PROVO, Utah – Sophomore Conner Mantz was named to the Academic All-District 8 Men’s Track & Field / Cross Country Team today by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
District 8 is made up of colleges and universities in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawai'i, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Canada. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average at his current institution.
The CoSIDA Academic All-America program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and the NAIA. Honorees selected first-team Academic All-District will advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot. Academic All-America honorees will be announced from June 22-25.
The Academic All-District 8 team also includes Christian Allen (Weber State), Geordie Beamish (Northern Arizona), Tyler Day (Northern Arizona), Jackson Lewis (Arizona State), Alex Ostberg (Stanford), Alek Parsons (Stanford), Mick Stanovsek (Washington), Max Vollmer (Oregon) and James West (Oregon).
Matz, a mechanical engineering major and one of only two sophomores on the All-District 8 Team, had one of the best individual seasons in BYU men’s cross country history, finishing third at the 2019 NCAA Championships to lead the Cougars to their first national championship in program history. For his third-place finish, Mantz was named an All-American by the USTFCCCA.
In addition to earning All-America honors, Mantz won the West Coast Conference individual title and was named to the All-WCC First Team. He also earned All-Mountain Region honors for his fourth-place finish at the Region Championships. For the season, Mantz won three races (the BYU Autumn Classic, the Bill Dellinger Invitational and the Pre-Nationals Invitational), took fourth at the Mountain Region Championships and third at the national meet.
In 2018-19, Mantz earned All-America, All-Region and All-WCC First Team honors in cross country. On the track, he earned three first-team All-America honors in the indoor 3,000m, outdoor 5,000m and outdoor 10,000m. He also received second-team All-America honors in the indoor 5,000m.
For more information about the CoSIDA Academic All-America program and to see the 2020 Academic All-District Teams, visit CoSIDA.com.