Missy Petersen Trenz spent her days running into the CSB cross country and track and field record books from 1994-98, and now in 2013 has finished her race into the Blazer Hall of Fame.
Under the watchful eye of Coach Robin Balder-Lanoue ’91, Petersen Trenz wasted little time in making her mark on the program. She earned cross country All-American honors in her first season, becoming the second athlete to do so in Blazer cross country history. She is one of only three to complete the feat. She then book-ended her cross country career with all-region honors as a senior.
To this day, she remains the Blazer cross country record holder in the 5K, setting the standard of 17:56 in 1994. All four years of her career, she was honored by her teammates as the team’s Most Valuable Runner, and all four years she earned All-MIAC accolades at the conference championship meet.
She closed each of her four seasons at the NCAA Championship meet, which included a third-place finish in her All-American first year.
When the spring rolled around and her focus turned to the track, there was no lay-off in transitioning her successes. Three times she earned All-MIAC honors in track and field, capping her career with the award in both her junior and senior seasons.
Like the 5K in cross country, her mark in the 3000-meter in track and field remains a Blazer record, after she posted a time of 10:20.78 in 1995.
After her junior year, she was named Most Valuable Track Athlete by her teammates, bringing her career MVP honors to five.
She graduated with a 3.45 grade point average after earning numerous All-Academic awards that rivaled her athletic success. In addition to Academic All-MIAC honors, she was honored by the United States Track and Field Coaches Association on their All-Academic team, while being named to the United States Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Team three times.
Today, she and her husband, Erik, reside in Becker, Minn., with their three children. She works as a registered dietitian for the Anoka County WIC Nutrition Program. She remains a competitive runner as a member of the Baba Yaga team at the Hood to Coast Relay in Oregon and has competed in eight marathons.
She becomes just the second cross country runner and third track and field athlete to be inducted into the Blazer Hall of Fame.
