2016 NCAA Top 50 Rankings: #20-11

By: Garrett Zatlin

In case you missed the news, both the NCAA and PA HS XC Top 10's will be released on our Twitter account throughout the day on Friday (tomorrow)! You can see who made the top 10 before any of our blog-only readers by following us @TheRealTrain11. Spread the word and happy reading!

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

10. Colin Bennie, Junior, Syracuse
9. Jonah Koech, Sophomore, UTEP
8. Jonathan Green, Senior, Georgetown
7. Marc Scott, Senior, Tulsa (No Eligibility)
6. Grant Fisher, Sophomore, Stanford
5. Sean McGorty, Senior, Stanford
4. Justyn Knight, Junior, Syracuse
3. Futsum Zienasellassie, Rs. Senior, NAU
2. Patrick Tiernan, Rs. Senior, Villanova
1. Edward Cheserek, Senior, Oregon

20. Jacob Thomson, Rs. Junior, Kentucky
I'm not going to hide my bias, I am a huge fan of Jacob Thomson. I watched him when we were both in high school and I was super impressed when he ran the state of Kentucky's two-mile prep record (8:54). It's taken some time for him to adjust to the collegiate scene, but he is entering his third season of cross country with plenty of momentum.

Thomson would start his 2015 season with two smaller meets in Kentucky as early season rust-busters. Thomson wouldn't have his first challenge until the Cowboy Jamboree where he would place second behind Oklahoma State's Cerake Geberkidane. When Thomson finally got to a big name meet (Pre-Nats), he finished way back in 123rd and returned home to prepare SEC's. At SEC's, we saw Thomson rebound and place 4th overall. Yet, it was at Southeast regionals where we saw Thomson have the best race of his season. The Kentucky sophomore thrived off of the fast pace and he placed 10th overall, snagging the third auto-bid spot to nationals. Thomson would later end his season at nationals by placing 44th overall, 4 spots away from All-American.

I can't lie, his cross country performances aren't as impressive as some of the guys who are ranked behind him. That said, he showed a lot of maturity in his poise and strategic ability this past spring. Although I try to avoid making track times a big part of my rankings, I can't ignore his progression and ability to handle all kinds of race situations. The Kentucky sophomore put together a three PR season with times of 3:44 (1500), 13:43 (5k), and 29:01 (10k). He was even able to earn All-American in the 10k (placed 6th).

It may have taken some time, but I really liked how Thomson matured this past year. This fall, he'll be a junior and have the experience of racing against top-tier talent. I'm expecting multiple wins from him early on as well as more consistency during the regular season.

19. Henry Wynne, Senior, Virginia
Last year was the season when the NCAA's top milers also became some of the best XC runners in the nation as well. Wynne joined guys like Burcham and Yorks in showing the nation that they can be competitive in more than just the mile.

UVA held an early season meet on their home turf with an invite called Panorama Farms. The small meet was competitive with entries from Furman, Oklahoma, Erik Peterson, and the Campbell duo. It would be a good meet to see which members of the UVA team could be the team's low-stick during the season. Although the fast pace quickly thinned out the field, Wynne held on to finish a respectable 5th place overall. It was a great start for Wynne, but was no indication for what he would do at Wisconsin where he shocked everyone and placed 9th overall. Two weeks later was ACC's and Wynne would finish 10th overall. Not bad, but not quite as impressive as his Wisconsin performance. After another two weeks, Wynne underwhelmed with a 12th place finish at regionals. Again, it wasn't a bad race, but he still wasn't matching his performances from earlier in the season. Wynne's regression took full form at nationals where he placed a disappointing 59th overall to end season.

In my mind, I think Wynne just simply peaked too early last year. He put together a good race early on and showed how talented he was at Wisconsin. He is certainly better than his nationals performance indicates. In addition, it's pretty hard to ignore his success on the track. He was the national champion in the mile while still owning PR's of 7:53 and 13:49. This November, expect Wynne to hit his peak on time (the postseason).

18. Dylan Lafond, Senior, Illinois
It's never easy being the new guy...unless you're Dylan Lafond. The rising senior was once a runner for Mount Olive, a D2 program located in North Carolina. After grabbing multiple All-American finishes with Mount Olive, Lafond decided to step things up a notch and transfer to Illinois.

