It was another historical run for SDSU Junior Trent Lusignan as he placed 12th in the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships held on Saturday, Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Ind. Lusignan was named first team All-American, the first in SDSU Division I history.

Lusignan finished with a time of 30:18.8 in the 10K                                 race which was shortened 110 meters due to course conditions.

This puts Lusignan in elite company he placed second best in school history at a Division I national meet, behind Garry Bentley who placed eighth in 1973. The most recent runner to be name All-American was Brad Lowry back in 2002 and 2003.

Head coach Rod DeHaven took in the whole experience as he and Lusignan prepared for what would be a historical race in both of their careers.

“It’s a fantastic experience to be at the highest level of collegiate athletics for your sport,” head coach Rod DeHaven said. “Whether it is the pre-race banquet or the actual meet it was a great experience for both me and Trent.”

Lusignan took it in a different way as he anticipated the race.

“There was a lot of anticipation to get the race going,” Trent Lusignan said. “You gotta keep your cool and stay focused.”

The attitude was very serious for both coach and runner as they prepared mentally and discussed strategy the night before.

“We felt like it was a pretty simple situation,” DeHaven said. “Colorado was the pre-race favorite based on the conditions … my words of advice were try to run with Colorado, get through 5K, and if he felt good keep moving up.”

When it came to the race it was all up to Lusignan and what he had been working for all season.

“I think I was pretty well prepared,” Lusignan said. “There’s not a whole lot of things that I could do…there wasn’t a lot that I would have liked to change.”

During the race it didn’t take long for Luisgnan to realize the accomplishment that he had made.

“At about 5K I knew that I was an All-American,” Lusignan said. “ I was getting excited at about halfway when I knew I was already there but I kept trying to see if I could get up to that top 10 mark.”

Luisgnan would end up at the 12th position, which was much higher than the predictions and his expectations. 

“We were thinking around 25 to 30,” Lusignan said. “That was just my day I guess.”

When asked about being one of the best runners in SDSU history Lusignan said,

“I don’t know, I can’t really describe it. I just want to keep getting better and keep racing here at SDSU.”

DeHaven could not say enough about Lusignan’s performance, as he was pleased with how he ran.

“It’s almost incomprehensible,” DeHaven said. “He [beat] everybody in our region, he beat everybody in the Big Ten conference … it’s pretty astonishing.”

Now that Lusignan’s historical season has come to an end it is time to look forward to next season.

“He [Lusignan] will most likely red shirt so he can come back for a fifth year,” DeHaven said. “The hard thing is you don’t know what is gonna happen. He could run a good race and place 35th, we just don’t know.”