2013 was a fantastic year for the freshman men at NCAA’s. Not only did Edward Cheserek come away with an individual title, but Ben Saarel (8th) and Patrick Tiernan (9th) both joined the King in the top 10, marking the first time since 2001 that three freshman finished that high. Considering that two of those athletes from 2001 were named Dathan Ritzenhein and Matt Tegankamp, last year’s class is in some pretty good company. 

Check out the latest Saucony Flo50 rankings!

So what about this year’s freshmen? Generally, by the time November rolls around we already have a good idea about who might claim top frosh honors, but with less than three weeks to go until Terre Haute, the race is wide open to see who will be the best in their first year. Since no frosh has been as successful as Cheserek, Saarel and Tiernan were leading up to last year’s NCAA meet, we don’t expect any of this year’s crop of freshmen to finish in the top ten in 2014, and that fact is reflected in the Saucony Flo50 rankings, which features no young guns in the top 25. 

While this year’s class may not be as strong as their predecessors, there are still a handful of freshman who have been solid in 2014, and have the ability to earn All-American honors on November 22nd. These men will be incredibly important to the success of their teams in Terre Haute, and certainly have the potential to be among the NCAA’s best in the years to come. Here are our favorites to earn top frosh honors with 18 days until the big dance. 

Justyn Knight (Syracuse): The Canadian has been even better than advertised coming into his first NCAA season after placing 8th in the 5k at World Juniors. Knight was Syracuse’s #2 man at Wisco, placing 14th and helping the Orange dominate a field that included fellow top 10 squads Iona, Wisconsin, Stanford and Northern Arizona. 

Knight put together another solid outing on Friday at ACC’s, placing 8th and helping ‘Cuse run away with the conference title. Based on his race by race improvements in 2014, Knight has top 40 potential in Terre Haute. An All-American finish for Knight would greatly improve Syracuse’s chances of placing 2nd. 

Gilbert Kirui & Chartt Miller (Iona): We’ll put these two together since they are on the same team, and because they’ve been interchangeable on the Gaels’ depth chart in 2014. We first saw Kirui at the UVA Panorama Farms Invite, where he placed 2nd and took down his Iona teammate Jake Byrne (#22 Saucony Flo50). Miller grabbed the headlines at Paul Short, where he placed 3rd, beating fellow Aussies Jordan Williamsz and Sam McEntee of Villanova. 

At Wisco, both Miller and Kirui were solid, placing 22nd and 28th respectively to help the Gaels to a 2nd place showing at the nation’s most competitive meet. There wasn’t much more to be learned from their conference meet this weekend, however, as Iona ran as a team and swept places 1-8. 

Joe Hardy & Morgan McDonald (Wisconsin): Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a Badger. Mick Byrne told us as much in 2013, and with the way his freshman have been running of late, we were reminded of the wise man’s words from a year ago.

We’ve haven’t talked about the Badgers a lot this season, and many believe that they are underrated still at their #9 position in the Flo50. Why do they continue to be overlooked?

After their 1-2 punch of Malachy Schrobilgen and Michael Vanvoorhis (1-2 at Big Ten), the rest of their top 5 are freshman. And to think that they placed 3rd at Wisco with that young of a squad. 

The best of the bunch have been Joe Hardy and Morgan McDonald. Hardy finished 38th at Wisco, 3rd for the Badgers, while McDonald followed closely behind, finishing 43rd. 

While these two Badgers finished behind the freshmen mentioned above at Wisco, it was McDonald’s solid outing at Big Ten’s that gave us pause.

The freshman was 12th on Sunday in Iowa City, helping Wisconsin earn their 47th Big Ten title. Just two seconds outside of the top ten, McDonald seems to be improving on a per race basis at the exact right time in the season. We won’t doubt the heart of this Badger in Terre Haute, and we certainly won’t doubt Coach Byrne’s ability to have his athletes ready for NCAA’s. 

Cerake Geberkidane (Oklahoma State): The Denver product was one of most coveted recruits in the country last year, and he showed confidence running with All-American Kirubel Erassa at the Cowboy Jamboree in his first collegiate race. 

Big 12’s was just Cerake’s 2nd race, and his first in a Cowboy uniform, but he finished 11th, especially impressive considering that OSU head coach Dave Smith said that Geberkidane has been dealing with injuries. In the same breath, Smith said “he’s a kid that I think on the right day, when he’s fit, can be a top 30 guy as a freshman.” 

Dave Smith knows that anything is possible at NCAA’s. He’s seen Geberkidane workout all year, and his confidence in his freshman warrants him consideration for top frosh honors. 

The 10k is entirely different monster from the 8k, especially for the freshman that have never run in Terre Haute. The course will take its share of victims on November 22nd, and more than likely a name on this list will fall prey. However, these men have run well in their first year on campus, and could all be crucial pieces to an eventual podium team. 

We’re not working with a lot of evidence, but Justyn Knight of Syracuse has been the most impressive freshman in 2014. Based on his victories over everyone minus Geberkidane at Wisco, we’ll choose Knight to come out on top at NCAAs. He’s been more consistent than anyone else, and he’s shown that he can perform in big races. But watch out NCAA, all six of these men are here to stay. 

Flotrack's Freshman Rankings:

1. Justyn Knight (Syracuse)

2. Chartt Miller (Iona)

3. Cerake Geberkidane (Oklahoma State)

4. Morgan McDonald (Wisconsin)

5. Gilbert Kirui (Iona)

6. Joe Hardy (Wisconsin)