Until an injury during eighth grade, senior Lucas Wobig could jump five feet and four inches in the high jump event in track and field. However, he has since chosen to focus on hurdles, continuing the track career that he started in sixth grade. “I hit my head on the bar and missed the mat completely,” Wobig said. “After that I switched my main event to hurdle because high jumping scared me.” 

Originally, Wobig did not want to come to La Salle. “In my mind, it was too expensive, and I could get a high school degree at Clackamas for free,” he said.

Nonetheless, Wobig’s parents sent him to La Salle because his older brother attended school there. “In retrospect, I am glad that I am [here] because of the size and the community,” Wobig said. 

At La Salle, Wobig participated in track and field, and his main events were the 110 and 300 meter hurdles. For his other two events, he alternated between different relays, dashes, and jumps. Outside of track, he participated in La Salle’s swim team and used to play on the soccer team. 

In the off-seasons, Wobig continued his training with ab workouts and daily runs for track. 

“Although track is an individual sport, it has a very strong community because we talk all the time,” he said. “I bond with my teammates over shared experiences, whether that’s a super hard workout that Coach Kelly had us run, or an entire track meet in the rain.” 

Before meets, Wobig said that the team prepares with a warm-up lap and a prayer. “This is one of my favorite parts because we all come together, place hands on each other, and pray to do the best that we can.” Wobig also likes to get a good amount of rest and eat a healthy breakfast that avoids sugars and is full of carbohydrates before his track meets. 

Because of the long amounts of time in between events, Wobig also took time during the meets to chat with his fellow teammates and cheer them on during the events that he didn’t participate in. 

Wobig said that on days when he didn’t have practice, much of his time was spent doing homework. “I have an extremely hard course load, and so I would take every opportunity that I had to do work,” he said. “If I finished my work, then I would be hanging out with friends.”

Wobig said that his favorite part about playing sports at La Salle is the community that comes with the team. “Some of my closest friends are on my swim, soccer, and track teams,” he said. “I got to know a lot of underclassmen too, which was awesome.” 

As for managing his time between classes, sports, and other activities, Wobig doesn’t find an issue with the balance. “I think most people like to take a break between school and homework,” Wobig said. “[But] my sports are that break.” 

Wobig’s younger brother, sophomore Seth Wobig, also participates in track. “Our family is pretty busy, but we always have time for each other,” Wobig said. “Honestly, I am blessed to have a very close family, and I have never even thought about balancing my time between sports and family because it has never been an issue.” 

Wobig said that the best part of track is watching himself improve. “There is very little luck, and a lot of skill in track,” he said. “You see who is the best, and you do everything that you can to [beat] that time.” 

Wobig’s one goal this year was to break a school record, but because of the COVID-19 outbreak he was unable to achieve that this year. “I was close junior year, and I will never know if I would have beaten the time for our school in the 300 meter hurdles this year,” he said. “It is a little sad, but I am over it now.” 

When things get difficult for Wobig, he said that his main encouragement is his faith in God. “I always try to do my best for Him because He has blessed me with this life,” Wobig said. “I have definitely had tough moments in my life, and without God, I am not sure what I would do.” 

Wobig also said that he believes God has a path, and he is hoping to follow this path by attending the University of California, Berkeley for college to study biology on a pre-med track. While he does not have a goal to play sports professionally in college, he said he would like to participate in intramural sports.