Rowan University star Seth Clevenger will not compete at the Division-III track and field national championships. The controversial middle-distance runner was scratched from the lineup for medical reasons, less than one year after he was suspended at Iowa State for an alleged doping scandal.
This unexpected withdrawal, while unfortunate for the athlete, is a great thing for the sport.
The indoor track and field championships were overshadowed by a podium protest in March. That will no longer be an issue during the outdoor competition later this week.
Who is Seth Clevenger?
Clevenger was a three-time New Jersey state champion in track and field at Haddonfield Memorial High School. He received New Balance All-American honors as one of the top recruits in the country.
Clevenger ultimately committed to Iowa State and set multiple PRs as a freshman during the 2022-23 season. His sophomore year saw him place fifth, fourth and second at three different Indoor meets but he did not run Cross Country and took a redshirt during the Outdoor season.
Things got messy in 2025. The top-ranked Cyclones suddenly suspended multiple runners for “breaking team rules” as rumors of a drug scandal started to swirl within the track and field community.
Iowa State did not announce which athletes were suspended or what rules they violated, but we were able to connect the dots based on who was allowed to compete at the next meet and who wasn’t. It became clear that Seth Clevenger was the most prominent athlete attached to the undisclosed scandal.
The suspension led him to transfer to Rowan University during the offseason. His former teammates started to speak up about his alleged attempts to cheat around the time Clevenger arrived to his new school. They accused him of using an illegal peptide to promote healing in muscles. They also claimed to find multiple packages labeled ‘EPO’ in his fridge. EPO is a banned substance in the sport.
Because the NCAA is not attached to the World Anti-Doping Code, the USADA was not able to rule Clevenger as guilty or issue a punishment for the use of an illegal substance. He never failed a drug test.
The NCAA also does not require a team-issued suspension to follow an athlete across multiple programs. Iowa State suspended Clevenger. He was not suspended the governing body of collegiate athletics. He is free to compete at Rowan University without any restrictions.
Division-III Track and Field championships controversy, explained.
Seth Clevenger continues to deny the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Even though he has not once tested positive, the stigma surrounding his suspension at Iowa State and subsequent allegations from former teammates will continue to follow him throughout the rest of his track and field career.
The current junior in college won the 5,000-meter event at the Division-III Indoor Track and Field Championships back in March. The second-, third-, fourth-, fifth- and sixth-place finishers decided to walk off of the podium during the trophy ceremony in protest of Clevenger’s victory and his past.
It also happened after the 3,000. Clevenger won his second Division-III national title in two days (by more than 10 seconds) but his fellow competitors once again bailed on the podium ceremony in protest.
A similar demonstration was likely to take place during the Division-III Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Veteran’s Memorial Field Sports Complex in La Crosse, Wisconsin this weekend. Clevenger was the heavy favorite to win the 3,000 and the 5,000. His podium counterparts were likely going to walk off, just like they did at the indoor meet. It was inevitable.
However, Clevenger is no longer going to run. Rowan is sending 24 athletes to Nationals in 29 events. Its middle-distance star will not be one of them. He was just announced as a medical scratch for the outdoor championships. The timing of his decision will allow other runners to enter in his place.