NCAA Top 50 List: #40-31

By Garrett Zatlin

Reminder of the list so far...

50. Graham Crawford, Senior, NC State
49. Jordy Williamsz, Senior, Villanova
48. Wes Gallagher, Senior, Mississippi
47. Jake Leingang, Junior, Oregon
46. Grant Fisher, Freshman, Stanford
45. Ryan Walling, Senior, UNC
44. Chartt Miller, Junior, Iona
43. Sam Wharton, Junior, Stanford
42. Colin Bennie, Sophomore, Syracuse
41. Matthew Schwartzer, Senior, Indiana


40. Mike O’Dowd, Senior, Iona

O’Dowd is a name that gave me some difficulty. Iona is a team that doesn’t have a true front-runner nor runs in many invites. It’s hard to judge guys that are often switching positions with their teammates. Yet, it’s O’Dowd’s experience and scattered success throughout his career that made me put him on the list.

The one thing that really popped out at me for O’Dowd, was his experience. The man has had three straight NCAA appearances and has improved in all of them. Although, it wasn’t until this past season that he ran anything halfway decent (62nd). At his last regionals race (Northeast), O’Dowd placed 11th. While that usually wouldn’t be too exciting, it’s important to note that of the ten guys ahead of him, five ended up becoming All-Americans and two were O'Dowd's teammates. O’Dowd will enter regionals this fall as the sixth best returner from last year.

In retrospect, the 40th spot may have been a little generous for O’Dowd. However, Iona needs a solidified leader who has experience on the big stage and O’Dowd can provide that. He will need to wow me if he wants to move down the list before NCAA’s, but can do just that if he has a big day at Wisconsin. 

39. Kyle King, Senior, Virginia

My disdain for UVA and my job of making a fair ranking clashed quite a bit with King. Although in the end, 39th seemed to be a fair placement considering his inconsistencies.

Kyle King has gone through a multitude of ups and downs in his racing career. His freshman year was strong, but he truly broke out during his sophomore year. King would go on to place 5th at regionals (Southeast) and add an astounding 18th place (All-American) at NCAA’s to his resume. From that point on, King was the man to watch as he entered his junior year…which wasn’t as thrilling. King struggled to find that sophomore year success when he placed 19th at Washington, 29th at ACC’s, and 88th at NCAA’s.

As he enters his final year, King will try to go out in style and look to replicate that sophomore year magic. With a strong returning team and nothing to lose, look for King to reestablish himself as a threat among the top guys in the nation.  

38. Dan Lennon, Senior, Syracuse

As I admitted with Colin Bennie, I’m a fan of Syracuse this year. A team led by experienced veterans with young promising talent is a dangerous combination. Lennon will be one of those veterans this year and is why I give him the 38th spot.

Lennon flew under the radar for a good portion of last year. He placed 6th at Harry Groves, 15th at Beantown, and 24th at Wisconsin. All are solid marks, but don’t necessarily jump off the page. It was when Lennon got to regionals and nationals that he would make a splash. Lennon placed 8th at regionals (Northeast) where he was behind two of his teammates and three future All-Americans. Lennon would also just miss out on an All-American spot himself after placing 45th at NCAA’s.

Lennon has the capability to do big things this fall. His 28:46 10k this past spring tells us that. In order for him to improve his ranking, I would like to see him have a big race at either Wisconsin or Beantown. A low stick at either of those meets would show that Lennon can be a contender at any point during the season.

37. Brian Barraza, Junior, Houston

Unfortunately for Brian Barraza, his coach Steve Magness has been grabbing most of the headlines out of Houston due to his Oregon Project allegations. Aside from the feud between Salazar and Magness, Barraza is one of the best kept secrets in the NCAA and the only man out of the South Central region to make the list.

