On June 14, Lansing’s Trent Thibault was named ESPN Ithaca’s Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year during the 13th annual Night of Champions awards ceremony at the Ithaca Downtown Conference Center. Thibault has established himself as one of the top long-distance runners in the area, and this year more than proved why.
The fall season is where Thibault enjoyed the most success. The senior won his third career IAC championship as well as his third Section IV title. But he didn’t stop there. November 15 at Queensbury High School will live long in his memory as he captured the Class C state crown with a time of 15 minutes and 27 seconds, beating the runner-up by 11 seconds. He also took part at federations, finishing in 61st place. For his outstanding efforts, Thibault was named to the Class C All-State first team.
Then it was onto the indoor track and field season, where Thibault continued to shine on a different surface. He won the Section IV Class C/D titles in the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter run. At state qualifiers, he topped the charts in the 3,200-meter run to punch his ticket to Staten Island, where he ended up placing 10th.
Thibault capped off his illustrious running career for the Bobcats with a magnificent outdoor track and field campaign. He won four total postseason titles, winning both the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runs at both IACs and sectionals. He qualified for states in both events. On June 13 at Webster Schroeder High School, Thibault finished runner-up in Class C in the 3,200-meter run. One day later was his final race for Lansing, placing 7th in the 1,600-meter run.
During his acceptance speech, Thibault had plenty of thanks to go around, especially since he’s had a plethora of coaches throughout his career. First there was Becca Lovenheim, who coached him when he began running in middle school with Finger Lakes. Lovenheim also coached Thibault during his first two years of high school cross country before taking over the cross country and track programs at Ithaca High School.
“If it weren’t for the foundation Coach Becca laid for distance running at Lansing, I wouldn’t be standing here today. I might still be telling myself foolishly I was going to make it to the NBA.”
Thibault then thanked Matt Scheffler, who coached him during his first varsity season with the Bobcats back in eighth grade for the outdoor track team.
“One thing I learned very quickly while competing for him is that he doesn’t like to lose,” Thibault said. “That competitive mentality has helped our boys outdoor track team thrive not only in the IAC, but throughout Section IV.”
The final coach Thibault thanked was Mia Cote. She was his coach for the last two cross country and outdoor track seasons, highlighted by that state title this past fall.
“When she took over coaching cross country during my junior year, she brought a new perspective from her background in swimming. Since then, she’s built a team culture centered around working hard while enjoying the process—a culture that I know will continue to benefit Lansing athletics for years to come.”
After thanking the Lansing athletics office, including athletic director Katie Crandall and secretary to the athletic director Alisha Scheffler, Thibault saved his final thank yous for his parents, Bill and Melissa, for all of their incredible support throughout the years.
“They have devoted countless hours, sacrifices, and resources to helping me become the person I am today,” Thibault said. “Mom, even though I don’t always appreciate it in the moment, thank you for keeping my ego in check. Dad, thank you for introducing me to the sport you once excelled in and for always pushing me to become the person you know I’m capable of being.”
This fall, he will continue his cross country and track careers at Columbia University while majoring in financial economics. There’s a strong chance he’ll be back in the area to compete at Cornell if the Lions ever roll into town, and Thibault pointed to multiple reasons that made Columbia the right fit.
“[When] I took my visit, I was down to two major places that I was deciding between,” Thibault said. “Between the two, I felt that at Columbia I fit better with the team, and I liked their vision that they had for the program over the next couple of years. Both the schools had great academics. [For] the things that I want to study, I think Columbia will set me up good for in the future. There were definitely many factors that went into the decision that I made, but those are the main ones.
In addition to his trophy, Thibault was also awarded a $1,500 scholarship on behalf of Visions Federal Credit Union.
