Wahconah's Lewis Commits to Run Track at Stonehill

DALTON, Mass. – As a sprinter, Wahconah senior Lorenzo Lewis is best at going really fast for relatively short distances.

 

But on Thursday afternoon, he reached a milestone on a journey that is years in the making.

 

“This has been a goal, to compete on the highest level that I can, pretty much all my life,” Lewis said after signing a National Letter of Intent to attend and run track at Stonehill College in Easton.

 

Flanked by his parents and facing many of his teammates in the school’s gymnasium, Lewis committed to the Division I Skyhawks program that placed second at last spring’s Northeast Conference Outdoor Championships.

 

Lewis said he did not always know that his path would bring him to track and field, but he always had the drive to excel athletically.

 

“When I first got to high school, I was thinking I was going to do soccer, and then I ended up switching to football,” he said. “So football and track are my two major sports. And in track freshman year, I got Rookie of the Year for my team and showed a lot of promise, and I kind of just built on that.

 

“Junior year, I broke the school record and kept on PR’ing. I did well in Western Mass, kept getting better in states. And I was like, ‘This can really become something.’ “

 

Around that same time, Lewis said, he started seriously looking at colleges.

 

“Literally, just after my junior year, that whole summer, we’ve been talking to [colleges],” he said. “Stonehill has been on my list for a really long time. I think the school is great. I love the coaches. I love the team. We stayed over for a night, and it’s a great group of guys. I think I really have a great chance of success there.”

 

Lewis’ high school coach said that senior has been an example of success.

 

“We, as a track program, emphasize what we call a ‘Division I attitude about training and paying attention to detail,’ “ Joe Albano said. “Lorenzo certainly has taken that to heart, not only during the track season but for the entire calendar year. He works hard on his own, he follows the techniques.

 

“He’s a great leader. He’s a great leader by example and by practicality. He also does a great job assisting the young guys in their techniques, pointing out how they can be better. He’s a great example, and I hope all our future athletes can follow the example that you’re setting.”

 

Lewis said he expects to specialize in the 400-meter dash at the collegiate level, but he also is looking forward to trying different distances, like the 300 and 500, in the indoor season.

 

And he has not neglected his non-athletic pursuits.

 

“[Stonehill] also has a sweet civil engineering program,” Lewis said. “I want to be an engineer, and they have a program with Notre Dame, a three-plus-two program, where I can go to Stonehill for three years and then go to Notre Dame for two and get a degree in engineering.

 

“And if I do well enough at Stonehill and have another eligible year, I could run track at Notre Dame, which would be awesome.”