Lukas Pierson
Saint James High School
What are all your personal records?
400 (split) - 57
800 (split) - 2:05
1600 - 4:29
3200 - 9:46
5k Xc - 16:20
How did you get started as a track or cross country athlete?
My dad runs the Twin Cities Marathon every year so I have always been into distance running. I began my running career at local road races where I would run the half mile. I was pretty good at it so Cross Country seemed to be the perfect sport for me.
What was your most memorable competition?
The race that I'm never going to forget from high school would be state my senior year. Our team had just qualified for the state meet for the first time in 10 years and individually I was the 6th ranked individual. I went out with the lead group for 2 miles and I was feeling pretty good. Then I completely gassed. I was in 4th place at mile 2 and ended up finishing 16th. I was obviously very dissappointed. I walked back to the starting line to get my clothes and while I was taking off my spikes someone screamed "We got 2nd!" I went from being incredibly dissappointed to being so happy about what we had accomplished as a team.
Another race that is super special to me was my junior year State Track where I ran. I went out and ran really gutsy and I placed 6th place with a 8 second PR and set our school record. After that meet I felt like I was in great position to have a great State Meet my senior year. This year I decided to run both the 1600 and the 3200 at our one-day section meet. I knew it would be a tough day but I thought I could pull it off. In the 1600 I led for most of the race before getting passed by Jebediah Merkle with 200 to go and Hugo Ruiz with about 20 meters left in the race. I placed 3rd with a PR but no State trip. In the 3200 I went out and set a pretty quick pace for 6 laps. There were 3 of us in the front pack. Owen Keiser from Jordan put on a big surge and my legs didn't have enough to go with him. I placed 3rd again. It ended my senior year in the worst way possible with two 3rd places in one day. But that's track, right? I'm thankful for all of the opportunities I have been given and excited for the future.
Who were your biggest competitors in your track/XC career?
Some of my biggest competitors from track and XC would be Owen Keiser, Javier Victorino, Landon Javens, and Nathan Runck. I have to race them all quite often and they all always push me. We also run against Fairmont at nearly every meet during the year so our distance guys teams have gotten really close.
What was your greatest accomplishment as a track/XC athlete?
My greatest accomplishment in Track/XC would have to be my senior XC season as a whole. I placed 1st in 9 races, setting a school record for most season wins. Placed second once and then having a dissappointing state meet. I also was the captain of our team that went from being unranked at the beginning of the season, to finishing 2nd at state.
Who are your coaches and how have they contributed to your success?
Our XC and Distance coach in track is Brad Stark. His first year of being the head coach was my 8th grade year. So he has been my coach for just about my whole high school career. He plans all our workouts which range from long runs and lots of pace work. Kari Miest is our assistant coach and she is probably the toughest woman I know. We had a planking competition during cross country and she outplanked all of us.
What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome?
I have never really had any serious injuries in my career. This February and early March I dealt with Patellofemoral pain which caused me to lower my mileage quite a bit during that time.
What will you miss the most about high school track/XC?
The thing I'm going to miss most about running in high school is my teammates. Whether it is Troy Parulski singing his very own piece "Demon Sketcher 44" on long runs. Getting to race my brother, Seth Pierson, on the last interval of the workout. Or talking about times on Milesplit with Mauricio Vite. These people have become my best friends and I'm going to miss them as I move onto the future.
What advice would you give to younger athletes?
Never let good enough be enough. No matter how many races you win and how fast your times are there is always going to be someone that is going to be faster.
What are your post-graduation plans?
Next year I will be attending South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota. I will be running Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track. I am so excited to be apart of the program. At SDSU I will be majoring in Dairy Science.
Who would you like to say 'thank you' to?
I would like to thank everyone that has supported me throughout the years whether that be family, coaches, teammates, friends, and other athletes. I couldn't have done it without your support.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
In addition to running I am also very busy year round on my families Dairy Farm. Coming from a farm background I have a work ethic that I don't think many people have. It has been very beneficial to my running career. I also don't think there are many other people that are as dedicated to both running and their cows as much as I am.