overall...

The Australian native is now a three-time All-American between cross country and track, owns a 5000 PR of 13:37, and has dramatically improved his consistency. You could even argue that he's one of the more clutch distance runners in the NCAA when it comes to the National Championships.

All signs are pointing up for Bruce and any criticisms I could find against him would be from 2015. He may be the most talented runner with the most upside in our Top 50.

#12 Jacob Choge / Mid. Tenn. St. / Sophomore

One of the most exciting young names of 2016 was the freshman from Middle Tennessee. In fact, some people even went as far to say that Choge was "the next Edward Cheserek". Whether you agree or disagree with that, there is no doubt that this kid is extremely talented.

Choge's 2016 season began at the Commodore Classic where he and Edwin Kibichiy battled for the win. Kibichiy would walk away as the victor in that race, but only by two seconds. MTSU would later travel to the Greater Louisville Classic where Kibichiy once again barely edged Choge for the win, this time by three seconds.

Things changed in the postseason when Choge out ran Jonah Koech to take the Conference USA title. He would later secure the win at the South Region Championships to defeat MJ Erb, Harry Mulenga, Arsene Guillorel, and Antibahs Kosgei.

In the two weeks leading up to NCAA's, Flotrack published an article with the title "Is Jacob Choge The Next Cheserek?". Admittedly, they made a convincing argument and strengthened my already positive perception of the MTSU freshman. I decided to place him in my top 10 individuals when completing my predictions for Nationals.

It turned out to not be a great idea.

Choge's inexperience and lack of big meets didn't help him during NCAA's. However, he still walked away as an All-American by finishing 40th overall...something very few freshman have accomplished.

In retrospect, Choge is probably not going to be "the next Edward Cheserek". Still, I feel confident that he'll be a multi All-American who just needs time to learn how to race. Once he gets more experience and develops his fitness, this kid will be unstoppable and could eventually be a threat to win a national title by his senior year. Until then, I'll be looking for him to gather more wins and defeat bigger and better names.

#11 Hassan Abdi / Oklahoma State / Senior

Oklahoma State doesn't rebuild, they simply reload. They did so in 2016 by bringing in former JUCO runner, Hassan Abdi. Since becoming a Cowboy, Abdi has thrived and steadily earned his way to the top of the NCAA.

Typically, someone coming from a school outside of division one needs some time to adjust. For Hassan Abdi, that wasn't the case. The former South Plains athlete never had a bad race all season with a runner-up finish at the Penn State Open, a 3rd place finish at BIG 12's, and a 4th place finish at the Midwest Regional Championships. In fact, his best performance came at NCAA's, a race he had no experience in. Abdi would go on to finish 16th in that race to become an All-American.

The Oklahoma State junior later took to the track where he ran personal best times of 13:43 and 28:54. He also earned an All-American finish during the indoor season when his DMR placed 6th.

If he can grab a few regular season wins or a conference/regional title, then Hassan Abdi could absolutely be a top 10 runner by the end of this season.

#Top50 #rankings #analysis #ncaa #gzatlin