SAN MATEO, Calif. – BYU men’s and women’s cross country had seven student-athletes receive academic honors when the West Coast Conference announced its 2021 All-Academic teams on Thursday.
The award encompasses WCC athletes who excelled this year both on the course and in the classroom. To be considered, a student-athlete must be a sophomore, maintain at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average and be a significant contributor to his or her team.
Men’s Cross Country
The WCC named four members of the BYU men’s program to the 2021 WCC Men’s Cross Country All-Academic First Team, marking the most of any school in the conference. BYU All-American and 2020 individual national champion Conner Mantz was the only student-athlete named to last year’s WCC All-Academic team to repeat this year. Mantz won the WCC individual title at the conference championships for the second year in a row, leading the Cougars to win the team title. The junior also claimed the 2020-21 USTFCCCA National Men’s Athlete of the Year and Men’s Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Mantz is joined on the WCC Men’s Cross Country All-Academic First Team by fellow All-American Casey Clinger as well as Ethan Cannon and Clayson Shumway. Clinger was either the first or second BYU runner to cross the finish line at every meet this past season. He earned All-America honors following a 13th-place finish at the 2020 NCAA Championships and helped BYU finish seventh overall. He took third overall at the WCC Championships to be named to the All-WCC First Team.
Cannon helped BYU claim its sixth consecutive WCC title and earned All-WCC First Team honors with a 10th-place finish at the conference meet. The junior was also the third Cougar to finish at the NCAA Championships. This marks Shumway’s second time being named to a WCC All-Academic Team. He received the honor in 2018 and then missed the 2019 cross country season before returning to competition this year. The All-American finished 15th at this year’s WCC Championships to receive All-WCC Second Team honors and was the fourth Cougar to cross at the national meet.
Women’s Cross Country
Three members of the BYU women’s cross country team received WCC All-Academic honors. The WCC named All-American Aubrey Frentheway and McKenna Lee Hansen to the 2021 WCC Women’s Cross Country All-Academic First Team, while Haley Johnston received WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention.
Collecting the honor for the second year in a row, Frentheway was one of three student-athletes to make a repeat appearance on this year's team. Her 15th-place finish at the 2020 NCAA Championships helped the BYU women’s cross country team claim this year’s national title, while also earning her All-America honors. She placed second overall at the 2020 WCC Championships to collect All-WCC First Team honors.
Finishing one spot outside of being named an All-American, Lee Hansen placed 41st overall at the NCAA Championships and was the fifth Cougar to finish. She also helped BYU win its third consecutive WCC title and earned a spot on the All-WCC First Team with a seventh-place finish at the conference championships. Johnston finished 11th overall at the WCC Championships to be named to the All-WCC Second Team and was the final scorer for the team. She ran on the 2020 NCAA Championship squad and was the sixth BYU runner to cross the finish line.
2021 WCC Men’s Cross Country All-Academic Team
2021 WCC Women’s Cross Country All-Academic Team