Surprise police encounter leads to national award for AF teen


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AMERICAN FORK — Casey Clinger had driven the familiar route hundreds of times from his home to American Fork High School for his four-mile, early morning workouts with his cross-country team.

Wednesday morning proved a little bit different, though. The Caveman teenager and two-time Class 5A state cross-country champion saw flashing lights in his rear-view mirror and pulled over.

Even worse, he was being filmed by an ESPN camera crew. There’s no way he was speeding, he thought to himself; he was extra careful this day. But the American Fork police officer told him to get out of the car while they searched his trunk for weapons.

“He opened my trunk, and I was freaking out,” said Clinger, who had only been pulled over once in his life. “I had no clue what was going on.”

The officer then pulled out a bag and removed a trophy: Clinger was the Gatorade national boys cross-country runner of the year, the first-such honor in Utah state history.

“It was crazy; it shocked me so much,” he said. “It was a surprise.”

Clinger’s career with the Cavemen has been a surprise, too. After winning the state’s individual title and a championship at Nike Cross Nationals last year, the consensus all-state harrier repeated the feat in 2016-17 — and added a team title to American Fork’s vaunted trophy case.

A local police officer surprises American Fork senior Casey Clinger with the 2016-17 Gatorade National Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year Award Thursday, February 9, 2017. (Photo: Gatorade)
A local police officer surprises American Fork senior Casey Clinger with the 2016-17 Gatorade National Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year Award Thursday, February 9, 2017. (Photo: Gatorade)

“It’s definitely been a special year,” said Clinger, who maintained a 4.0 GPA and has committed to run for BYU this fall. “Being able to run with my best buddies and win the state title, while doing great things as a team, has been special.

“This is just icing on the cake to do well individually. It’s been great to share this year with them.”

Following consecutive 5A state titles at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City, Clinger broke the tape at Nike Cross Nationals in 15 minutes, 28.4 seconds to repeat as champion of one of the top events in the nation. The time caught the attention of Gatorade, leading to Wednesday’s early-morning surprise and a school assembly celebrating Clinger’s accomplishments.

“Casey 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,” Gatorade senior vice president and general manager Brett O’Brien said. “Casey’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. Casey represents everything we look to celebrate in a Gatorade player of the year recipient.”

American Fork has built one of the top programs in the state and a respected cross-country program nationally through the efforts of veteran head coach Timo Mostert. But it has never had a national runner of the year.

Clinger became the first Utah high school male athlete to receive a Gatorade national award in any sport. The 5-foot-11, 145-pound senior joins such names on the trophy as Peyton Manning, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Jabari Parker, Matt Barkley and a host of others in their respective sports — as well as a number of cross-country competitors Clinger has seen in national meets during his career.

“It means a lot,” he said. “I love American Fork, and Timo has done great things with this team. He’s created an amazing program, put tons of great runners through to college, and I’m really happy to represent American Fork.”

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