Despite being the new guy, Lafond began his junior year by stepping into the Illinois program and instantly becoming the leader. The Greater Louisville Classic was a great first meet for Lafond to show off his skill set against D1 competition. Sure enough, he did very well as he finished 6th overall. Lafond would add on to that 6th place finish with a 22nd place finish at Wisconsin. However, it wouldn't be until BIG 10's where the former Mount Olive runner showed he could compete with some of the best in the NCAA. Lafond placed 3rd overall behind McClintock and Ferlic, and also made himself the top returner for BIG 10's in 2016. At regionals, Lafond would experience his first sub-par race as a D1 athlete after he placed 8th in the Mid-West region. Luckily, Lafond still qualified for the national championship and took full advantage of the opportunity by placing 29th overall.

Lafond was able to do all of that in his first cross country season of D1 competition. He quickly adjusted to the improved competition and still fought for top finishes at some of the best meets in the nation. The top returner at BIG 10's, an All-American in the steeplechase, and knowing what kind of competition to expect gives Lafond lots of upside in 2016. Don't be surprised when he wins the BIG 10 and/or the Mid-West title.

17. Ben Saarel, Senior, Colorado
Very few people had a year as tough as Ben Saarel did. Saarel was sidelined for most of the 2015 cross country season with a foot injury. He was able to return for regionals and nationals only for his team to be upset for the national title (despite his 31st place finish). After redshirting his indoor and outdoor track seasons, Saarel ran 3:37 unattached and went into the Olympic Trials where he "strained [his] hamstring for the 4th time since March" in the final 100 meters of the first round.

Very few runners have been as dominant as Saarel has been since the start of his collegiate career. I could go on and on about all of the incredibles races in his career, but just know that prior to the 2015 season, Saarel had placed outside of the top 10 only once in his career. Two finishes in the top 10 at nationals also help his case as to why he should be in the top 20.

Saarel is obviously talented enough to be in the top 10. But when I hear that he's strained his hamstring four times in five months, I get super cautious about how he'll run in the fall. If he can come out strong and show me that he's healthy, look for him to make a big jump in the rankings.

16. Edwin Kibichiy, Rs. Senior, Louisville
Edwin Kibichiy may be one of the most consistent runners in the NCAA. In last year's preseason top 50, Kibichiy was ranked 16th. At the end of the 2015 season, Kibichiy was ranked 16th. Now he'll enter the 2016 season ranked...16th.

Kibichiy began last season by cruising to 2nd at the Commodore Classic and preparing for Louisville's home meet, the Greater Louisville Classic. In his own backyard, Kibichiy once again placed 2nd and set his sites on Pre-Nats. He may not have placed 2nd again, but he placed a very solid 13th overall. Once the post-season came around, Kibichiy returned to finishing in the top three with a 3rd place finish at ACC's and a 3rd place finish at regionals. Throughout his five races in 2015, not once did he show any signs of letting up. So it was quite a surprise when Kibichiy failed to grab All-American honors at nationals and ended up finishing in the heartbreaking 41st place.

If you were to go to Vegas and bet on runners (because that's totally a thing), Kibichiy would probably be one of the safest guys to bet on. Yes, NCAA's was a big surprise for everyone who follows the sport as closely as I do (so maybe two others), but don't think that it's going to be a trend for an 8:30 steeplechaser. If he's going to improve in the rankings, I would really like to see him get a couple wins in addition to doing better at nationals. If he can do that, then the top 10 will not be out of reach for him.

15. Jacob Burcham, Senior, Oklahoma
Just like Wynne, Burcham was in a small group of top-tier milers that had breakout seasons and showed that they could still be competitive during cross. In fact, Burcham did so well that he won the Zatlin Award for Best Breakout Runner.

Panorama Farms would be the first of many surprising races for Jacob Burcham during the 2015 season. In that race, he finished 4th overall and quickly put his name in the top 50 rankings. Even with his great start, I questioned if it was just a one race fluke. At Wisconsin, Burcham proved to me that he was the real deal with an incredible 11th place finish. Burcham was building momentum and doing so rapidly. After placing 2nd at BIG 12's, Burcham entered a very underrated Mid-West region that would produce multiple All-Americans in the coming weeks. That, however, did not phase Burcham as he fought Wisconsin Invite champ Marc Scott to the line to finish 2nd. Not only was Burcham running consistently well, but he getting even better as time went on. Just when we thought that the Oklahoma junior couldn't impress us anymore, he tore through Tom Sawyer Park and placed 16th overall at nationals which was the cherry on top of a truly incredible season.

There's really not a lot to dislike about Burcham. He had such an incredible season during 2015 that it's tough to point out any flaws. I'll be curious to see how much better he can get after such a crazy improvement in his fitness. If he can grab a couple wins this season, then the top 10 could be in his future.

