The rest of the list...
50. Nick Tuck, Senior, Penn
49. Jake Leingang, Senior, Oregon,
48. Michael Williams, Junior, Washington State
47. Brian Barraza, Senior, Houston
46. Joel Hubbard, Senior, Syracuse
45. Chase Weaverling, Junior, Virginia
44. Jack Bruce, Junior, Arkansas
43. Jaime Perales, Senior, Eastern Kentucky
42. Luke Traynor, Senior, Tulsa
41. Matthew Schwartzer, Rs. Senior, Indiana
40. Andrew Rafla, Rs. Sophomore, Boise State
39. Travis Neuman, Senior, Oregon
38. Darren Fahy, Senior, Georgetown
37. MJ Erb, Senior, Mississippi
36. Frankline Tonui, Senior, Arkansas
35. Ben Flanagan, Senior, Michigan
34. Joel Reichow, Senior, South Dakota State
33. Colby Gilbert, Junior, Washington
32. Michael Vennard, Junior, Boise State
31. Dallin Farnsworth, Sophomore, BYU
30. Philo Germano, Senior, Syracuse
29. Kieran Clements, Rs. Senior, Iona
28. Gilbert Kirui, Junior, Iona
27. Amon Terer, Senior, Campbell
26. Cerake Geberkidane, Junior, Oklahoma State
25. Lawrence Kipkoech, Rs. Sophomore, Campbell
24. Chartt Miller, Junior, Iona
23. George Parsons, Senior, NC State
22. Kyle Eller, Senior, Air Force
21. Morgan McDonald, Junior, Wisconsin
20. Jacob Thomson, Rs. Junior, Kentucky
19. Henry Wynne, Senior, Virginia
18. Dylan Lafond, Senior, Illinois
17. Ben Saarel, Senior, Colorado
16. Edwin Kibichiy, Rs. Senior, Louisville
15. Jacob Burcham, Senior, Oklahoma
14. Jerrell Mock, Junior, Colorado State
13. Jefferson Abbey, Senior, Colorado State
12. Malachy Schrobilgen, Senior, Wisconsin
11. John Dressel, Sophomore, Colorado
10. Colin Bennie, Junior, Syracuse
Everyone knew Syracuse would be good. Justyn Knight had shown tremendous promise on the track during his freshman year and Martin Hehir was already one of the top collegiate distance runners in the nation. While everyone was focused on the potent 1-2 punch for 'Cuse, no one was expecting Colin Bennie to have the breakout season he did.
Bennie was given the 42nd spot in last year's Etrain rankings, but wasn't content on staying there. Bennie immediately stepped into the national spotlight after getting a win in the first meet of his season (Spiked Shoe). While there were some solid names in that field, I wasn't ready to say he was breaking out...until Beantown. In Boston, Bennie would finish 4th overall and defeat some established long distance runners like Ben Rainero and Curtis King. It was a great race, but the competition would only get harder as Syracuse at Wisconsin. That, of course, did not phase Bennie who exploded for a 6th place finish and crossed the line ahead of many other names on this top 50 list. At ACC's, Bennie continued to impress me with a 4th place finish which was followed up by a 2nd place finish at regionals. If there were any doubts about Bennie handling the post-season pressure, they were surely erased at NCAA's where Bennie clicked off an 8th place finish which helped secure Syracuse the team title.
What I love about Bennie is his confidence and how he is clearly not intimidated by the competition that surrounds him. We saw glimpses of that confidence continue throughout indoor and outdoor track where Bennie posted awesome PR's of 7:54, 13:38, and 28:52. I'm curious to see how much better he can get after such an amazing sophomore year.
9. Jonah Koech, Sophomore, UTEP
Last season, all eyes were on PAC-12 freshmen stars like Grant Fisher, John Dressel, Matthew Maton, and Tanner Anderson. While the spotlight shone on them, no one noticed UTEP freshman Jonah Koech.
Before the 2015 season, Anthony Rotich was the name that put UTEP on the map. So when Jonah Koech started racing right next to Rotich, things got very interesting. After Koech and his teammates swept two early-season meets, the Miners headed to Indiana to race at the Notre Dame Invite. When the dust settled and the results were posted, fans began researching just who Jonah Koech was after he placed 3rd overall. The same thing happened at Pre-Nats as Koech placed 4th only behind super-stars like Thomas Curtin, Edward Cheserek, and teammate Anthony Rotich. Not only was it a great finish, but Koech seemed to be the missing piece UTEP needed to be competitive nationally. The Miners ended up placing 4th in the team standings at Pre-Nats. Another two weeks would pass and UTEP would cruise through their conference meet and head into regionals with high expectations. Once again, Koech showed off his fitness and even got a win out of it. Surprisingly, the freshman to watch at nationals would not be Grant Fisher. It would be Jonah Koech. At NCAA's, Koech fought through a hard pace to finish a very respectable 11th place overall. It's crazy to think that 11th place at nationals was (arguably) his least impressive race of the season.
What's even more crazy is that Koech would later run the 800 during track and throw down a PR of 1:46. Talk about range. Koech will the heavy favorite now at meets like Notre Dame and regionals as he is the top returner. NCAA's showed that he may not do as well with a fast pace from the gun, but now I'm just being ticky-tacky. One thing is for sure, Cheserek better not let Pre-Nats or nationals come down to a kick against a 1:46 man like Koech.
8. Jonathan Green, Senior, Georgetown
Before the 2015 season even started, Georgetown lost names like Ryan Gil, Ryan Manahan, and Colin Leibold thanks to some controversial allegations that they wanted to avoid. Longtime coach Pat Henner also ended up resigning in wake of the allegations. Things weren't looking great for the Hoyas as they began last season...but then Jonathan Green happened.
