Men's cross country 2021 season in review

PROVO, Utah – No. 7 BYU men’s cross country enjoyed a season filled with championships and historic success in 2021.

Senior Conner Mantz became the first BYU men’s cross country athlete to win a second individual NCAA Division I Championship and claimed the program’s fourth individual title overall.

As a team, the Cougars won four of their six meets, including a seventh-straight West Coast Conference Championship and their first Mountain Region Championship since 2011.

Despite a disappointing seventh-place team finish at nationals, BYU head coach Ed Eyestone was pleased with the team’s accomplishments this season.

“Your championship performance shapes your assessment of the overall year, and I think we were spot-on in two of our three championship races,” Eyestone said. “We had our sights set on a top-4 finish at nationals and fell off a little bit there, but we’ll take a top-7 performance and build on that.”

BYU women’s cross country experienced similar success to the men at nationals as senior Whittni Orton was crowned the NCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country Individual Champion. With both Mantz and Orton hoisting trophies, BYU joined Indiana as just the second school ever to sweep the individual Division I titles. The Hoosiers did so in 1988.

Mantz took home back-to-back titles after clocking a personal-best and course-record 10k time of 28:33.1 at Florida State’s Appalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida.

The Sky View High School product faced and thrived off of the pressure that came with being defending national champion.

“It was tough, and it meant a lot to defend my national title,” Mantz said. “Before the race I thought about how everyone is expecting it of me, and I’m expecting it of myself. I had to go out there and show that I am consistently good.”

“I don’t think any of us can really appreciate the pressure that he was under,” Eyestone said. “He responded very well. The mark of a great champion is consistency, and he demonstrated his consistent greatness throughout the year.”

With a second national title trophy in his collection, Mantz wrote a storybook ending to his prolific BYU career. The Smithfield, Utah native recorded top-10 finishes in each of his 22 collegiate cross country meets, including 13 meet wins and nine straight to finish his time as a Cougar. Mantz became the first BYU men’s cross country athlete to win three individual conference championships and just the 11th man in the 83-year history of NCAA Division I cross country to repeat as individual champion.

Casey Clinger finished in eighth at nationals, giving the program at least two All-Americans for the sixth-straight season. Clinger, now a three-time All-American, registered a 10k personal best in Tallahassee with a time of 28:55.7. The junior from American Fork, Utah posted a top-10 finish in all five of his meets this season and podiumed at the WCC and Region championships.

“It’s difficult to be the two-man behind the individual national champion,” Eyestone said. “However, you need the two-man for the development of the team. Casey Clinger has been that guy.”

Eyestone further credited Clinger with having been an excellent training partner that inspired the best in his teammate Mantz.

“Working together in workouts helped both of us,” Clinger said. “We brought out the best in each other.”

BYU broke No. 1 Northern Arizona’s grip on the Mountain Region title as four Cougar athletes finished in the top-10. Mantz won the individual championship, with Clinger, Brandon Garnica and Aidan Troutner crossing in third, eighth and ninth, respectively.

The Cougars claimed their ninth WCC title in 11 seasons as four runners finished one, three, four and five. Garnica and Lucas Bons followed Mantz and Clinger as the third and fourth finishers, respectively, for BYU. Garnica, a senior from Springville, Utah, competed in each of the team’s six meets and recorded four top-10 finishes.

While the 2021 Cougars were led by seasoned veterans in Mantz, Clinger and Garnica, a promising crop of young talent complimented the success of their leaders.

After competing in only outdoor track a season ago, Bons broke onto the scene for the Cougars in 2021 with top-10 finishes at the Autumn Classic and WCC title meet. The conference recognized Bons’ efforts as they named the underclassman from Dublin, Ohio WCC Freshman of the Year.

Troutner, a sophomore from Provo, Utah, was a mainstay for the team throughout the season, collecting top-10 finishes at the Autumn Classic and Roy Griak Invitational.

Davin Thompson, a freshman from Lehi, Utah, competed in just three meets all season, but made the most of his opportunities, including a 21st place result at regionals.

Despite the departure of Mantz, Eyestone sees good things to come for the program and indicated that Clinger will play an especially important leadership role as the 2022 season approaches.

“I’ll try my best to lead and follow in Conner’s footsteps,” Clinger said. “As I improve, I want to build the team and help everyone else improve as well.”

Season Notes - Team

• Ranked as high as No. 2 following Mountain Region title
• 37th appearance at nationals, 23rd-straight, ninth in last 10 seasons
• Sixth-straight top-10 finish at nationals, 19th overall
• 30th conference title, finishing top-5 or better in 58 of 59 seasons (1964-)

Season Notes - Mantz

• Finishes BYU career as four-time All-American
• Named NCAA Division I Men's Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA
• Named Mountain Region Men's Athlete of the Year
• Named USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Men's Athlete of the Week Sept. 27, co-athlete of the week Oct. 18.
• Named WCC men's runner of the month for Sept.
• Named All-WCC Men's Cross Country First Team
• Named All-Mountain Region