Six Cougars Named to WCC All-Academic First Team

SAN MATEO, Calif. – BYU men’s cross country continues to rack up awards for the 2022 season as six Cougars were named to the West Coast Conference All-Academic First Team, the league announced Tuesday.

Recipients:

• Casey Clinger
• Davin Thompson
• Creed Thompson
• Aidan Troutner
• Joey Nokes
• Kenneth Rooks

The award is given yearly to WCC student-athletes who have high marks in both the classroom and on the course. For eligibility, a student-athlete needs to be at least a sophomore, maintain a 3.20 cumulative grade point average and be a significant contributor to the team.

The six awards underscore the academic excellence BYU cross country athletes have demonstrated during the school’s WCC membership, becoming the eighth time the men’s team has placed five or more cross country athletes on the WCC All-Academic First-Team since its inaugural year of membership in 2011.

BYU athletes made up six of the conference’s 11 academic awards. Each honoree had a cumulative GPA of 3.72 or higher.

Clinger receives the honor for the fourth time. A business management major with a cumulative GPA of 3.82, the senior is now a four-time All-American after finishing seventh overall (28:58.7) at the NCAA Championships in November. Among his additional accomplishments this season include an individual WCC title with resulting All-WCC First Team honors, WCC Men’s Runner of the Week and All-Mountain Region honors.

Sophomore twins Davin Thompson and Creed Thompson, both Computer Science majors, had breakout seasons as each claimed their first All-American honors, with Davin taking 30th and Creed 35th at nationals. They also earned All-WCC First Team honors.

The Thompson brothers, Joey Nokes and Kenneth Rooks (all sophomores) received the honor in their first year of eligibility for Tuesday’s award. Nokes, an exercise science major, competed in all seven meets on the season, finishing in the top-10 during five competitions. He was also named All-WCC First Team and All-Mountain Region.

Junior Aidan Troutner earned All-WCC First Team, All-Mountain Region honors and clocked a career-best 10k time at the NCAA Championships to take 48th (29:43.1).

Rooks holds a 3.96 GPA while majoring in Civil Engineering. The sophomore is no stranger to WCC awards, having been named All-WCC Second Team in October.

Each played a significant role in guiding the Cougars to a third-place finish at nationals and the program’s fifth-ever podium finish.