Ben and Garrett are back to kick-off the new year! This week, the guys discuss the short-term move of Oregon State and Washington State to the WCC as well as potential impact acquisitions made by Alabama, Clemson, Texas A&M and Washington. Be sure to listen, review and subscribe! Oregon State & Washington State temporarily head to WCC (2:35) Alabama men add Allan Kiplagat & Dennis Kipruto (11:47) Alabama women sign Brenda Tuwei (17:45) Gilbert Rono signs with Texas A&M (22:27) Debora Cherono signs with Texas A&M (24:59) Brian Kweyei signs with Clemson (27:36) Ben MacMillan signs with Washington (32:17) You can listen to that episode (and others) on our PODCASTS  page! You can also find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Soundcloud. If you like it, be sure to leave us a rating  and a review ! Note: If you're having issues loading the episode on the site via mobile, try refreshing  the episode page. We will look into this issue for future episodes.

Yep, we're bringing it back! One of our most popular series of content each and every year is our Freshman Class Rankings. What we do is look at all of the CURRENT freshmen around the NCAA (who specialize in the 800 meters and up) and attempt to evaluate which programs brought in the best young distance talents. Now, I know what you're thinking. "Garrett, the academic year is already half-way over. We've got indoor track races coming soon! Why are we doing these rankings now?" Well, simply put, we just don't have enough time to post these rankings during the summer months. That is, after all, when our preseason cross country lists dominate the site. Not only that, but many schools don't have updated rosters at that point in the year. It's also unlikely that we'll have any major results on the indoor oval until the second weekend in January. This makes the next week and a half a fairly good time for us to fill the void with something that will probably cause a lot of arguments (which have already started at TSR). Before we release our current freshman class rankings, we thought it would be a good idea to give you an idea of how we constructed these lists, how we collected the data and when you can expect to see our content... The Content & Our Publishing Timeline The Stride Report is aiming to release our top-10 Division One freshman class rankings starting Wednesday (beginning with our "Just Missed" and "Honorable Mention" groups). Our top-five Division Two rankings and our top-five Division Three rankings will likely be published starting early next week. We will also be following the same release schedule that you saw last year. For D1, that means that we will be publishing teams 10-9-8 for the men and 10-9-8 for the women on the first day. The next day, we'll be publishing 7-6-5 for the men and 7-6-5 for the women. The day after that, we'll be publishing 4-3-2 for the men and 4-3-2 for the women. Finally, on the last day, the top-ranked freshmen classes on both the men's and women's sides will get their own articles. Then, next week, D2 will post 5-4-3 on one day followed by their top-two teams the next day. The D3 rankings will follow the same schedule immediately after. An Important Clarifier... We understand that the timing of these rankings is a bit odd, especially since we already had cross country action take place this past fall. However, it's important to note that we are ranking CURRENT TRUE FRESHMEN . So, to be very clear, we're looking at athletes who graduated from high school in 2023. We are NOT looking at the Class of 2024. These are athletes that are CURRENTLY in the NCAA. Additional Criteria Redshirt freshmen are not included in these rankings. Transfers from other universities are also not included in these rankings unless they are true freshmen. If an athlete has anything other than freshman eligibility in any season for this academic year, we will not consider that athlete in these rankings. Mission trips, however, are a very challenging aspect to manage when it comes to our rankings. Ultimately, we decided that if you were a high school senior who graduated in 2023 and committed to run for a certain university, then you'll be factored into these rankings even if you went on a mission this year / in the near future. That, however, entirely depends on if we were able to find your commitment at all. Data Collection & Rankings Our TSR crew has spent the past two-ish (maybe three-ish) weeks scouring the internet for any and all true freshmen who we could find, mainly via rosters. We looked at essentially every program that has been even remotely competitive in the distance events over the past few years. The good news is that, unlike past years, these rosters were updated and actually had their new names listed. We didn't have to go to a ton of different places to find our data this year. Of course, actually ranking these groups is an entirely different story. Let me just throw out this disclaimer while I'm here: There are going to be A LOT of strong and impressive freshman classes that didn't make it into our rankings. We have