Gatorade® National Boys Cross Country Runner Of The Year: Casey Clinger

Local Police Department Surprises Winner with Honor

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Feb 09, 2017, 11:30 ET

AMERICAN FORK, Utah, Feb. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 32^nd year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company today announced Casey Clinger of American Fork High School (American Fork, Utah) as its 2016-17 Gatorade National Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year. Clinger was surprised with the news by the local police department.

Check out the surprise video here.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the racecourse, distinguishes Clinger as the nation's best high school boys cross country runner. A national advisory panel comprised of sport-specific experts and sports journalists helped select Casey from nearly 250,000 high school boys cross country runners nationwide. Casey is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year award, to be presented at a special ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.

The 5-foot-11, 145-pound senior raced to a second consecutive national title this past season with a time of 15:28.4 at the Nike Cross Nationals Final. The state's returning Gatorade Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year also won the Class 5A individual state championship in a course- and meet-record time of 14:42.9, leading the Cavemen to the state title as a team. He broke the tape at the NXN Southwest Regional championships in 14:53 as well as the Westlake Grass Relays, the Nebo Invitational, the Viking Invitational, the Pre-Foot Locker Invitational and the Region 4 championships. He closed his prep career with 15 straight victories at three miles and 5K dating back to 2015.

An Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America and a talented musician, Clinger has volunteered locally on behalf of the Utah State Developmental Center, which assists people with intellectual disabilities.

"Groomed in one of the country's best cross country programs and starring in one of the most talent-rich states, Casey Clinger set himself apart and may end up as the best prep distance runner in Utah history," said Doug Binder, an editor for DyeStat.com. "At the Nike Cross Nationals Final, he became the first repeat individual boys champion in event history. He was undefeated in 2016 and beat the national Foot Locker championships' top three finishers. Smooth, swift and strong, Casey is the complete package."

Clinger has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the classroom. He has made a verbal commitment to run cross country on scholarship at BYU this fall.

"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," said Gatorade Senior Vice President and General Manager Brett O'Brien. "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."

As a part of Gatorade's cause marketing platform "Play it Forward," Clinger also has the opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national youth sports organization of his choosing. He is also elegbile to win one of twelve $10,000 spotlight grants for his organization of choice, which will be announced throughout the year.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade high school sports leadership team in partnership with the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Former notable Gatorade National Players of the Year include:

Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning
2015 NBA first overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns
Three-time WNBA champion Maya Moore
Four-time track & field gold medalist Allyson Felix
Three-time beach volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh
Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw

For more information on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of former winners, and future announcement dates, visit the Gatorade Player of the Year Web site at http://www.gatorade.com/poy, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GatoradePOY or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Gatorade.

ALL-TIME GATORADE NATIONAL BOYS CROSS COUNTRY RUNNERS OF THE YEAR
YEAR	NAME	HIGH SCHOOL	STATUS
2016-17	Casey Clinger	American Fork High School, American Fork, UT	High School Senior
2015-16	Andrew Hunter	Loudoun Valley High School, Purcellville, VA	Adidas Professional Runner
2014-15	Grant Fisher	Grand Blanc High School, Grand Blanc, MI	Stanford University
2013-14	Grant Fisher	Grand Blanc High School, Grand Blanc, MI	Stanford University
2012-13	Edward Cheserek	St. Benedict's, Newark, NJ	University of Oregon
2011-12	Futsum Zienasellassie	North Central, Indianapolis, IN	Northern Arizona University Grad
2010-11	Lukas Verzbicas	Carl Sandburg, Orland Park, IL	USA Triathlete
2009-10	Lukas Verzbicas	Carl Sandburg, Orland Park, IL	USA Triathlete
2008-09	Reed Connor	The Woodlands, The Woodlands, TX	Univ. of Wisconsin Grad.
2007-08	Chris Derrick	Neuqua Valley, Naperville, IL	Nike Oregon Track Club