SAN MATEO, Calif. – BYU men’s cross country once again stood atop the West Coast Conference’s 2021 preseason poll and all-conference team when the league announced its preseason honors on Wednesday.
The Cougars came in at No. 1 in the poll, having garnered nine first place points and 64 total. Portland was picked runner-up to BYU. The Cougars and Pilots are the only WCC teams to be ranked in the national preseason poll, at No. 3 and No. 16, respectively.
BYU led the conference with four athletes named to the Preseason All-WCC Team, as Casey Clinger, Brandon Garnica, Conner Mantz and Aidan Troutner were each honored. Runners from Portland and Gonzaga filled in the rest of the team.
Votes for the preseason honors were cast solely by the conference’s nine head coaches.
Clinger, Garnica and Mantz each repeated as preseason honorees, while Troutner debuted on the list following a breakout freshman campaign in which he was named 2020 WCC Freshman of the Year.
This season, the Cougars will look to secure their seventh-consecutive WCC title and Mantz will contend to repeat as the conference’s individual champion.
The WCC Championships will be held at Newhall Community Park in Concord, California on Friday, Oct. 29.
2021 WCC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll
| Place | Team |
| 1. | BYU |
| 2. | Portland |
| 3. | Gonzaga |
| 4. | Santa Clara |
| 5. | San Francisco |
| 6. | Pepperdine |
| 7. | Saint Mary's |
| 8. | Loyola Marymount |
| 9. | San Diego |
2021 Men's Cross Country Preseason All-WCC Team
| Name | School | Year |
| Casey Clinger | BYU | So. |
| Brandon Garnica | BYU | Jr. |
| Yacine Guermali | Gonzaga | Jr. |
| Jacob Klemz | Portland | Sr. |
| Zak Kirk | Portland | Jr. |
| Conner Mantz | BYU | Sr. |
| James Mwaura | Gonzaga | Jr. |
| Evert Silva | Portland | Jr. |
| Will Smith | Gonzaga | So. |
| Aidan Troutner | BYU | So. |