Lucas Wik, ‘26, has been running his whole life and at Boulder High for four years. Coming from a family of runners, this sport has been important to him forever, and he knows what it takes to be successful: “There’s no way to cheat. You have to devote a lot of time and effort to it. You have to be honest with yourself—put in the hours, or you won’t be successful. This means hours of training and also hours recovering and taking care of your body.”
Cross country only contains one event, the 5k. Being a little over 3 miles, the race is short, leaving no room to make mistakes like getting off to a slow start or letting up towards the end. To most non-runners, the pace it takes to win or perform well in a 5k would feel like a 3-mile-long sprint, making a fast finish extremely impressive.
Cross country is unlike many sports in that you compete as both an individual and as a team. Individually, Wik has had incredible success this season, and the Boulder High boys’ cross country team has as well. This season, Wik beat the BHS boys’ 5k record by 20 seconds. Lukas Haug set the previous record in 2020 by running a 5k in 15:20.03. On September 13th of this year, at the Liberty Bell Invitational, Wik ran a 5k in 15:00.2.
In terms of team success, as of October 9th, 2025, the boys’ team is ranked number 8 in the country. This incredible feat is thanks to the team winning four out of their five varsity races that occurred before that date. After being announced as the number 8 team in the nation, their success didn’t end; one day later, they won the Rocky Mountain League Championships with Wik being the first runner over the finish line.
When asked what is different about the team this year that has led to so much success, Wik said, “We didn’t graduate anyone last year, so that makes the team really strong. Because of this, we’ve been training together for a long time, so we have a great team connection.” Wik also attributes much of his personal success to his teammates. Not only does he work hard for his teammates, saying, “I do it for my teammates,” but he also says, “There’s a great team culture, and I’ve always had support from my teammates,” which pushes him to work hard and perform well.
In order to perform so well, Wik trains 6 days a week, but he knows that not every race will be a success even when training this hard. In his words, “you can’t have a good race every race,” and even when he has a long streak of success, his favorite part of the sport is still connections with his teammates and coaches.
In terms of coaches, Wik looks up to Coach Austen Dalquest as a mentor and embodiment of success, saying, “He is a professional runner and a great individual overall,” two things Wik aspires to carry in his own running career.
What’s next for Wik? Besides closing out his senior year cross country season and enjoying the time with his teammates, Wik hopes to continue running competitively in college. As a record holder, leader, and great teammate, the possibilities are endless!
