Trent Hoerr has one final accomplishment to add to his senior campaign with the Fighting Illini men’s cross country team: All-American.

The Morton native competed in the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Nov. 19 and finished 16th in the 250-runner field. With a 10-kilometer time of 30 minutes, 7 seconds, his effort landed him among the prestigious 25 All-Americans – something that has not been achieved by an Illini since Len Sitko in 1990.

“It felt good to go out and accomplish my goals and be where I’ve thought I should be the past three years,” said Hoerr in a press release. “I’m happy to earn All-America status and hope that it will help Coach (Wendel) McRaven with recruiting top guys to our program.”

The National meet was held in Terre Haute, Ind., on the Indiana State campus. Before his race Monday morning, Hoerr was honored as the Midwest Regional Athlete of the Year at a banquet Nov. 17. Along with the country’s eight other region’s top athletes, Hoerr was selected by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association for his first-place finish at the Midwest Regional meet to qualify for the National race.

In his final year with Illinios, the senior standout has enjoyed a successful season. Hoerr also received first team All-Big Ten and All-Region honors aside from his All-American status. On Oct. 13 at the Pre-Nationals meet, he clocked in a time of 23:39 to break the Illinois 8K record.

One of McRaven’s most talented athletes, Hoerr’s dedication to the program has not gone unnoticed.

“Trent has been a great example for our guys to look up to,” McRaven said in a press release. “He maximizes his talent by doing things the right way and not taking shortcuts. He works intelligently and can see the big picture and what he wants to achieve. He is a testament of what a long, consistent period of hard work can do.”

Although the Orange and Blue did not qualify for Nationals as a team, Hoerr was excited to be able to compete for the Illini.

Oregon, Iona and Oklahoma State received the top three team finishes.

In Hoerr’s individual race, senior Josh McDougal of Liberty came in first with a time of 29:22. In the close race, less than one minute separated the first-place finisher and the 28th-place finisher.

Hoerr hopes his success has not “ran out,” and taking an initial week off, he will begin training for the Illini’s indoor track season in a few days.