Since joining the team her junior year, Andover Track & Field Co-Captain Fredericka Lucas ’18 has consistently impressed her teammates with both her enthusiasm and athletic prowess throughout the season, according to Sadie Cheston-Harris ’20 and Alex Fleury ’20.
“Fredericka is always positive and ready to help and encourage others. When I was on a relay with her, she did a great job keeping us confident and motivated before our event. She is not only incredibly fast, but also leads by example, and is an incredibly genuine and kind person,” said Cheston-Harris.
After picking up spring track in middle school, Lucas looked to continue her running career at Andover.
“I started doing outdoor track in seventh grade, but I didn’t do both seasons until I got to Andover… I kind of picked it up just because I thought it was really fun,” Lucas said.
Lucas has grown to become a top runner for Andover, specializing in the 55 and 300 meter dashes as well as the High Jump. According to Cheston-Harris, her athleticism makes her a leader of the team.
“This indoor track season went really well. Fredericka definitely played a huge part in that, both spirit wise and points wise. She places in a wide variety of events which helps the girls team with points, but she also provides as someone other teammates strive to be, in turn, pushing us to work harder,” said Cheston-Harris.
In addition to her love for running, Lucas has grown to love both the individual and team aspect that, not only the sport offers, but specifically what Andover offers.
“I think one of the really cool things about track is that you compete individually, but you’re also part of a team, so you really get to experience both sides of the sport,” said Lucas. “Even though you’re working towards a personal best and you want to do the best that you can as an individual athlete, all of your points still go to the team winning and you still have all of your team cheering and supporting you — and you’re cheering everyone else on the team as well. I think that’s something really cool and unique about track.”
Going into the season, Lucas focused on creating a close, supportive environment for her teammates so that each runner could feel included and excited to be part of the team.
Lucas said, “I think my goals as captain were to connect with as many people on the team as possible. There are a hundred people on the team, so there are a ton of different events, and I’m not always spending time with everyone on the team, like distance runners, but I wanted to try to learn everyone’s names so I could cheer on as many people as possible.”
According to Isobel Glass ’21, Lucas not only met her goal of making the team a supportive and inclusive atmosphere but exceeded it.
“Fred is a great role model and leader on the team through her easygoing and always warm spirit, her incredible strength on the track, and her commitment to including everyone and helping people improve. I look up to her so much!” Glass wrote in an email to The Phillipian.
In her time as captain, Lucas has led Andover through an incredibly successful season. With Lucas leading the way, Girls Varsity has won all of its matches this year, including a close one-point victory against Exeter in its final full-team meet.
“I think my favorite memories are from the closest meets — and for some reason, in my time here, it always comes down to one point for Andover Exeter for the girls meets, so every year we have no idea which way it’s going to go… It always comes down to the last race, so everyone’s out there on the track cheering on [their] teammates because [they] know this will really make or break the meet. So these memories, the ones where the team has to rally together for a really close meet, those are my favorite memories,” said Lucas.
Looking forward, Lucas is excited to compete in the spring and enjoy every moment of her last season of Andover track.
Lucas said, “When you get to your Senior year and you look back, you realize that four years can go by really, really quickly. So one piece of advice I’d give future runners is that even though there are always ups and downs, definitely just make the most of every moment and try your hardest in every single aspect of the sport — because you don’t want to look back and have any regrets. Really [try to] immerse yourself in the team as much as possible because it’s a great sport and it’s a great experience.”
