Salute To Seniors: Evan Luecke

Salute to Seniors (Texas 2015)
Travis Miller

Evan Luecke - Forney High School

Over the past three years, my running career has had ups and downs.

I started my first year running as a sophomore after getting cut from my basketball team freshman year. I had to stay active in high school; I couldn't imagine my life without having something to do after or before school.I had no idea what I was getting into when Coach Cook came up to me and invited me to run with the cross country team. I ran my first 5k in 21 minutes, 40 seconds.

Fast forward 2 years later to my senior year. The summer going into my junior year I had been running everyday in the Texas heat with my training partner Brock Collins. Even after we began our summer workouts with the cross country team, we still ran together on weekends. Our senior cross country season began at the Green Hill relays where we broke the previous school record. As we moved to the 5ks, my posted time of 17:01 (after ending my junior year in 18:30) was a great confidence booster. Ending the cross country season with a PR of 16:16 was something I never thought I could do. I was excited to see what I could do during track season.

In track my junior year, my best mile had been 4:58 and my best 3200 10:54. I was not expecting anything big. However, after not making it to state in cross country, I had something to prove to myself in track even though it will be harder Carter Blunt and Kyle Garcia were in my region.

The most memorable race for me was at regionals in track. I was tired of losing to probably my biggest competitor In high school Brock Collins. Yes, he is my training partner I mentioned earlier. He wasn't feeling good that week, and I kept repeating to anyone who would listen, "I feel great... I am ready for these races." When the gun went off; my race plan set. My goal was to stay behind Kyle and go for the wildcard in the 3200. That didn't work as well as I had wanted, but I did beat Brock and his PR. I finally could say I was faster than him.

I think the one thing I regret the most is not joining cross country my freshman year. Every once in a while I think of how good would I have been if I ran all 4 years. Every runner has obstacles, I think mine was staying healthy and focused and not being too hard on myself. I tend to get upset with myself if I don't hit the splits I am supposed to in practice or if I don't reach my race goal. I was a little disappointed in myself after the regional 3200 even though I had an incredible race. I was 2 spots away from reaching my goal

I will miss running everyday with Brock, going on long runs with Caylon and Lauryn, seeing my two coaches who have been there for me every step of the way and helped make me the person I am today.

My biggest advice for younger runners is to train smart.. Don't think the more miles you do the better you will be. You need speed workouts and some weight lifting. Always start out with a good solid base before moving into heavier workouts. That's all I did with Brock last summer. We had fast and slow long runs, ranging from 5­9 miles. That was my base. Personally I like the longer distances of 5000 and up, so I can focus on longer tempos and fartleks. You can't expect success every race.

Back to my coaches ­Words can't describe how lucky I am to have two coaches that will do anything for me. They have taught me so many life lessons like responsibility, staying focused, and being a leader. Just some of the things Coach Cook and Coach Watts have taught me.

My college plans are to attend Texas A&M Commerce University and run cross country and track and get a degree in Journalism and a minor in photojournalism.

I would like to thank my family for being supportive in my races and my decision to continue running in college. I couldn't have done it with them. I would like to thank my team As well; I really couldn't have done it without Brock pushing me, Caylon and Lauryn supporting me, and vice versa. Thanks to everyone else who has made my running career memorable.

My times at the end of my season were 9:42 for the 3200 and 4:32 for the 1600.
The funniest moment I've had was probably showing up to my first cross country practice in Jordan's, the basketball shoes. Like I said earlier, I had no idea what I was getting into.


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