Junior sprinter feeds off her own successGoing into Friday's SeaRay Relays in Knoxville, Tenn., UW junior sprinter Shuntia Lucas was not expecting much. Sickness had kept her from competing earlier in the season, and her performance in Texas a week earlier had been nothing special.
I was really just trying to get prepared, focus on my starts, and put a good time up there to qualify for Regionals,\ Lucas said.
She went on to run the 100-meter dash in 11.53 seconds, which not only qualified her for the NCAA Regionals, but also bettered her own school record set last year by two-hundredths of a second. Not realizing how fast she had run, Lucas remained unaware she had broken her own record until the coach called her later that night.
Lucas was most surprised with her performance because it occurred amidst the rising spring temperatures. Being a
Michigan native, she said that the heat ""is hard for me to deal with, coming from cool weather to hot weather, being able to adjust and warm up and race is really difficult for me.""
The record is important not so much in an individual sense, according to Lucas, but because she knows she is doing her best to contribute to the team as a whole. She is also proud because she has been through a lot at Wisconsin and even considered transferring schools. Seeing her name in the record books will prove that she never gave up.
Of course, an athlete can only break her own record so many times before it becomes downright monotonous, so Lucas is setting her sites on records not yet in her possession. Namely, the UW 200-meter dash record. Lucas' personal best in the event is 23.64 seconds, twelve-hundredths of a second off the school record of 23.52.
""As long as [my team] keeps encouraging me and things like that, and as long as I get my mental and physical game ready, I know that I'll be able to break the record,"" Lucas said. ""Hopefully this year.""
When asked next whether she was better at the 100 or 200, Lucas laughed.
""I knew that was coming,"" she said. ""My best race would have to be the 200. Even though I broke the record in the 100, I just love to run the 200.""
Lucas qualified for Regionals last year in both the 200 and 100, though she only advanced to Nationals in the former. Her main goal this year is to go to Nationals in both events, make Regionals and score points for the Badgers with her 4x100 meter relay team.
Assistant coach Elizabeth Zimney said Lucas is a naturally talented runner who feeds off her success as she becomes better and better.
""She's just gifted in terms of how her muscles have developed,"" Zimney said. ""Physiologically she is a sprinter, and she knows how to use it, continually improving year after year.""
According to Zimney, Lucas is not the only one who feeds off her own talent. Her speed gives other sprinters a glimpse at what real collegiate speed is like and shows them what they are capable of.
""Sometimes, if you don't have people around you who can achieve at that high level,"" Zimney said, ""you don't really know that it's possible."" \
