NXN champ Casey Clinger chooses BYU over Oregon

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Week after week, two-time Nike Cross Nationals champion Casey Clinger was stuck.

Oregon or BYU? The American Fork UT senior narrowed his college choice down to two options, and two coaches, and he really liked them both.

Ultimately, Clinger accepted the offer made by BYU in his home state. Provo is just 14 miles from American Fork. COLLEGE CHOICES

"The biggest reason it took so long is that nothing really stuck out (to break the tie)," Clinger said Monday. "I had a really good experience with Oregon and with coach (Andy) Powell. And it was the same with Ed Eyestone at BYU. It took a lot of time, but in the end I felt like BYU was a little bit better fit for me."

About three weeks ago, Clinger said he resolved to pick one of the schools and let it stay in his head for a while. It was BYU, and he never wavered.

Clinger's teammate, Patrick Parker, has also chosen BYU. And the third member of the school's senior triumvirate, McKay Johns, is still considering his options, with BYU still a possibility. 

"We all early on, before we started looking at colleges, said that we would make decisions based on what we needed as individuals," Clinger said. "It's awesome to be able to stay (teammates) with Pat and also, possibly, McKay. But we've always known that there was no pressure to go to the same place."

American Fork's top senior girl, Sara Musselman, has also committed to BYU.

Clinger opened his brief indoor season with a rust-busting 3,200 meters at Weber State in which he ran 9:16.

"I was pretty happy with it," he said. 

Clinger will run a 1,600 race at the UHSTCA Indoor Championship on the Olympic Ice Oval in Kearns this weekend.

He will also run Feb. 17-18 at the Simplot Games in Pocatello, Idaho.

Clinger owns a 4:05.96 mile PR from July and said he was impressed by D.J. Principe's 4:00.97 on Saturday at The Armory in New York City. Both of them were Nike Elite campers last summer.

"Hat's off to DJ," Clinger said. "He's a beast. I was stoked for him. It got me excited, but for me, I probably won't get to run one until outdoor track. But it was awesome for him and fun to see."