IRVING, Texas - Casey Clinger of No. 2 BYU men's cross country was named Big 12 Runner of the Week by the conference Wednesday afternoon.
Clinger earned the award after placing fourth overall at the 2024 Nuttycombe Invitational held last Friday at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wisconsin. The senior crossed the finish of the 8k race in 23:10.4 leading the Cougars across the line. BYU scored 44 points in the meet, capturing the overall team victory which maintained the Cougars No. 2 spot in the USTFCCCA National Coaches Poll as of Tuesday.
"It's always an honor for an athlete to win the Big 12 Runner of the Week award so we are very happy for Casey," said head coach Ed Eyestone. "We are particularly excited for him since this has been really his first big outing since his foot surgery last year. So even though it was a bit of a rust-buster type race for him, in terms of big meets, I think it showed that he's in a good place right now. We still have some time to go and some work to get done."
The four-time All-American took a hiatus from competing after the conclusion of the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships due to a foot injury. Clinger returned back to action for the Cougars for his final season, competing at the 2024 Autumn Classic on Sept. 13 finishing the four-mile race in 19:39.0.
The BYU men's cross country program will compete at the 2024 Bill Dellinger Invitational at the University of Oregon on Fri. October 11 at 12:15 p.m. MDT.