This is the third of seven articles highlighting the CSU Pueblo Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2025 Inductees and today's third article features former Pack men's cross country and track & field student-athlete Marcelo Laguera (2015-19)

Marcelo Lagüera literally raced into the CSU Pueblo Athletics Hall of Fame when his impressive kick on the final mile of the 2018 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships earned him the individual national title.

Lagüera will join Reco Burt (men's basketball, 1993-1995), Rachel Espinosa (women's basketball, 2007-2011), Bryan Hawkins (wrestling, 1983-1985), Marcelo Laguera (men's cross country, track & field, 2015-2020), Molly Rohrer (women's basketball, 2015-2018) and Andrea Tuck (women's track & field, 2012-2017) as the newest inductees into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame at the Occhiato Student Center.

Also being inducted that evening at the Occhiato Student Center Ballroom on the CSU Pueblo campus will be contributor Jim Brooks (radio broadcaster, 1987-1991, 2010-present), who also played golf at the school in the 1980s, where he was on the school's 1981 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship team.  

"Winning a national and conference championships is memorable," said Lagüera, who was born in Mexico and graduated from high school in the Denver area.  "But, mostly I loved the friendships and memories I built with my teammates."

A graduate of Pomona High in the Denver suburbs, Lagüera pointed to those relationships as being memorable and "how much fun it was to travel the country with those teammates.  These are friends I will have for a lifetime."

Lagüera's leg kick at the national finale at Slippery Rock, Pa., earned him a 7.2-second win over Grand Valley State's Zach Panning.  The win also erased his disappointment a month earlier when he finished second by less than a second to Adams State's Sydney Gidabuday in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships.

"The list of people that helped me be successful is pretty big," said Lagüera, who still competes professionally.  "The list includes Derrick Williams, Ben Vaughn, Devundrick Walker, Alec Choury, Thomas Staines, Dylan Day, Adam Marcus, and, of course, Coach Matt Morris.

Williams (2023) and Staines (2024) are already in the CSU Pueblo Athletics Hall of Fame, and Coach Morris is starting his 13th season at the southern Colorado school.

"When I visited campus, I got to know a bunch of my teammates," said Lagüera, "and I felt like there was a lot I could learn from the leadership they had on that team. Coach Morris was a great recruiter and made me feel like I could achieve great things under his guidance."

Achieve is what Lagüera did as he reached the top of event podiums 12 times, placed second eight times, and finished third four times. He claimed three RMAC gold medals at events in 2018 (outdoor 5,000-meter), 2019 (outdoor 5,000), and 2020 (indoor 3,000).  In 2019, he was the runner-up in the NCAA Division II outdoor 10,000-meter run.

Lagüera was a four-time All-American in cross country and track & field. He earned the title of 2019 CoSIDA first-team academic All-America and was the 2018 USTFCCCA Cross Country Scholar Athlete of the Year. Additionally, he was named the 2020 USTFCCCA South Central Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.

A Civil Engineering major at CSU Pueblo, Lagüera said he "had some amazing professors at the school, including Dr. Rashad Islam and Mike Mincic."

Currently, Lagüera is a professional runner.  "I am sponsored by Saucony and travel the world to go compete against the best.  I've had the honor of representing my country (Mexico) in two World Championships and a Pan American Games."

Engaged to his high school sweetheart, Mallisyn Bruce, Lagüera said, who works for Runners Roost in Colorado Springs, while competing internationally. "It is a special honor that I did not think would happen for a long time."

As for racing into the Pack's Athletics Hall of Fame, Lagüera said, "to come back to campus is something special as we celebrate all of those achievements. I was proud to run for CSUP, and I am proud of everything my teammates and I achieved during our time together. I am thankful for the community of this University because I would not be here without them."

With Lagüera and Tuck's addition to the CSU Pueblo Athletics Hall of Fame, the two join 13 other cross country and track & field athletes as inductees, along with coaches James Blasing and Chuck Haering.

• Mike Duran (2017 HOF induction year, 1977-1982 years competed at CSUP)
• Freda Hancock (2009, 1986)
• Bailey Hughes (2023, 2015-2017)
• Myron Jefferson (2019, 1984-1988)
• Richard LeDoux (2015, 1975-1979)
• Lauren Dunsmoor Leomiti (2019, 2006, 2007)
• Jeff Martinez (2012, 1989-1992)
• John Martinez (2009, 1966-1967)
• Cindy Pool (2016, 1981-1983)
• Thomas Staines (2024, 2017-2019)
• Yvonne Taylor (2012, 1981-1982)
• Derrick Williams (2023, 2014-2018)
• Dania Wyatt (2018, 2010-2012)

In addition, two Pack football players in the Athletics Hall of Fame competed in track and field at the school – Dan DeRose (2011, 1981-1984) and Frank Grant (2009, 1968-1971).