Barraza hasn’t had many headlines in his running career due to the type of guys he’s been up against. Last year he placed 4th at AAC’s behind a very strong trio from Tulsa. Barraza’s regional performance was overshadowed by another trio of big talent that included Stanley Kebenei, Craig Lutz, and Sam Stabler. The only big flaw of last year came at nationals where he finished a brutal 224th (out of 246th). Luckily for Barraza, he was able to rebound and grab PR’s of 3:44 (1500) and 13:56 (5k) this past spring.

Just like Gallagher, there is a lack of big talent in the South Central region. Barraza should have relative ease getting the South Central title, but will have to go up against a tough competitor in Marc Scott (Tulsa) to get the AAC victory. In addition to those meets, Barraza will need to show his dominance at venues like Pre-Nats and Nationals to prove that he is a contender in the NCAA and not just the big fish in a small pond.


36. Brandon Doughty, Senior, Oklahoma

For those of you that actually read my stuff, you’ll recognize Doughty’s name from the Zatlin Awards post I did about a month ago. In that post, I gave Doughty the Most Underrated award and for a good reason. Doughty hit four PR’s during last winter and spring which were 3:45 (1500), 7:56 (3k), 13:39 (5k), and 8:38 (3kSt.). The guy has talent…and some bad luck.

For those of you who don’t know how the national championship selection process works, the top two teams from each region go to NCAA’s. The top four individuals not on a qualifying team will make the trip as well. Unfortunately for Doughty, he was the first man out last year in the Southeast region, despite placing 9th. Although he was able to compete at nationals his freshman year (as part of a team qualifier), he still hadn’t matured enough (he finished 170th in that race). The man who placed 7th at the Washington Invite and 8th at BIG 12’s hasn’t had a chance to truly show his stuff at NCAA’s yet. Considering the massive PR’s he had this past track season, I’d say he’s ready.

Doughty will almost definitely have better luck this year and make the trip to NCAA’s (assuming nothing goes wrong). His PR’s indicate amazing fitness and he’s competed in an underrated region. Unfortunately, his lack of national championship experience has kept me cautious about where to place him.

35. Sam Parsons, Junior, NC State

Parsons was one of the first names that jumped out at me as I began the list. As someone who matriculates from an ACC school, the first set of results I wandered across were the ACC championships. It was there that I realized the talent Parsons has and threw him on the list.

Parsons had a great fall last year with a pair of 4th place finishes at ACC’s and regionals (Southeast). His Notre Dame performance was also impressive after he placed 18th there. Throw in a second place finish at the Adidas invite, and this kid is the real deal. For most, this would merit a much better ranking than 36th. However, his national appearances have been lackluster so far after placing 175th (freshman) and 63rd (sophomore).

While Parsons had a great ACC and regional showing, it will be tough for him to replicate the success he had last year with only 5 of the top 20 finishers at ACC’s last year and 4 of the top 20 at Southeast regionals last year graduating. If he can pull off another top five finish in either race, he will definitely improve in my rankings.

34. Jerrell Mock, Sophomore, Colorado St.

Mock is the second sophomore to take a spot on the list. Mock is part of a very underrated Colorado St. team that will bring in a strong recruiting class this fall that includes a sub-9 two miler (Eric Hamer) thanks to a successful new coach (we’ll discuss him later). A very underrated XC season puts Mock at 34th mainly because the names ahead of him had more experience on their resumes.

Mock had a very underrated freshman year grabbing 21st at Notre Dame and 18th at Pre-Nats. Those are two huge meets and to finish in those spots as a freshman indicates the talent this kid has. Mock also grabbed a pair of 11th place finishes at the Mountain West championships and regionals (Mountain) against loaded fields that included top tier talent. Mock ended his XC season with a respectable, but uneventful 53rd place at nationals. Once track season rolled around, Mock rode his momentum from the fall to a PR of 13:55 in the 5k.

Mock is one of the best young talents in the NCAA. The only thing holding him back from a better place on the list is his lack of experience. If he can do what he did last year and get a top ten finish at a big meet, Mock will only improve in the rankings as the season goes on.