14. Jerrell Mock, Junior, Colorado State
13. Jefferson Abbey, Senior, Colorado State
Mock and Abbey might be the best 1-2 punch in the NCAA. We saw them shut down talented individuals and get big wins throughout the 2015 seasons. With a young successful coach and slew of talented teammates to train with, Abbey and Mock will be a dangerous combo.

Roy Griak is one of the first big meets of the season and there is often a lot of excitement surrounding the results it yields. When the gun sounded at Griak, the CSU duo didn't look back as Abbey and Mock took the top two spots. When they traveled to Notre Dame a week later, they continued to impress with Abbey placing 6th and Mock placing 11th. These two were on a roll, and kept that momentum going as they headed into Pre-Nats. Once again, it was Abbey taking 16th and Mock placing 17th. Just when it seemed that the two were inseparable, Abbey had his first slip up of the season at the Mountain West championships. Mock was able to pull away for the title, but Abbey finished 8th. Abbey's finish ended up costing the Rams a conference title which was most likely what fueled his 5th place finish at regionals. Mock, of course, was 6th in that race. When it came time for the pair to battle a 252-person field, they ended the race six spots away from each other. Abbey placed 13th and Mock 19th.

Abbey and Mock may be the most exciting duo to run in the NCAA since Cheserek and Jenkins. They're able to get wins and consistently put up impressive results. They'll need to improve at meets like Pre-Nats and Notre Dame, but they have shown just how good they can be in any kind of race whether it be strength oriented or tactical.

12. Malachy Schrobilgen, Senior, Wisconsin
No one could've expected that an established program like Wisconsin would fail to qualify for their 44th straight national championship. There were plenty of reasons that their streak ended, but one of those reasons was because of the injury that derailed their star leader in the post-season.

Last year, Malachy entered the 2015 season with an Etrain ranking of 6 and, for a while, lived up to that ranking. After treating the Greater Louisville Classic and Iona Paddy Doyle Invite as workouts, Schrobilgen's first true effort would be in his own backyard at the Wisconsin Invite. On his home course, Schrobilgen fought for the lead late in the race. His strategy backfired a bit as a barrage of kicks put him in 5th. Still, there was no doubt that Malachy was at the top of his game. Two weeks later, we were supposed to see the Wisconsin star battle with Ferlic, McClintock, and Lafond at BIG 10's. Unfortunately, the defending BIG 10 champion would have to pull out with an injury and surrender his title. Fans would have to wait until regionals to see if Malachy would cross the line. When regionals finally did arrive, Malachy was able to cross the line...in 33rd place. He fought through an injury in hopes that his Wisconsin Badgers would be able to make another appearance at NCAA's. That, of course, did not happen.

I can't fault Schrobilgen for being injured. It happens to the best runners in the world. It would also be criminal to ignore his sophomore season as a Badger. In 2014, Schrobilgen won the BIG 10 title, was runner-up at regionals, and placed 10th at NCAA's.

It pains me to keep Schrobilgen out of the top 10 even though he may be my favorite collegiate distance runner (probably helps that he has a cool name too). I kept him out of the top 10 because we still haven't seen him race since regionals last year. I'm also not sure what his health is like and I like to stay on the cautious side. I have the utmost confidence that Schrobilgen is capable of returning to the top 10 and even dipping into the top 5 if everything goes right and he is in fact healthy

11. John Dressel, Sophomore, Colorado
I desperately wanted to put Dressel in the top 10, but I just couldn't find any room for him in such a talented group. The young Buffalo had a huge impact for Colorado last year, especially at a time when they didn't have Saarel. Clutch running is just part of the reason why he's at 11th.

We first saw Dressel make his college debut at Pre-Nats where he placed 46th overall. For most freshmen, that would be an awesome finish...but John Dressel isn't like "most freshmen". Dressel would reappear at PAC-12's and surprise fans across the country by placing 6th overall. He would later place an unexciting 19th at regionals. With nationals fast approaching, Dressel's performances became more and more important as Saarel's health concerns made the Buffalo's more vulnerable to an upset. When it came time to defend the title at nationals, the frosh was ready. Dressel locked down the 26th spot and ended the day as Colorado's third scorer. But even with the clutch performance by Dressel, the Buffalo's fell 9 points short of defending the team title. Dressel and his team went home with silver.

It took some time to adjust, but Dressel was clutch when it counted the most. Obviously, he is incredibly talented and can hang with some of the best guys in the nation. We also saw him continue to mature on the track this past spring with PR's of 13:48 and 29:20. With so many members of Colorado's varsity squad graduating, the pressure will be on Dressel to become an ace and lead the squad as just a sophomore. One year of experience may not be a lot, but when you have the Wetmore factor on your side, anything is possible.