SHIPPENSBURG — Ella Lucas sometimes throws when no one is watching. It’s just her discus, a pair of shoes and an empty sector.
One shoe is placed at about 150 feet. The other is set down much farther. Lucas takes her best shots and sees where they land.
“It gives you something to aim at,” she said. “You celebrate if you hit a good one.”
This is a type of therapy for the Warwick senior. A way to escape from the world and enjoy her favorite activity. The one she does better than everyone else.
The audience was much larger when Lucas stepped into the circle Saturday. Everyone who watched the girls Class 3A discus wanted to see how far she could make it fly. They weren’t disappointed.
Lucas reached 163 feet, 9 inches to win gold at the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium. She broke the Lancaster-Lebanon League record set by Garden Spot’s Eliese Mitchell at 159-10 in 1999.
“My mentality going in was, ‘Let’s have a good series, let’s PR and let’s have fun,’ ” Lucas said. “I was happy I could do all those things.”
Lucas was introduced to throwing earlier than most. She’s the kid sister of David Lucas, who finished second in the PIAA discus eight years ago. Ella used to follow her brother around with a camera and take pictures at his competitions.
The roles have since been reversed. David, who went on to an All-America competition career at Penn State, was the one in the bleachers hoping his sibling could find a few more feet.
“As I started getting older, competing more and getting to the state meet, Ella was always the first person there to support me,” he said. “She’s been there for everything. One of my biggest cheerleaders.”
Ella Lucas followed her typical plan Saturday. She landed a safe one on her first try to make sure she reached the finals. Then she went for it.
The first breakthrough came on her second attempt. Lucas hit 160-9 to put herself in the driver’s seat for gold. She set another PR, and lengthened her record, on her fifth throw.
Warwick assistant coach Wanda Weachter called Lucas a “student of her sport.” The former state champ has worked with Lucas for years and watched her develop from throwing 85 feet in her first meets to setting the standard today.
Lucas studies video. She asks questions. She throws until the coach tells her to stop and then asks to throw some more.
“Even if she doesn’t throw her best, we’re still good with that outcome,” Weachter said. “We take it apart and we look at it. She grows from it. That’s very special. A lot of athletes get down on themselves.”
It wasn’t a straight line from following her brother around Shippensburg University in his prep days to standing atop the podium on the stadium infield. Lucas had to find her way. After her freshman season was canceled due to COVID-19, she briefly considered giving up track.
All the first-place finishes and records almost never happened. That’s unthinkable now. Once Lucas rediscovered her love for throwing as a sophomore, she never looked back. These days she smiles through every meet and soaks up every minute.
“Ella has demonstrated an incredible amount of discipline to go out and practice,” David Lucas said. “Hours by herself. Hours when it’s dark outside. She has such a high level of commitment to being her best self.”
Lucas felt nostalgic when she prepared for her final attempt in a Warwick uniform. She went into her spin and tried to set one last high school PR. Her throw sailed way wide.
The senior laughed it off. The gold medal already belonged to her. The hard work, even when no one was watching, made the difference.
“When you walk in that circle, nothing else really matters,” Lucas said. “It’s like home. That’s when I can do what I love.”
Facing the best in the state, Lucas threw it farther than she ever has before. She finally reached that second shoe.
