FLAGSTAFF, Az. (March. 19, 2026) - Through a perseverance mindset instilled by his father, Clayton Shively found his way to Cross Country.
In Clay's youth he played numerous sports including: soccer, baseball, swimming, and football. With his father's 'no quitting' mentality he took the leap from football to cross country in his freshman year of high school and never looked back.
What pulled Clay to cross country was community. He followed his friend into the sport and from there the community aspect only flourished:
"We had a fun group of guys on our team." Clay explained, "More so than anything, we just had strong relationships and friendships."
Clay highlighted that transitioning from high school to college brought about new challenges. After his sophomore year of high school, disappointment or upset in results and progress was not something Clay really had to deal with but in college that changed.
He expressed that, "everyone here [NAU] is insanely talented coming out of high school" and how having good high school times does not automatically make you successful in college.
This change was not easy and some may wonder how he pushed through his first year at college. For Clay, it was through community and identity.
It started with him re-learning the why:
Why he's running.
Why he's at NAU running.
Why he's pursuing this.
It is easy to get caught up in the results, but Clay focused on the process, the team, and a growth mindset.
This tied in with how Clay described the NAU Cross Country program's efforts to help them navigate changes in identity:
"We talk a lot about not finding our identity in a race, or a result, or a place, and I think that is a really important process."
However, from Clay's perspective, that is just the beginning. Once he learned what not to put his identity in, he shifted to what he should put his identity in. And for him, that was his faith:
"I believe that the only true satisfying thing to put your identity in is Christ."
Clay finds comfort and recovery in his connection with God through his love and passion for music. He is not afraid to utilize his creative side and worship at his newfound home church in Flagstaff.
The transition from high school to college athletics is one thing, but leaving a hometown church to find a new community is a whole other challenge that Clay had to face.
"I had to trust in the Lord," Clay explained, navigating through so many transitions and still trying to balance all the aspects of his life that were important to him.
In the end, Clay was able to connect with church-community leadership to pursue service and worship, keeping his balance between faith, athlete, and student.
All around, Clay strives to be a well-rounded student-athlete. He feeds his mind through reading, music, and the outdoors, while pointing his attention to what truly matters to him and using that to propel not only his athletic career forward, but his life as a whole.
"I think it's important to value athletics, and academics, and outside passions."
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