Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Jun 202 min
Earlier today, The Stride Report learned that Western Colorado's Simon Kelati will be joining the Tennessee men later this fall as a graduate transfer. He is expected to have one full year of eligibility across all three seasons of competition.
Kelati has been one of the top distance runners in the Division Two for the last few years. During his time with Western Colorado, the long distance ace has produced times of 7:57 (3k) and 13:34 (5k). He also run 3:43 for 1500 meters after an altitude conversion.
Despite how strong his times are, Kelati's presence as a true distance star can best be seen on the national stage. There, the veteran standout has earned nine D2 All-American honors. Among those honors was a 3k national title from this past winter and a runner-up finish at the 2023 NCAA D2 XC Championships.
The addition of Kelati to Tennessee's 2024 cross country roster is a massive one, especially for a men's team that is losing Yaseen Abdalla who just entered the transfer portal (as a graduate student). Not having support scorers such as Jacob Lewis (a top-100 finisher at the cross country national meet), Brandon Olden or Eli Nahom certainly won't help, either.
Thankfully, Coach Sean Carlson has had great success in his recruiting efforts out of the prep ranks in recent years. At one point or another, a high-impact name is surely to come from that group. When you then add in the returns of scorers Gabriel Sanchez and Dean Casey, the introduction of Simon Kelati to Knoxville makes this team look slightly more complete.
Kelati is by no means a guarantee to be an All-American at the Division One level, but it's more than reasonable to think that he can reach that point. And by simply acting as a lead scorer, his firepower will be a welcomed development for a squad that needs exactly that.
Sure, the Volunteers will absolutely need greater depth and more scoring stability behind him in order to remain in the national qualifying hunt. Even so, this Division Two star gives the men of Rocky Top one less varsity spot to worry about.
And if we've learned anything about Coach Sean Carlson in recent years, it's that his recruiting efforts (especially out of the transfer portal) will be relentless.