Hermantown standouts Ferrah LaLone, Zoey Lucarelli and Cooper Lucarelli will participate in the Minnesota State High School League’s Cross Country State Meet on Saturday at the University of Minnesota Les Bolstad Golf Course.
Hawks coach Andy Wilcox on the trio:
Ferrah LaLone – “A sophomore, she took 3rd place at the section meet and this will be her second time competing in the state meet, as she also was an individual qualifier last year. She had a great season and set the school record for the girls team with a time of 19:20 at the race in Proctor. She is one of the most consistent runners I have coached. Her running style is relaxed, but she keeps a great deal of focus on her pace and her race strategy. She has set some state goals this year and has set her sights on placing higher than last year and trying to get closer to breaking that 19-minute mark. I truly believe Ferrah has what it takes to crush this goal and be very successful in her second state meet.”
Zoey Lucarelli – “A seventh-grader, she placed 8th at the section meet and has been a great asset to the girls varsity team this year. She ran in middle school events last year as a sixth-grader, and us coaches knew she had potential to perform at the high school level. But to predict being a state qualifier in her first year on the varsity team was not out of the question, but with how strong our section is, we knew it may have been difficult for her. She definitely showed us what she is capable of this year, and she has consistently placed in the top-10 at most of our meets this year. Zoey has the ability to surprise everyone one more time this year with a strong run at state.”
Cooper Lucarelli – “A sophomore, he placed 4th at the section meet with a time of 16:56 and that was his second time breaking the 17 minute time barrier this year. He just missed out on state last year, and came into this season with a very passionate goal to qualify for state. He put in the work in the offseason and at practices during the season to set himself up for success and to attain his goal. Cooper has placed in the top-7 at almost all of our meets this year, and as one of our team leaders he is showing our young team exactly what it takes to be one of the top runners in the area. Cooper will definitely push himself in the state meet this year and I really think he has what it takes to get another personal best time.”
Finally, Wilcox on his team – “Our team works super hard during the season, and this year I believe that they all got better and set many personal bests. This happened not only because of the times they got at meets, but because of how close they became as teammates. One of the things I hear the most from our runners is how awesome it is to be part of a team that actually feels like a family, regardless of age, gender, or ability, and everyone cheers and supports each other at both practices and meets. Both the Hawks boys and girls cross country teams have very bright futures, as we are a very young team with most of our top runners returning next year.”