PROVO, Utah (Nov. 10, 2020) — BYU sophomore Casey Clinger was named the NCAA D1 Men’s Cross Country National Athlete of the Week today for his efforts in leading No. 2 ranked men’s cross country to a victory over Weber State on Nov. 6.
Competing in his first collegiate season since returning from a two-year mission, the Weber State Invitational victory was the first collegiate cross country win of Clinger’s career. With a time of 23:50.9, he was nearly seven seconds faster than runner-up, Bronson Winter of Weber State, and helped BYU narrowly win the team title, 28-29.
Just a few weeks ago, Clinger started his sophomore campaign at the OSU Invitational in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where he finished third in a loaded field.
It’s the third year in a row that a male athlete from BYU has been named National Athlete of the Week during the cross country season. Clayton Young started the trend in 2018, followed by Conner Mantz in 2019 and now Clinger in 2020.
The NCAA D1 Men’s Cross Country National Athlete of the Week honor is presented by the USTFCCCA at the beginning of each week to a male and female student-athlete in each of the three NCAA divisions and three NJCAA divisions.