about 14 men's teams and a small handful of women's teams who we thought could have been considered for a top-10 spot -- maybe more depending on who you talk to. When it comes to rankings, we looked a variety of things such as... Personal bests Overall depth Championship experience and championship accolades Superstar talents / nationally-recognizable names Roster needs Balance between the middle distances and longer distances Subjective factors such as... Racing style Consistency Roster fit Etc. Just like last year, the first three pieces of criteria that we listed hold the most weight in our rankings. Naturally, you have to be fast / have fast times. We can look at as many intangibles as we want, but at the end of the day, you need to have a top mark or two. And when you are able to have a lot of fast times via a lot of athletes (read: a lot of depth), then that certainly helps a team's ranking as well. The same can be said about national meet / championship experience. In our eyes, we view that as a major asset as someone enters the NCAA level. Of course, we also looked at a handful of other things, many of which are listed above. Roster fit, for example, is a bigger deal than some people may think. If someone is middle distance focused, but ends up attending an aerobic-centric or short sprints-centric powerhouse, then on paper, that doesn't always align as well as we think it would. But conversely, if a team is cross country dominant and needs more event diversity via a greater middle distance presence, then that should only help the team over the long-term. And with that line of thinking, you can see how those are two conflicting aspects to balance. Those of you who read The Stride Report often also know that consistency is a MAJOR factor that we consider. It's great to see someone run a monster time or have a phenomenal race, but can they replicate that kind of performance consistently? Or was their breakout effort more of an outlier performance? That matters, especially at the NCAA level when the postseason rolls around. Racing styles are something that we lightly analyze, although it's admittedly tough to offer detailed breakdowns for every. single. athlete. who we'll be mentioning in these rankings. However, for those who we do have tape on, racing styles matter. If someone understands the nuances of tactics, how to capitalize on their strengths and when to make moves, then that should give them a massive advantage as they continue to build their fitness. In theory, their growth as a nationally competitive talent should be accelerated. Oh, and in addition to everything we just mentioned, we should also note that every division had at least three TSR contributors reviewing our rankings. Simply put, we were very thorough. International athletes There are a handful of NCAA programs that we looked at who are bringing in international athletes. In a few instances, those athletes may be older than 18 or 19 years old. However, they are listed on their respective rosters as freshmen. Unless we've been told otherwise, we have based our rankings off of what those rosters say. Is it possible that there are one or two athletes who we included who aren't actually considered true freshmen? Sure, maybe. And is it possible that a program added an athlete who is beginning school this winter? Yes, that's also possible. But otherwise, we feel like these rankings should be a fairly accurate representation of which programs brought in the best collection of young distance talents.

Earlier today, Texas superstar Yusuf Bizimana announced that he has signed a "Name, Image and Likeness" (NIL) deal with On, a Swiss-based performance apparel company. The signing comes just one day after Graham Blanks had announced his NIL deal with New Balance. Bizimana is one of the most dangerous collegiate middle distance runners in the nation and he is viewed as the favorite to win this year's indoor and outdoor national titles over 800 meters. The English standout won last year's indoor 800-meter national title following Navasky Anderson receiving a disqualification for stride impediment. The Longhorn ace would later venture to the outdoor oval where he finished runner-up in the half-mile finals at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. In that race, Biziman ran a new personal best of 1:45.74 (800). In total, Bizimana collected five All-American honors, one of which came in the mile, an event that he owns a 3:57 PR in. He is currently ranked at TSR #3 in The Stride Report's preseason indoor track middle and long distance rankings. By signing the Texas middle distance superstar, On has further extended their reach of having collegiate standouts represent their brand at the NCAA level. Bizimana is the first male middle distance runner to sign an NIL deal with On, joining Stanford's Juliette Whittaker and Washington's Carley Thomas as the other collegiate middle distance runners to sign NIL deals with On. Other recent NIL signees with On include Ky Robinson, Cole Sprout, Maia Ramsden, Olivia Markezich, Lex Young and Leo Young.

