Should Conner Mantz go pro or back to BYU?

He should finish what he started at BYU.

Depends on the offers.

He has an NCAA cross country title, a second place finish in the 10,000 at NCAA's, a 4th place finish in the 2019 NCAA 10,000, a 3rd place finish in cross country in 2019, and now 5th place at the Olympic trials. I don't think he has much more to prove as a college athlete. He probably isn't going to smash any records.

If he turns pro, he can set his sights solely on making a US team and make a career out of it. It's unlikely that continuing college will positively affect his salary when he does turn pro.

I wouldn't be surprised if he stuck around for one more cross country season to try getting one more title. BYU has a decent shot at a podium finish too. They will return him, Casey Clinger, Brandon Garnica, Aidan Troutner, and Easton Allred. Probably not quite good enough to win, but then again, I thought the same thing in 2019.

If he does turn pro early, does he move straight up to the roads like some of the other BYU alums? Or does he have more potential on the track? I thought he'd be great on the roads, but after a 5th place finish in the 10,000 tonight, I'm not so sure.

Although he claims to only be 24 1/2 years old, age records are very sketchy in Utah. He has at least two more years at byu. Why would he want to quit that and join the adult world?

Mantz is coming back for redemption, unless he just wants to throw the towel and collect a bag.

Mantz goes from his mom's house to byu to the old age home. Not a bad career.

Are they offering an Emeritus position on the team?

I’d like him to get racing on the roads ASAP but maybe doing XC to chase a team title is appealing

He reminds me of Todd Williams in ability and we know how far Todd Williams went running around 2730 back along time ago which was really top-of-the-line then but he’s no longer so valuable now. If he does become pro how fast can you go I’m thinking maybe 1310 and 2720. Can he become a world beater as a pro? Probably not. on the roads? Not sure about that either potentially probably he could become a very good marathon runner but I’m not sure and there seems to be a bit of a kink in his bio mechanics but maybe I’m making a mistake about that?

Mantz majored in mechanical engineering at Brigham Young University so in theory he won’t have any problems being employed should he decide to forgo becoming a professional in distance running.

I’ve never heard of a mechanical engineer having trouble getting work. Sometimes they had to relocate but it is a profession in high demand and kudos to him for leading a top rate athletic career in conjunction with a typical demanding major. No disrespect to other majors especially those in the humanities but mechanical engineering is hard-core.

Ghost1 wrote:

Mantz majored in mechanical engineering at Brigham Young University so in theory he won’t have any problems being employed should he decide to forgo becoming a professional in distance running.

I’ve never heard of a mechanical engineer having trouble getting work. Sometimes they had to relocate but it is a profession in high demand and kudos to him for leading a top rate athletic career in conjunction with a typical demanding major. No disrespect to other majors especially those in the humanities but mechanical engineering is hard-core.

Yes, and it is only taking him eight years to complete a sub-par four year program.

he's a grampa wrote:

[quote]Ghost1 wrote:

Mantz majored in mechanical engineering at Brigham Young University so in theory he won’t have any problems being employed should he decide to forgo becoming a professional in distance running.

I’ve never heard of a mechanical engineer having trouble getting work. Sometimes they had to relocate but it is a profession in high demand and kudos to him for leading a top rate athletic career in conjunction with a typical demanding major. No disrespect to other majors especially those in the humanities but mechanical engineering is hard-core.

Yes, and it is only taking him eight years to complete a sub-par four year program.[/quote

How can mechanical engineering be considered subpar? Engineering engineering programs are the same everywhere whether it’s Harvard or BYU or No name State University whatever....

Ghost1 wrote:

He reminds me of Todd Williams in ability and we know how far Todd Williams went running around 2730 back along time ago which was really top-of-the-line then but he’s no longer so valuable now. If he does become pro how fast can you go I’m thinking maybe 1310 and 2720. Can he become a world beater as a pro? Probably not. on the roads? Not sure about that either potentially probably he could become a very good marathon runner but I’m not sure and there seems to be a bit of a kink in his bio mechanics but maybe I’m making a mistake about that?

Todd W. is a 27:00 in super shoes.

he's a grampa wrote:

Although he claims to only be 24 1/2 years old, age records are very sketchy in Utah. He has at least two more years at byu. Why would he want to quit that and join the adult world?

Yep they just record they were born in the fall, summer, winter, or spring in Utah at the hospitals. Still on your soap-box I see.

he's a grampa wrote:

Ghost1 wrote:

Mantz majored in mechanical engineering at Brigham Young University so in theory he won’t have any problems being employed should he decide to forgo becoming a professional in distance running.

I’ve never heard of a mechanical engineer having trouble getting work. Sometimes they had to relocate but it is a profession in high demand and kudos to him for leading a top rate athletic career in conjunction with a typical demanding major. No disrespect to other majors especially those in the humanities but mechanical engineering is hard-core.

Yes, and it is only taking him eight years to complete a sub-par four year program.

I'm pretty sure when he was on his mission, he was not enrolled in school. Truth doens't seem to matter too much to you. Don't understand a troll's mentality. Truly warped!

blamb61 wrote:

he's a grampa wrote:

Yes, and it is only taking him eight years to complete a sub-par four year program.

I'm pretty sure when he was on his mission, he was not enrolled in school. Truth doens't seem to matter too much to you. Don't understand a troll's mentality. Truly warped!

Absolutely, and I would vouch to say that most people on this forum would not be capable of completing a mechanical engineering degree even with a reset in their brains. That subject matter is hard-core.

blamb61 wrote:

he's a grampa wrote:

Yes, and it is only taking him eight years to complete a sub-par four year program.

I'm pretty sure when he was on his mission, he was not enrolled in school. Truth doens't seem to matter too much to you. Don't understand a troll's mentality. Truly warped!

blamb61, remember me from Rex Lee library?

You liked my eye color

he's a grampa wrote:

Ghost1 wrote:

Mantz majored in mechanical engineering at Brigham Young University so in theory he won’t have any problems being employed should he decide to forgo becoming a professional in distance running.

I’ve never heard of a mechanical engineer having trouble getting work. Sometimes they had to relocate but it is a profession in high demand and kudos to him for leading a top rate athletic career in conjunction with a typical demanding major. No disrespect to other majors especially those in the humanities but mechanical engineering is hard-core.

Yes, and it is only taking him eight years to complete a sub-par four year program.

Not only is he is a hard major, but he is doing very well at it:

The byu engineering school is ranked 131st out of 182. Very much closer to the worst than the best. They would be happy if they were only sub-par. I'm sure that it is a very challenging major for the type of students that byu gets, but could easily be completed in a few months by a Stanford or a Princeton engineering student. The fact that it is taking Mantz eight years to muddle through says it all.