Long Time Coming For Lizzy Lucason And Jonah Gorevic

Sep 14, 2016

Meet Lizzy Lucason, National Record Holder, Former World Record Holder

How We Got Here

If you had to list the top high school distance running cities in the country, Syracuse would be well near the top of the list. Not only do you have the perennial powerhouse that is Fayetteville-Manlius, but you have schools like Liverpool, who have qualified for Nike Cross Nationals twice, as well as West Genesee, who has a bronze medal at Foot Locker to their name. Going back to the birth of prep running in New York's annals, you have the Nottingham girls team that swept early State Meets, as well as an Onondaga boys team that became one of only two Class D teams to ever win the Federation Championships. All these big name schools within 20 miles of each other.

However, to be clear, the distance running scene doesn't stop at just the high school level. Syracuse University is the reigning NCAA Men's Cross Country Champions. Birthplace of Former Olympian Jen Rhines, the club and adult running circuit is also thriving under programs like the Syracuse Track Club and the Syracuse Chargers. And yet, despite all that competition, there has been a single name taking home overall gender division wins the past few years, and all before she even hit middle school.

Lizzy Lucason is used to the looks she may get on the starting line. She's been getting them for quite some time. It's not usual for a girl her size to start in the front of a 5K, usually reserved for the elites contending for the win. Little do they know that Lucason is the former Age Group World Record holder for a certified Road 5k. At 9 years, 222 days old, Lucason ran 19:30.7 to capture her first such record. Since that day in October 2013, she's only gotten better.

At 10 years old, Lucason was not only in contention for the overall female titles, but she was indeed winning them. She began taking significant chunks out of her previous personal bests, whittling down her road race best to an impressive 18:32 in February of 2015. With that kind of fitness, coupled with the blistering cold of Central New York, it was only natural to turn to the safety of indoor track.

Turning 11 years old later that same February, 5th Grade Lucason traveled to the USATF Junior Olympics, where she would place third in her age division over 3000m. She would move up to second in both the 1500m and 3000m later that season at the USATF National Indoor Championships. Her personal best from that indoor season would stand at 10:39.68, better than most of her high school counterparts in Section 3 at the time.

One year later, and Lucason was still racking up the fast times, and even more impressive victories on the road racing circuit. Once again, winter came, and Lucason took to the track. Now 12-years-old, Lucason was determined to move up the hierarchy, and that she did. At the 2016 Hershey National Championships in Staten Island, Lucason would come away with two National Titles. The first would be over 3000m, where she ran a relaxed 10:42.70. She knew she had another race coming. That race would be the 1500m, held two days later. There, Lucason wouldn't hold back, unleashing a 4:52.62 winning performance. The time marked a National Record for her age group, bettering a record set by another New York athlete who will be moving up to the high school ranks soon, Lauryn Heskin (read about Heskin's record runs here).

Fast Facts

Elizabeth (Lizzy) Lucason has the right mix of good genes, and good coaching. Her father, Phil Lucason, competed for the University of New Hampshire in both cross country and track. Alongside mother Kathleen, the pair monitor Lizzy's mileage and competition to keep things within reason. Along with her father, Lizzy has an ideal training partner in her sister Morgan, also an accomplished runner, who just entered 9th grade at Camden. She has also since joined the Syracuse Track Club, training Thursday afternoons under coach Jerry Smith. In her free time, she cares for her 60 chickens and about 20 ducks while operating a small fresh egg business along with her sister. Seems like something to talk about with fellow 8th Grader, Section 3 Standout Brooke Rauber, who raises prized "Show Goats." If not her, Jessica Lawson does much the same, competing with her "Show Cows." Seems like a growing trend.

A New Debut

In the fall of 2016, Lizzy Lucason entered the 7th Grade at Camden Middle School. In New York State, athletes that pass an athletic equivalency test are allowed to proceed to varsity competition. No question Lucason would make the cut, and proceeded to make her High School debut at the Chittenango Invitational this past weekend. She won her division by over twenty seconds, even though her race was cut short to 1.7miles due to the heat. Don't expect the longer distances to be a problem for this athlete.