If there's one thing that I have learned while building The Stride Report over the seven-ish years that we have been active, it's that almost nothing that you plan over the long-term will work out how you think it will. Sure, maybe you'll get the end result that you thought you would, but the process to get to that final point will likely look way more different than you had initially visualized. And sure enough, in 2023, it felt like we were thrown a barrage of curve balls. On numerous occasions, we were forced to change course on a handful of stead-fast initiatives and our entire approach towards operating the website shifted as well. Phrased another way, TSR was more chaotic this year, at least operationally, than it was during the pandemic three years ago. Like I said, life never goes quite how you think it will. * * * Upon reflection, the origin for most of that aforementioned controlled chaos stemmed from conversations that happened between April and July. During that period, TSR's former parent company, Streamline Athletes, and myself began to chat about the different ways as to how we wanted to operate the site. I wanted to go with Option A. They wanted to go with Option B. In the end, a mutual parting of ways, and an accompanying reacquisition deal, was ultimately what we had decided on. And suddenly, in the span of two to three months, TSR was back under my sole ownership -- and so were all of the expenses and responsibilities that came with it. Oh, those dang curve balls... To make matters even more complex, a small handful of our most veteran writers, including our very first non-Garrett TSR writer, John Cusick (who was also our D2/D3 editor), opted to pursue new endeavors after years of hard work and dedication. And after going through the emotional toll of two acquisitions in the span of 15 months, I could understand the need for some writers to step back -- but gosh were their absences going to be tough. Simply put, the life that I entered 2023 with looked nothing like the life that I have now. And you know what? I love it. Gavin Struve, despite much of his prior focus being on Division One, was hired as our part-time D2/D3 editor. And so far, he has been outstanding, especially when evaluating his attention to detail. But in order for him to be as great as he has been, our D2 writers (Grace McLaughlin and Marissa Kuik) and our D3 writers (Kevin Fischer and Conor Daly) had to be at the top of their game. And in case you couldn't tell, they have done that -- and so much more. Even with an increased workload, those two teams have never been stronger -- and that goes for their writing styles as well. Maura Beattie and Finn Birnie continue to be absolute work horses for our D1 women's content (what else is new?). Meanwhile, Donny Speas has given TSR a refreshingly consistent flow of thoughtful and knowledgable high school/recruiting content. And Ben Weisel? Our Blue Oval Podcast host? Well, despite having a one-year old, he has continued to consistently make our weekly show part of his routine. The reason why I love this unexpected next phase of my career is partially because I have full control of the site (again). But the larger reason is because my team has stepped up when they've been needed the most. During a time when I could have been floundering to keep TSR afloat, they have rallied behind the site and have made it as strong as it ever was. And no, I'm not just making that up -- the numbers support that. * * * "Now is not the time to play it safe," my Dad explained to me. "Now is the time to take risks. Now is the time to be aggressive." I'm not entirely sure why, but I remember having that conversation and feeling like it was a massive wake up call. He was right. We couldn't just be stagnant. We had to find new ways to capture attention, new ways to keep our current subscribers entertained, new ways to present content, etc. It's one thing for this site to survive, but it's another thing for it to thrive. As a result, I did the impossible: I put aside my patented stubbornness and listened to someone else's advice. This was the first year where we sent people out to meets as on-site correspondents. By expanding our budget expenditures by roughly 25%, we bought hotel rooms, we bought flights, we paid for travel stipends and we paid for the actual services of those freelancers. In turn, we received post-race video interviews and instant post-race photos that we could post to our social media channels and include in our written analysis/coverage. We began to (slowly) build out our YouTube page ( which you can subscribe to here ) and we also established a more consistent flow of high school/recruiting content. And guess what? We got results -- good results! But for as positive as those developments were for our business, I couldn't help but think, "Gosh, really? We haven't even cracked the surface of all of the different things that we want to do with the site." That's what truly gets me excited for 2024. There is, however, a fine line between being ambitious and being risky. No one wants to expand our coverage more than I do (we hear you, NAIA people). But we don't want to quickly rush into expansion until we are able to consistently produce quality content. Sustainability is arguably just as important as deliverability. And yet, how can we reach new heights