Seth Clevenger, the Rowan University junior who won two NCAA Division III indoor titles this past winter, will not race at the outdoor national championships this weekend. He was medically scratched from the 10,000 meters and the 5,000 meters and has been removed from the meet entries.
The news was first reported by D3 Glory Days on Instagram. The outlet cited Rowan head coach Dimit and said Clevenger was withdrawn during the medical scratch window, which opens spots for other runners to be added to the field.
“Per Coach Dimit, the indoor 5k/3k champion was entered in the 10k/5k but was scratched during the medical scratch window to allow other runners to be entered,” D3 Glory Days reported.
Two athletes have been added in his place. Washington & Lee’s Sam Daunt now has an entry in the 5,000 meters, and Wartburg’s Ander Julian has been added to the 10,000 meters.
Clevenger entered the meet as the favorite in both events. He holds personal bests of 13:32 in the 5,000 meters and 29:06 in the 10,000 meters, the latter ranking him second in NCAA Division III this season. His most recent race was the 5,000 at Penn Relays, where he ran a seasonal best of 14:06.
Rowan is sending 24 athletes to the championships across 29 events. The meet is being held at Veteran’s Memorial Field Sports Complex in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
A Transfer From Iowa State
Clevenger transferred to Rowan from Iowa State during the offseason. Iowa State suspended multiple runners last year for what the school described as “breaking team rules.” The school never publicly named the athletes involved or specified the violations, but reporting from BroBible and other outlets identified Clevenger as one of the runners attached to the situation.
Former Iowa State teammates have since accused Clevenger of using an illegal peptide to speed muscle recovery and of keeping packages labeled EPO, a banned blood-boosting drug, in his refrigerator. Clevenger has denied the allegations. He has never failed a drug test, and no governing body has issued a sanction against him.
The NCAA is not a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code, so USADA, the United States Anti-Doping Agency, has no jurisdiction in the case. The NCAA also does not require a team-issued suspension to follow an athlete who transfers to a new program, so Iowa State’s discipline ended when Clevenger left the school. He was free to compete at Rowan without restrictions.
Walkouts at the Indoor Championships
The indoor season ended with two podium protests. Clevenger won the 5,000-meter title at the Division III Indoor Championships in March, then took the 3,000 a day later by more than 10 seconds. After both finals, the runners who finished second through sixth walked off the podium during the trophy ceremony.
Clevenger has not publicly explained the reason for his medical scratch, and Rowan has not released a statement on the decision. He remains eligible to compete at the collegiate level.
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