Although he still has one more year of high school, it has been a long run for Austin Lane. Since the 7th grade, he has been a three-season running phenomenon for GCS and as his athletics star has risen, so too have his grades in school. His 90 average reflects academic talent and a commitment that he has honed in running.

When Austin was in middle school, he dreamed of football. He could run like the wind and catch any thrown football within reach. On summer nights, he would line up at scrimmage and his quarterback and father, Bob Lane, would launch long pass after pass. Austin would dash down the field, run under the ball, catch it and jog back for another round. His father’s arm would be too sore to continue long before Austin would tire. When done, