On a day when All-American Trent Lusignan hung back in the pack to help his Jackrabbit teammates, Joel “RawDawg” Reichow stepped up his game, winning the SDSU Classic on Saturday to become this week’s Collegian Sports Athlete of the Week.

Reichow helped keep the Classic title in the hands of the Rabbits with his first-place finish. The Jacks have had the men’s individual champion at the Classic for four years running now. Lusignan won in 2012 and 2013, and junior Brendan Sage took home the win in 2014. The Classic is Reichow’s second career victory in cross-country, with his last win coming in Fargo at the Bison Open in 2013.

Reichow ran the eight-kilometer course in 25:26.40 and lead the Jacks to the team title over, among others, North Dakota State and the University of South Dakota. He was also named Summit League Co-Athlete of the Week for the win. He shared the honor with Damon Pruett of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. 

Reichow and the Jacks will next compete at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational Oct. 16 in Madison, Wisc.