In 2014, Green showed promise as a sophomore and got some experience at some important meets. That experience would help Green get over the learning curve in 2015 and make him one of the top runners in the nation. Green's first battle would be at Lehigh's Paul Short where he placed 3rd behind Villanova's Patrick Tiernan and Jordy Williamsz. It was a solid race and certainly an improvement on 2014, but it wasn't nearly as exciting as what he would do two weeks later at Pre-Nats. The little known Hoya crushed the Louisville-based course and placed 6th overall in what was a huge breakout race for him. Green would carry his momentum from Pre-Nats over to BIG East's and regionals where he would finish behind Tiernan and earn silver in both races. At nationals, his poise was no different as easily out ran experienced stars like McGorty, Scott, and Hehir (to name a few) and ended up finishing 5th overall.
Even though he was 5th as a junior, Green will only move up one spot among the list of returners at NCAA's. Other young guys that are quickly maturing along with a key returner that redshirted the 2015 season pushes Green back to 8th in the rankings (well actually 7th, but I'll get to that). I may be under-ranking him, but if he can do the same as last year and stay consistent, then I'm not afraid to move him up.
We all make mistakes, right? Scott was labelled as a sophomore on TFRRS despite Tulsa's XC roster stating that he was a senior in 2015. Just a classic case of "you can't trust everything you see on the internet".
My bad there!
6. Grant Fisher, Sophomore, Stanford
Fisher was easily the most anticipated runner of the 2015 season. Whether or not he would be redshirted became a huge conversation and fans around the nation were kept waiting as to whether or not he would wear a Stanford uniform.
The first time we saw Fisher run, he was running unattached at the Stanford Invite and took 2nd behind McGorty while also running a scorching 23:33. After months of waiting, we finally saw Fisher make his debut with Stanford at PAC 12's. The race was incredibly fast thanks to Cheserek establishing a 4:38 pace. Fisher hung on the best he could and settled for a satisfactory 11th place. While he was still running well, no one could've expected him to do as well as he did at nationals where he placed 17th overall.
While his nationals performance was impressive, what he did during track was even better. The young star would register PR's of 3:42, 7:50*, and 13:30. After grabbing 6th place at nationals in the 5k, Fisher was able to extend his season and gain experience at the Olympic Trials.
*Ran 7:50 indoors unattached (redshirted)
Fisher may not have been a top 10 talent during cross country, but his incredible runs this past spring shows that his base is finally starting to come together. Now that he's got the mileage under his legs, expect to see Fisher appear in more races than just PAC 12's and nationals.
5. Sean McGorty, Senior, Stanford
4. Justyn Knight, Junior, Syracuse
This was a hard decision to make and I'm lumping these two together because of how close they are. There are plenty of factors that go into ranking the names on this list. Everything from track PR's, racing style, XC consistency, experience, and wins played a role in trying to see who would get the 4th and 5th spots.
I had to give Knight the edge over McGorty due to the two key races during last fall. Wisconsin was headlined by Knight and McGorty and sure enough, the final 200 meters would come down to McGorty and Knight fighting to the line (Marc Scott later came out of nowhere to win). Knight got the best of McGorty at Wisconsin and neither would see each again until NCAA's. It was there where Knight once again ran away from McGorty to finish 4th overall while the Stanford junior placed 7th.
Guess what Knight's worst finish was in 2015? It was his 4th place finish at nationals. Knight placed 1st or 2nd in every meet other than nationals. Although McGorty wasn't far off from the same numbers (in admittedly different races), his two 7th place finishes at regionals and nationals give Knight the edge.
Once McGorty graduates, he could leave the NCAA as the best runner to never win a national title. That's not an exaggeration either, especially when you see that his PR's are 3:53, 7:48, and 13:24. But Knight's confidence has to be sky high as he enters his junior year, a time which some would argue is the peak of a collegiate's fitness and rate of improvement. The end rankings could go swing either way, but McGorty and Knight will surely be very fun to watch in 2016.
3. Futsum Zienasellassie, Rs. Senior, NAU
2. Patrick Tiernan, Rs. Senior, Villanova
When you get this deep into the rankings, there can often be a debate about who should be ranked over who. Many would argue that Futsum is the 2nd best runner in the NCAA...and I would be quick to disagree.
Last fall, I ranked Futsum at 2nd overall in the top 50 rankings. Futsum would end up redshirting his senior cross country season so that the NAU team is stronger and more experienced in 2016 when he is still running. Tiernan, meanwhile, was not just wining, he was dominating. With the exception of nationals, Tiernan placed 1st in every race he ran in during the 2015 cross country season. Tiernan beat top-ranked Jonathan Green three times throughout the post season. All three times, he beat Green by over 20 seconds.
I am not discrediting Futsum for redshirting. His career has been spectacular and if McGorty isn't the best runner to never win a title, then Futsum might own that status. However, Futsum has never displayed the level of dominance that we saw from Tiernan last year. When it comes to beating Cheserek, both of these individuals have failed. But the way Tiernan attacked the pace at nationals last year made me more a fan of his more than I already am.
1. Edward Cheserek, Senior, Oregon
There isn't much I can say that you don't already know. I could go on for paragraphs, even pages, about the incredible accomplishments we've seen from Edward Cheserek. Honestly, I'm not sure why there is still an argument about whether or not Cheserek is the greatest collegiate distance runner of all time. In fact, I think he's in the argument for greatest collegiate track and field runner of all time, not just distance running. King Ches has his nickname for a reason.
As he enters his final year of eligibility, be sure to realize that you are watching a living legend. There is a good chance that we will never see someone as good as him for a very, very long time.
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