Timpview harrier wins Gatorade national award, a back-to-back honor for Utah runners


7 photos
Save Story

Show 1 more video

Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

PROVO — For decades, the state of Utah has produced some of the world’s best distance runners.

Olympians. World champions. NCAA All-Americans. Countless have come from the Beehive State.

But while college programs at BYU, Southern Utah and Utah State have received their share of credit, the state’s high school and youth programs have flown under the radar.

Until now.

For the second consecutive year, a Utah County high school produced the Gatorade national cross-country runner of the year — this time in Timpview senior Aidan Troutner.

The BYU signee was surprised at his home Tuesday afternoon, walking home from lunch to a sea of family, friends, teammates and Gatorade employees to accept arguably the most prestigious national award for cross-country.

“We were talking and talking, and when I opened the fence, everyone was there,” said Troutner, who earned the Gatorade Utah runner of the year award about two weeks previous. “People from my team, my entire family, they were all here. It was really awesome.”

Troutner is the second local harrier to receive the Gatorade honor, which goes to the top combination of athletic achievement, academic standing and community involvement in the nation as determined by the sport science institute’s committee.

“Aidan is an exceptional student-athlete who has earned recognition as the nation’s best high school boys cross country runner while also excelling in the classroom and making a difference in his community,” said Gatorade senior vice president and general manager Brett O’Brien in a statement. “Aidan’s statistics on the trail speak for themselves, but even more impressive is the impact he has had on his teammates and the example he sets for younger student-athletes. Aidan represents everything we look to celebrate in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient.”

Troutner joins last year’s national runner of the year and former American Fork star Casey Clinger, a freshman at BYU who will join Troutner in suiting up for the Cougars in two years — after both serve two-year missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The duo highlight a class of distance runners at BYU with a lot of potential.

They also highlight the talent produced by Utah harriers, and Utah County runners in particular.

“It’s crazy how good Utah County is at running; a couple of guys set a precedent to make it how it is now,” Troutner said.

“Year after year, the best competition in the country is five minutes from your high school. It’s a huge part of it. There’s a culture here in Utah with shared values that really affects runners — and running helps you express those values in sport. It’s a culture of hard work, and our hard work is starting to manifest it right now.”

The 5-foot-9 Thunderbird cross-country star won the 2017 Class 5A state title in 14 minutes, 48.8 seconds. He went on to win the prestigious Nike Cross Nationals in 15:03.9 — just like Clinger the two years before him.

And Troutner, an Eagle Scout, kept a 3.89 grade-point average.

“Schoolwork has always been a focus, even when I was always running since my freshman year,” said Troutner, who credited his parents and siblings for helping him to maintain a well-rounded focus. “It’s been ingrained in me since elementary school; make sure to do well in the classroom.

“Academics, spiritual life, it all needs to come together; you need to be well-rounded.”

Photos

Related stories

Most recent Sports stories

Related topics

SportsBYU CougarsHigh School
KSL.com BYU and college sports reporter

ARE YOU GAME?

From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

KSL Weather Forecast