33. Amos Bowen, Senior, Wyoming

If you haven’t noticed yet, the numbers in my “At A Glance” article have been edited a couple times. My editing is mainly due to people that I completely missed and had to add on. Amos Bowen was one of those guys. It’s easy for someone to get lost in the crowd of talent that makes up the Mountain region. 

As I mentioned above, it’s easy to get overlooked in a Mountain region dominated by the Colorado Buffalos and other top-ranking individuals. Bowen, however, made a statement last fall after he shocked everyone by beating out 5 of the 6 Buffalos in that race (Colorado only ran 6 men instead of 7) and placing 6th. Connor Winter was the only Buffalo to beat Bowen. While most people were focused on his performance there, they may have also overlooked his 13th place finish at Washington earlier in the season where he beat out guys already on this list like Sam Wharton, Matthew Schwartzer, and Kyle King (as well as other big names). Unfortunately for Bowen, his disappointing 217th place at NCAA’s and 98th place at Pre-Nats hold him back from going any further down the list.

Bowen is a name that deserves your attention and someone to be on the watch for. He has run against some of the best and proven that he can hold his own. However, he may be getting too comfortable running with guys around his region and conference. I want to see how he deals with guys not in the Mountain region (think Pre-Nats and NCAA’s) before I give him any improvement in the rankings. 

32. MJ Erb, Junior, Mississippi

Just like Bowen, Erb was one of the guys messing up my numbers in the “At A Glance” post. Not because I forgot about him, but because I didn’t know he had transferred to Ole Miss! The former Syracuse Orangeman made the switch after this past cross country season and will now be wearing a Rebels uniform. Changing up his coaching, teammates, and environment after he had great success last fall worries me about he’ll do this season. I’ll hold him at 32nd until I can see if he’s a made an easy transition or not.

Aside from from his big switch, Erb has been a beast for Syracuse during his time there. After a solid season as a freshman (59th at NCAA’s), Erb took it up a notch his with big time racing his sophomore year. Erb finished 23rd at Wisconsin, 11th at ACC’s, 9th at regionals (Northeast). His final race in orange would be a big one as he placed 37th at NCAA’s (All-American) and finished as the top guy for a deflated Syracuse team.

It seems that of Ole Miss’ top five this year, FOUR of them will have transferred from another school (Engels from NC State, Gallagher from Northeastern, Erb from Syracuse, Walling from UNC). Erb is still set up to be successful but will face barriers. He enters this season with less talented teammates, a less established coach, and less competition. It will take a couple of races to know how he’s adjusting, but talent is talent and I’m excited to see how he does.

31. Jefferson Abbey, Junior, Colorado St.

I’m rooting for Colorado St. this year, which means I’m also rooting for Jefferson Abbey. The rising junior has done an excellent job navigating through a tough Mountain region and guiding youngster Jerrell Mock throughout the collegiate scene.

What I like most about Jefferson is the person he’s associated with… his coach. Since joining CSU in 2012, Coach Siemers has done an excellent job in not just recruiting talented kids to his program, but training them as well. In 2013, Coach Siemers molded Abbey Jefferson into a front-runner and helped give CSU their first NCAA birth in nine years. Now Jefferson has become a reliable leader grabbing 12th at Mountain West conferences and 10th at regionals. A 73rd place at NCAA’s was a bit of a bummer, but made up for it with a 13:50 5k in the spring.

It’s hard not to think positively about Abbey and what the future holds for him. Abbey has a talented sidekick in Mock, a successful coach, and two years of experience at nationals. Everything is going well for Jefferson and the CSU squad. My only concern is that the number of high-profile regular season meets they attend (Roy Griak, Notre Dame, Pre-Nats) can lead to burnout. However, with the success the Rams have been so far, I wont question their methods.


Be on the look out tomorrow night for the next set of 10! The names are becoming more and more notable. As always feel free to discuss and let me know your thoughts.

Until tomorrow,
Garrett

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