BYU’s Conner Mantz and the Making of an NCAA Cross Country Champion

Conner Mantz is a junior at BYU and just won the NCAA Cross Country Championships last month. Right from the start of the race, he went with the hot pace established early by Iowa State’s Wesley Kiptoo and eventually pulled away to win by 22 seconds. Mantz is the first American man to win the NCAA individual title since 2008. He was BYU’s first champion since 2006.

Just two weeks or so after that race, he went on to run 13:24.78 for 5,000 meters in the men’s 5000m at the Hayward Premiere – the first meet held at the newly renovated Hayward Field. The time is a school record and a U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier.

Hear more about his development at BYU (and way before that since he ran his first half marathon at 12 years old), his plans for the rest of the season, thoughts on turning pro and much more.

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