Lacer

Emporia State’s Josh Lacer has been running since his freshman year in high school.

For the average person the above statement may sound quite exhausting. For Lacer, however, success has followed him wherever he goes and has led him to Emporia State.

Lacer graduated from Junction City high where he helped the team reach state all four years and AAU nationals his sophomore year. He also went to the Nike Indoor national.

However, Lacer didn’t immediately choose to become a Hornet but instead chose to run for Johnson County Community College in Overland Park.

“I think every runner wants to go Division I, so they kind of look off all the other division 2 schools,” said Lacer, a junior sales management major.

Despite the decision, Lacer was able to become a three-time all-American and set the school record for the half-marathon at Johnson County which may have eventually prompted him to choose Emporia State over the bigger schools.

“I got there and realized running’s running wherever you go,” Lacer said. “I was a three time all-American there and then decided I’d be more help here (Emporia State) than being just another number at a Division I.”

Lacer also noticed a close bond that Emporia State had over the other schools, especially with the cross-country team.

“It was the first kind of school I’d seen that the team was just always around. It was a good community, and they supported their athletes so I kind of grabbed onto that and ran with it,” Lacer said.

Lacer’s decision to come to Emporia has teammate Asher Delmott, junior Psychology major, excited for this season and what he can bring to the table.

“He’s really good endurance athlete, so when track season rolls around, we’re really looking forward to him in the 5K and 10K and also when we start running the 10K at Regionals,” Delmott said.

David Harris, the head cross country coach at Emporia State, recognizes the difficulties transferring can bring to an athlete. Although adapting to a new system and new teammates, Harris still believes Lacer can be a significant runner on this years’ team and will fill a great need.

“We recruited him to make a difference in our program and especially in cross country but we also need somebody on the track a distance runner, and he is a true distance runner,” Harris said.

Brandon Schneeberger

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