Mantz aims to 'step up game' in China

By Trey Trusty for DyeStat

A cross country season that appeared to be cut short has become an extended stay on the trails and a global adventure for Sky View (Smithfield, Utah) senior Conner Mantz.

Along the way there has been countless miles in Utah, never-ending laps in the pool and repeated visits to the doctor. But it has also included the Foot Locker and USATF Junior Cross Country Championships, a trip to Colombia, and the upcoming IAAF World Championships, March 28 in Guiyang, China.

In some ways, this was all set in motion last October at the Utah state championships, when Mantz fell 50 meters short of the finish line. One runner sprinted past him for the win. Mantz staggered to his feet and placed second behind Josh Collins, but then was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his leg.

A third consecutive appearance at Foot Locker nationals was thrown into serious doubt. Mantz had time to recover but very little of it could go to waste.

“Staying positive was hard," Mantz said. "My parents had to keep reminding me to have hope and stay positive and so that's what I did.”

Mantz had to dive into swimming and began getting most of his cardio in via the pool.

“It was a long grind,” he said. “You can’t see your progress as much in the pool, which is extremely discouraging.”

Mantz made a great return back to racing by placing fifth at Foot Locker West Regional and qualified for a coveted trip to nationals where took 10th.

Another longtime goal was to finish in the top six the USATF Junior Cross Country Championships in Boulder, Colo.  and qualify for the USA World Team. On Feb. 7, Mantz went to the starting line of the 8-kilometer race against a vast field of high school and college runners 19 and under.

“During the race, (finishing) top-six was all I cared about, but as the race kept progressing so did I," Mantz said. "I started thinking maybe top-three and then once we hit a lap to go I thought maybe I could win. I knew that people like Cerake (Geberkidane) and John (Dressel) had strong kicks so I just focused on finishing strong. With 100 meters left I knew that I had it won and I was just so happy. It was so different than anything else because I knew that all the hard work, time and dedication had finally paid off.”

Later, Mantz found that he would wear the USA uniform not once, but twice. He and four others got their passports together and flew down to Barranquilla, Colombia to compete in the inaugural 2015 Pan America XC Cup, Feb. 22. The 80 degree weather and 7K dirt course layout was unlike anything Mantz had run on before. Traversing patches of deep sand, bushes and weeds it was “a true cross country race,” Mantz said. 

Battling through the heat, Mantz and his bouncy stride claimed the silver medal (19:13), finishing only behind Canadian runner Justyn Knight, a freshman at Syracuse.

“Colombia really gave me confidence for China," Mantz said. "These are all really good racers and it puts me in perspective where I stand heading into Worlds."

Mantz has trained and competed in long distance races at a level beyond nearly all of his high school peers. He has competed in half marathons and placed third in the U.S. Junior Championships 10,000 meters last year in 31:01.25 at Eugene. He also won the New Balance Nationals Indoor 5,000 in 2014 in 14:24.

Mantz is preparing for China by “running more miles and being more consistent.” The injury that threatened to ruin cross country season is now far behind him.

Fueled by confidence from Boulder and Colombia, Mantz is trying to ride that wave all the way to the shores of China.

“I know that there will be a lot of Kenyans and Ethiopians and people from Uganda that all can run just as fast so I really have to step up my game," Mantz said. "I just keep doing tempos and making all my workouts faster while keeping up the right mindset. I feel great coming back. It is such a blessing to be back here racing and having the opportunities that I have. I am going to give it my all and focus on it as much as possible and hopefully just be able to compete to the best of my abilities, and if that means I take 30th then I’ll be happy.”

Once Mantz returns home from China he plans on jumping back into the oval using his “8K base training” to fuel him on the track.

Mantz then plans graduating high school and serving a two-year Mormon mission before entering college.