Both NCAA Division 1 All-Americans, representing Georgetown and BYU, eager to test fitness during unique summer as the only collegiate athletes competing against professionals at Sound Running meet in Southern California

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Robert Brandt and Conner Mantz haven’t competed against one another in 11 months. They haven’t raced each other on the track in 450 days.

And despite the uncertainty surrounding future collegiate athletic seasons as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, the NCAA Division 1 All-Americans still remain optimistic they will share the same track once again next year.

Which makes the opportunity Saturday for Brigham Young’s Mantz and Brandt, a recent graduate transfer to Georgetown after previously attending UCLA and Cal, to compete as the only collegiate athletes in the men’s 10,000 meters at the Under Armour Sunset Tour meet even more significant and meaningful.

The 9:25 p.m. PDT race will be the final competition held at an undisclosed location, following a women’s 1,500 and women’s 10,000, of the last Sound Running event this summer.

Around the usual time Mantz would be preparing for the start of his cross country season for defending national champion BYU, the junior will instead be racing on the track against Brandt – representing “Hog Elite” as well as the Hoyas – along with a talented professional field in their first 10,000 competition since last year’s Division 1 final in Austin, Texas.

“With everything canceled, it means a ton to just race again,” said Mantz, who last competed July 11 in the 5,000 meters, placing third against a professional field in 13 minutes, 51.22 seconds at the KT Tape St. George Showdown at Desert Hills High in Utah.

“It’s exciting to have three of my former teammates that are still in Provo training, there racing too, as well as Nico Montañez. Robert Brandt and I are usually really close in races as well, so it’s going to be fun to have him in the race.

“As far as established professionals, it’s exciting because as college athletes we don’t get these opportunities often.”

Mantz placed fourth in last year’s NCAA championship race in 29:19.93 – part of the trio of three BYU athletes placing in the top four in the 10,000, including champion Clayton Young (29:16.60) and third-place Connor McMillan (29:19.85) – with Brandt finishing seventh in 29:26.34.

They met only once during cross country season, producing a thrilling battle in September in the 8-kilometer race at the Bill Dellinger Invitational at Pine Ridge Golf Club in Springfield, Ore., with Mantz edging Brandt by a 23:24.7 to 23:26.4 margin.

Mantz went on to place third in November at the national final, leading BYU to its first team title, with an injury sidelining Brandt for the rest of the postseason after he finished fifth at the Pac-12 Championships at Ash Creek Preserve in Monmouth, Ore.

“The last six months have been an incredibly difficult time, not only because of the 2020 season getting canceled, but I have personally battled through back-to-back stress injuries. I am not taking this opportunity to race for granted and can’t wait to battle it out over 25 laps with some of the best athletes in the country,” Brandt said. “Cumulatively, this will be the most competitive field I have ever been a part of. This is an excellent opportunity for me to mix it up with the pros and see how I hold up in a field of this caliber. Additionally, having guys I am very familiar with, such as Mantz, will give me solace in knowing who to key off of and how to make my moves throughout the race. With similar racing styles and having competed against each other for so long, Mantz and I have learned to work well together.”

In addition to Brandt, Mantz will be joined again by former BYU teammates Young (ASICS), McMillan (adidas) and Jacob Heslington, representing Runner’s Corner. Another BYU graduate, Nico Montañez, is representing On Running and Mammoth Track Club.

Mantz ran a personal-best 28:18.18 to edge Young in 28:18.50 at last year’s Stanford Invitational. Joe Stilin, also entered in Saturday’s race representing On Running and ZAP Endurance, placed fifth in that 10,000 race in March 2019 in 28:21.38.

Also in the field are Edward Cheserek, a Skechers athlete competing in his first professional 10,000 after running a personal-best 28:30.18 in 2014 to win the Division 1 title at Oregon, along with Great Britain’s Sam Atkin. They both return to Southern California after taking the top two spots Aug. 22 in the men’s 5,000 at the last Sunset Tour event.

Nike Oregon Track Club athlete Ben Blankenship, who has run a 10-kilometer road race but never competed in a 10,000 on the track, is also scheduled to participate, in addition to Canadian standout Ben Flanagan, the 2018 Division 1 10,000 champion at Michigan.

“One thing that makes this race special as a college athlete is that usually you only have a 10,000 race where you can go all out for a fast time,” Mantz said. “The 10,000 is a hard race, and it’s difficult to come back and continue a season after an all out effort in the 10,000.”

Having not raced at any distance in more than 300 days, Brandt is excited to showcase his training under Georgetown men’s coach Brandon Bonsey, instead of having to wait until 2021 to enjoy the fruits of his recent labor.

“In April, I took a pretty conservative approach to my training, running 60-70 miles a week with one harder effort per week. Since then, I have built up to 85-90 miles a week with a greater focus on track workouts,” Brandt said. “Following my bout with injuries, Coach Bonsey and I put a plan in place to lower my mileage and focus on quality over quantity. As a result, I feel much stronger and have hit some of the best workouts of my life. I feel like I am primed for a breakout race, and both Coach Bonsey and I feel very confident that I can run an Olympic Trials qualifying time.”

The hard standard to qualify for next year’s U.S. Olympic Trials in the men’s 10,000 is 28 minutes flat.

But Brandt knows with the depth of talent in the field and hopefully aggressive pacing Saturday, he feels capable of running around 28:15, which should hold up for next June since the cutoff for the event in 2016 was 20 seconds slower.

Brandt’s personal-best 28:48.38 came when he was competing at Cal in 2017 at the Stanford Invitational, taking runner-up in the 10,000 to Oregon senior Cheserek, who clocked 28:46.48.

“This race will be a great gauge as to how this different approach to training is paying off. This is a field full of professionals training full-time at altitude, and I feel like I have a lot to prove. I don’t have the luxury of being a full-time pro, but I believe I can mix it up with the best of them,” Brandt said. “The race venue itself will be a unique environment with no spectators, but I live for competition and want to back up my somewhat critical comments I made towards what professional running ‘culture’ has become in the U.S earlier this summer.”

Although Mantz has navigated through some inconsistent training during the seven weeks since he competed at the KT Tape St. George Showdown, as a result of the NCAA canceling fall championship events, he enters Saturday’s race following three weeks of organized workouts under BYU coach Ed Eyestone.

“Initially, we thought the cross country season would still happen, so I was doing base mileage in an effort to make sure I could peak in November,” Mantz said. “About two weeks ago, when the season was canceled, I talked to Coach Eyestone about running this race. I knew Connor McMillan, Jake Heslington, and Clayton Young were racing and I wanted to be in it, not knowing when the next race opportunity would happen.

“This competition is significant because it will help me know where I’m at fitness wise. I was injured from December to February, and have only done little time trials and the St. George Showdown to see where I’m at, however none of these efforts have been with a good buildup of workouts, or with favorable competition. I believe this race has had a better buildup and if I’m able to come away with a PR, I’ll be happy to see that I’m on the right track.”

Mantz will again be wearing his BYU kit Saturday just like he did in St. George. Brandt, however, has had to become creative with his racing attire, since he has yet to receive apparel from Georgetown.

Forming a club called “Hog Elite” with former UCLA teammate George Gleason, Brandt wants to pay tribute to several friends and teammates who have continued to motivate him during quarantine by representing them in Saturday’s race.

“We are an eclectic group of water polo players, rowers, and of course, runners, guys and girls,” Brandt said. “Whenever someone hits a big workout or shows some good old-fashioned grit, we call them a ‘Hog.’ So, I might dawn ‘Hog Elite’ across my chest if I can put together some quality sharpie work. I know my friends would love it.”