FORTVILLE — A year ago, Mt. Vernon’s Tristan Trevino shared the Daily Reporter Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year honor with teammate Austin Rush.
This year, Trevino is the sole selection.
He still spent most of his year sharing.
The lone senior on a young and talented team, Trevino liked to share his knowledge with his teammates.
He wasn’t just the leader out in front of the pack of runners, he was a leader in the sense of advising his team with the wisdom he’d gathered over time.
After the IHSAA Boys Cross Country State Finals — a race Trevino qualified for each of the last two seasons — Mt. Vernon head coach Bruce Kendall said, “Trevino has really showed a way. He’s the only runner we lose (to graduation) and he’s been a great role model for the kids.”
He was a leader by example, too. No area runner won more often, including the bigger meets of the season.
Trevino, as a junior, made his Marauder debut in the Hancock County Meet, and won it. This year he made it 2-for-2.
He did the same at the Hoosier Heritage Conference race, winning back-to-back individual championships, while also leading his team to conference titles.
From winning the conference meet with a 5K time of 16:08, Trevino continued to better his time in each of his postseason races leading up to the state finals.
He couldn’t get a better placing than first, but he consistently ran faster times.
At the sectional, he won on his home course with a time of 15:38.4. Off to Rushville the following week for the regional, he ran a 15:33.5. And, when it came to doing his best against the best and seeking a spot in the state finals, Trevino placed fifth at the semi-state by clocking in at 15:30.0.
He showed his team-side after winning the race in Rushville, putting he and the Marauders one race closer to making it to the state finals.
“I wanted to get out in first and run for my life,” Trevino said after winning the Rushville Regional. “I have been more focused on my team this year. They’re a very young team and I want them to go far. I’ve been focusing on pushing my team and making them more mentally ready. (At the regional) they showed up and showed out. Semi-state is going to be fun for us. I‘m hoping to get them to state. I’ll race whoever I gotta race to get them to state. (The regional was) a good day for them.”
Trevino got to state, but the team was unable to join him, at least not in the race. They helped Trevino train all the way up to the starter’s gun.
At the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, the senior standout finished 27th, just a few slots back from earning all-state honors. He finished with a time of 15:58.5, a solid time and a solid finish, though his coach said the senior was hoping to do better.
“Twenty-seventh is really good,” Kendall said.
“When you have team you don’t let team down,” the coach added. “When you’re running, you’re thinking about that team behind you and you don’t let them down. Some boys can do that (when they’re running just as an individual). They don’t feel attached to their team. (Trevino), he’s attached to his team. When he finishes, he turns around, where are they? where are they? Those boys trained with him up until that last second. They trained with him right up to him going to the starting line (at the state meet).”
Trevino’s finish at the state meet was the best by a Marauder runner since 2015 when Christian Noble was fourth and Aaron Rush placed 19th. The 15:30 time ran at semi-state is No. 6 on the school’s all-time list. He had more races, in one season, under 16 minutes than any runner in school history.
Though disappointed that the finish wasn’t better in the final race, he showed significant improvement from last year’s state finals race.
On the same course, Trevino placed 77th last season, finishing with a time of 16:42.7.
2022 Daily Reporter Fall Sports Honors
Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year: Tristan Trevino, Mt. Vernon
Boys Cross Country Coach of the Year: Aaron Smith, Greenfield-Central
*All-Hancock County Team
Tristan Trevino, Mt. Vernon; Christopher Ross, Greenfield-Central; Griffen Wheeler, Greenfield-Central; Preston Markley, Eastern Hancock; Ahmed Saleh, Mt. Vernon; Liam Brinkruff, Greenfield-Central; Luke Haffner, Greenfield-Central; Austin Baugh, Mt. Vernon; Brandon Metz, Eastern Hancock; Landon Willis, Mt. Vernon.
*Determined by Top 10 finish at 2022 Hancock County Meet
