Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
SPRINGVILLE — Conner Mantz became something of a legend during his career with BYU cross country and track and field, even among some of his own teammates.
The two-time NCAA cross champion was a three-time Footlocker All-American at Sky View High in Smithfield, and he earned a reputation for taking his opponents out of a race by pushing them beyond normal human limits for much of the 5K distance — and then piling on a final kick with a mile to go to pull away — an experience his coaches called "the Mantz zone."
The Nike-sponsored athlete became the first American to set the Olympic standard for the marathon with his seventh-place overall finish in Chicago a few months ago, though he still needed to win the U.S. Olympic marathon trials to qualify for the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.
But on the morning of the trials, Mantz was sluggish. He stumbled a few times during the 26-mile race, and observers noted he didn't look like himself.
Running alongside next to him, Clayton Young noticed his collegiate teammate, pro training partner with Run Elite Program and fellow Utah native wasn't necessarily at his best. He could've pushed on ahead, clinching his own Olympic berth and leaving Mantz to fend for himself.
But that's not what either one of them would have wanted.
Young wasn't going to leave his longtime teammate behind. Not after the duo had come so far together, with the most important leg of the journey yet to come.
"We started this journey from day one to make it to the Paris Olympics together, months and years ago," Young told the KSL.com Cougar Beat podcast shortly after finishing second at the U.S. Olympic marathon trials in Orlando, Florida. "Conner is an absolute work horse, and he has pulled me and carried me time and time again through this entire build. It was only fitting that I return the favor and help him when those last couple of miles got tough. I would turn around and tell him, we got this; stick on me. We were doing this, and just enjoy the moment. I loved soaking in every last minute of those last couple of miles with him."
Young received a heroes' welcome Monday afternoon, including a police escort that welcomed him and his wife, Ashley, home from Orlando and several dozen friends, neighbors and community well-wishers after he finished second at the U.S. Olympic trials in 2 hours, 9 minutes and 6 seconds — just one second behind Mantz to earn the top-two positions on the United States' team that will compete in Paris this summer.
"For me, it was just about getting to that finish line," Mantz told KSL TV. "Celebrate after, because I'm not an Olympian until I cross that finish line."
Mantz and Young share a lengthy history, through college and competing at high school events with Sky View and American Fork, respectively. But their relationship is even stronger.
Young's wife and Mantz's more recent spouse, Kylie, are also close friends. The Mantz clan has babysat the Youngs' two daughters, age 5 and under, and Young jokes he and his wife will reciprocate "real soon," or as soon as the first Mantz baby arrives.
Ashley Young will even often make the teammates duo breakfast after early-morning training runs.
"Our relationship is first and foremost friends," said Clayton Young, the former NCAA 10,000-meter champion. "And then we're teammates, and then we're competitors. Ultimately, I know that Conner as a training partner and as a friend is far more valuable than going into Paris. There was no doubt in my mind that he would make the finish line, but I wanted us to go 1-2 all the way to the finish. As soon as he wasn't feeling so hot and said, take the lead, I responded, absolutely. I was feeling great. Let's do this thing, work together and motivate each other.
"We're going to both be better in the Paris Games working all the way through."
The wives were in Orlando, too, with REP co-founder Landon Southwick, cheering on their husbands every step of the way — along with hundreds of supporters back home on the Wasatch Front.
And now they'll be cheering them to Paris, where the marathon will be held Aug. 10 with two more Olympians from the BYU cross country family.
"The word 'Olympian,' that title, lasts a lifetime," Young said. "I cannot believe that I can with full confidence say, I am Clayton Young, Olympian. ... We would always joke in the locker room, Conner, Jared Ward and myself, who would be more excited if we made the Olympic team? I really think it's Jared, because he really instilled the dream in me to make the Olympics. I remember vividly when he made the team in 2016, and that title has become bigger and bigger in my mind and I really appreciate his and two-time Olympian Ed Eyestone's help in helping me to become an Olympian."
