AUSTIN, Texas – BYU sophomore Conner Mantz was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team on Thursday.
Mantz, a mechanical engineering major, 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.
Mantz is the sixth athlete in BYU men’s cross country/track and field history to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. The other honorees are Ed Eyestone (1984, 1985), Craig Lawson (1996), John Hedengren (2000, 2001, 2002), Miles Batty (2011, 2012) and Matt Owens (2019).