Conner Mantz and teammate
Casey Clinger finished eighth and 12th, respectively, in the men's 5,000-meter final Sunday morning at historic Hayward Field.
Mantz, the reigning NCAA cross country champion who prepped at Sky View, moved up from 11th with four laps to go and briefly led the pack. That pace, which has often been described as "the Mantz zone," helped propel Nike's Paul Chelimo to first in 13:26.82 seconds.
Nike's Grant Fisher finished second in 13:27.01 and Woody Kindcaid rounded out the three-man Olympic squad in the event in 13:27.13.
Mantz finished in 13:32.69 for his second top-eight finish at the U.S. trials. He also finished fifth in the 10,000-meter final.