if we aren't consistently providing new and unique content to our audience? How do we ultimately push the envelope without compromising stability? How do we maximize the utility and benefit of our investments so that we can further improve our scaling -- and therefore give all of you greater value? I don't have the perfect concrete answers to those questions (yet), but at this stage in our site's lifecycle, almost no one would. In a way, we're still learning to be aggressive...and when not to be. * * * Thank you to everyone who has continued to support us! From our first three or four readers back in 2017 (a group championed by my mother) to the thousands upon thousands of people who consistently check in to the site, it has been an absolute honor to have you all watch our evolution and growth as a site. And who knows? It's possible that you'll see The Stride Report evolve even further as we enter 2024 -- maybe as soon as January. Have a happy and healthy 2024, friends. Your loyal admin, Garrett Zatlin The Stride Report

Top-10 Most Viewed Articles of 2023 NOTE: Does not include any news articles with the exception of transfer analysis 10. Transfer Market (Part 39) 9. Transfer Market (Part 35) 8. It's Early, But The Men Of Notre Dame, Wake Forest & Syracuse Are Winning The 2024 Recruiting Battle 7. Transfer Market (Part 44): Devin Hart to Texas, Kirami Yego in Portal & Rylee Penn to Florida State * NOTE: Rylee Penn would later reverse course and transfer to Louisville following a last-minute coaching change. 6. TSR's 2023 D1 XC Top 50 Individual Rankings (Men): Update #3 5. TSR's 2023 Preseason D1 XC Top 50 Rankings: # 10-1 (Men) 4. Transfer Market (Part 37): Top Distance Talents Have Hit The Transfer Portal 3. First Thoughts: Valby's First Title, Ramsden's Upset Win, Markezich's All-Time Mark & Is Rose TSR#1? 2. Transfer Market (Part 45): A Really Long List of Names 1. 2023 D1 NCAA East & West Regional Top-12 Predictions Top-Five Best Performing Podcasts of 2023 NOTE: Based on metrics across all platforms 5. Natalie Cook to Transfer Portal, Thornton-Bott & Rose Thrive in Middle Distances 4. Katelyn Tuohy's Argument for The Bowerman, Essayi & Jacobs Bolster Title Odds 3. NC State’s Dynasty Year & How Could We Bet Against NAU? 2. Regional Reactions + Favorites, Sleepers & Wildcards of the NCAA XC Championships 1. Katelyn Tuohy Runs NCAA 5k Record, Natalie Cook Transfers to Colorado TSR's Favorite Content of 2023 We asked our TSR writers to tell us which articles of 2023 were their favorites... Maura Beattie: 2023 NCAA D1 XC Championship Preview: Tuohy vs Valby, A Wide-Open Men's Race & Can NAU Sweep? Finn Birnie: 2023 Transfer Value Rankings Conor Daly: First Thoughts: HOKA Festival of Miles Kevin Fischer: Three Sentences Or Less: 2023 D3 NCAA Indoor Championship Women's 800 Meters Preview Marissa Kuik: 2023 NCAA D2 XC Championship Preview: Are Lindsay Cunningham & the Colorado Mines Men Untouchable? Grace McLaughlin: First Thoughts: GVSU Flexes Firepower, Wingate's Monumental Win, Cunningham & Amponsah Cruise Donny Speas: First Thoughts: 2023 NJCAA XC Championships Gavin Struve: PREDICTIONS & PREVIEWS: 2023 BIG 12 XC Championships Ben Weisel: Blue Oval Podcast: Regional Reactions + Favorites, Sleepers & Wildcards of the NCAA XC Championships Garrett Zatlin: Lane Nine: Isaac Basten On Narrow NCAA Title Miss, Masterclass Tactics & Responding to Critics

Rankings constructed by Donny Speas & Garrett Zatlin Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen! We have now reached the second edition of our Class of 2024 distance recruit rankings. With the cross country season now behind us, we wanted to update our top-50 lists as well as some of our scouting analysis. Remember, these lists are for current high school seniors who specialize in the 800 meters and/or higher. Don't see yourself or a certain individual during this update? Don't worry, everyone will have another chance to crack our top-50 following the indoor track season and the outdoor track season. As always, our rankings take a wholistic approach. We look at results across all three seasons of competition and also evaluate a few intangibles such as consistency, experience, progression, momentum, range, etc. Of course, with cross country recently wrapping up, these rankings will naturally favor aerobic-centric runners a bit more than they would following a winter or spring campaign on the oval. Oh, and fast times help...a lot. CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR FULL RANKINGS

Ben and Garrett are back with a holiday present for all our listeners! This week, the guys break down the legal situation surrounding Florida State and their complicated effort in trying to leave the ACC. The guys later discuss four high-impact transfers. Be sure to listen, review and subscribe! Florida State vs the ACC (3:59) Victor Kibiego Transfers to Texas A&M (21:34) Karrie Baloga & Alyson Churchill to NAU (25:44) Silan Ayyildiz Transfers to Oregon (31:09) You can listen to that episode (and others) on our PODCASTS  page! You can also find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Soundcloud. If you like it, be sure to leave us a rating  and a review ! Note: If you're having issues loading the episode on the site via mobile, try refreshing  the episode page. We will look into this issue for future episodes.