Mantz takes 8th place in 5000m final on last day of U.S. Olympic Trials

EUGENE, Ore. – BYU track and field star Conner Mantz finished eighth and fellow BYU standout Casey Clinger placed 12th in the men’s 5000m final at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Sunday.

With three laps to go, Mantz put himself in contention by moving up from 11th to the front of the pack. His move to first place accelerated the pace and strung out the pack. He completed the 5000m in 13:32.69 while Clinger finished the race in 13:50.20.

Doubling in the 5000m and 10,000m at the trials, Mantz placed in the top eight in both finals. He took fifth in the men’s 10,000m final last week and concluded his Olympic Trials with his eighth-place performance in the 5000m final.

BYU alumna Makenna Myler was the lone athlete with ties to BYU to compete on Saturday. She finished 14th in the women’s 10,000m final with a time of 32:44.72.

Friday’s events featured three athletes connected to BYU, including two members from this year’s track and field squad.

After clocking a 3:40.58 in the first round on Thursday, Talem Franco finished 10th in his heat of the semifinals and 21st overall with a time of 3:46.37. 

Ashton Riner competed in the qualifying round of the women's javelin throw. She finished 20th overall with a throw of 46.73m/153-3.

Zach Blackham competed in the qualifying round of the men’s high jump. The BYU alumnus finished tied for 17th with a clearance of 2.14m/7-0.25 after missing his three attempts at 2.19m/7-2.25.

The Cougars had a total of 17 athletes connected to the track and field program compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Results specific to athletes with BYU ties can be found in the table below while complete results can be found on usatf.org.

Recaps: Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four/Five

BYU Men - U.S. Olympic Trials Qualifiers

*Met USATF Qualifying Standard
#BYU track and field alumni

BYU Women - U.S. Olympic Trials Qualifiers

*Met USATF Qualifying Standard
#BYU track and field alumni