“This summer was all about building momentum,” sophomore distance runner Chris Lukezic said. And after a season that included a second consecutive Men’s Junior National title in the 1500 meters and an All-American performance in the same event at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Lukezic returns to the hilltop recharged and enthusiastic about a year that holds great promise for both him and his track teammates.
Although Lukezic describes most of his summer vacation as “low-key,” he spent May and June on campus, both training for the national meets and working at the Georgetown camp for high school runners. Following his successes at the NCAA’s and Junior Nationals in June, Lukezic returned home to Auburn, Wash. for some rest before returning to his training program. “I began really easy,” he says, “only about 30 miles a week, and by the end of the summer I was up to 70 miles [a week].”
Lukezic enjoyed his time off, but was happy to start training again, especially given his goals for the upcoming cross country season (which begins with the Georgetown Invitational on September 13 in Great Meadows, Va.). He is relatively new to cross country, but has fully embraced the sport. The team was disappointed with its 18th place showing at last year’s NCAA championships, he says, but “we believe that we’re a top10-quality team, and the team is just excited to get things started. Everyone’s ready to put forward the effort.”
Lukezic’s main focus, however, remains on the track, and he looks forward to both surpassing his personal best of 3:43 in the 1,500 meters and running competitively in the 5,000 meters. Asked whether he feels a lot of pressure due to his stellar performance during the 2003 campaign, Lukezic responds, “I expect a lot of myself, so any pressure or expectations come from myself.” These expectations are quite high, as Lukezic has a litany of goals for both this coming years, including becoming All-American in cross country (his second sport), making the Olympic trials, and eventually the Olympic team itself.
In addition to his personal goals, Lukezic is excited about the track team’s coming season (the indoor season begins in December). “We’ve got some great new freshmen coming in this year,” he enthused, “and [the returning runners] are really excited to get out there and work.” Despite his success, Lukezic does not expect to be a team leader right away, and he says he would rather defer to more senior members of the team.
“Everyone has their own way of being a leader,” he explains, “I don’t expect to be to much of a vocal leader, but I think I can set an example for the freshmen.”
