If he had competed in another time frame, Trent Morrell would have garnered a whole lot of attention. After all, he won an NCAA Division III national title in the 5,000 in track in 1992 and he was an All-American in cross country in the fall of 1992. He was consistent and was always near the front. He also came along at a time when two of the greatest runners to ever wear the Blue & Gold were pounding the pavement.
Morrell was just starting at Augustana when Dave Terronez was finishing up and he was ending his career when Sandu Rebenciuc was breaking onto the scene. In some ways, the quiet kid out of Good Hope, Illinois got lost in the shuffle. His quiet personality and his gentle disposition were perfect combinations, however, as he went about his business with little fanfare.
His story is an interesting one as he came to school in the fall of 1988 and was a member of the Vikings’ football team as a backup quarterback. His football career was non-descript but when he got on the track in the spring of 1989, it was obvious that he belonged. When he shed the shoulder pads for a cross country singlet in the fall of 1990, he was on the verge of becoming a great distance runner.
Knocking heads against the likes of Terronez and Rebenciuc only made him better and it all culminated in May of 1992 when he thundered down the home stretch at Colby College in Waterville, Maine to win the national title in a time of 14:36. That national title was a fitting tribute to his ability to stay focused under pressure. A natural 1,500 meter runner, he moved up to the 5,000, where he didn’t have a lot of experience, because he thought he had a better chance of winning. There may not have been a lot of people in the stadium that afternoon who agreed with him but Morrell and his coach, Paul Olsen, had a hunch. There was also the matter of Morrell’s ability to run his final quarter mile in 59 seconds. He was in fourth place coming off the turn, less than 100 meters from the finish. While the others in the lead group floundered down the stretch, he accelerated past them and into the record books.
That was quite a weekend for the Augustana track & field team as Rebenciuc won the 1500 and 10,000 in the same meet and the Vikings placed seventh in the nation in the team standings.
Don’t think for an instant that he was a “one-race-wonder”. His career was characterized by his versatility. He was a conference placewinner in track six times and in 1991 he placed fourth in the 800, fourth in the 1500 and fifth in the 5000 in a remarkable display of speed and endurance.
While he came late to the cross country party due to his dabbling in football, he finished in the top five of the CCIW three straight years. In 1990, less than a year after he was dodging tackles on the gridiron, he finished third in the conference cross country meet. He was fourth in 1991 and third in 1992. He finished his career at the 1992 NCAA Division III national cross country meet by taking 18th and earning All-American honors. While he was a member of the Augustana cross country team, he helped the Vikings make three straight national meet appearances and the 1992 team placed fifth in the nation.
He still ranks sixth on the all-time list in the 5000 (14:36.1), sixth in the mile (4:11.34) and ninth in the 1500 (3:51.1). He was also a member of a 3200 relay team that ran 7:37.3, the third fastest time in Augustana history.
“The most memorable and life changing years of my existence,” said Morrell about his Augustana experience. “The professors, coaches, friends and acquaintances that I came in contact with during my years at Augustana were like family and some became life-long friends.”
Morrell graduated from Augustana in 1992 with a degree in geography. He served as a landscape designer and was a turf manager for the United States Air Force golf course program. He currently is an instructor in geosciences at Laramie County Community College.
Trent and his wife Alison have a daughter Sydney (three) and a son Race (one).
