As boys’ wrestling captain for two years, Lucas Long earns his place as the athlete of the month. He has been putting in the effort ever since his freshman year to his senior year on the team.

“Lucas is a self-motivated and very determined athlete who sacrifices his downtime after practice with extra gym time, road work, and proper dieting that allows him to compete at the highest level,” said boys’ wrestling coach Can Tran.

Along with the tough training, Lucas balances his academics. He plans ahead and organizes to keep up with his work. His work ethic is praised by his coach as “something I am proud of.”

Lucas draws his inspiration for wrestling from his uncle. When first starting, both were of shorter height than their opponents. This similarity gave him comparisons and expectations to move towards.

“I think being a four time champion makes me realize that I have been working and pushing myself constantly towards something and it makes me look back on what I have accomplished and be proud of it,” said Lucas.

During his four years on the team, Lucas had achieved numerous accomplishments. He had succeeded three times as a MVL champion and made it onto the CIF team two times. 

“I think everyone around me helped me become who I am today,” said Lucas, “They helped me by motivating me to either keep working hard or helping me with my technique, so I’m very grateful for everyone that helped me along my journey.”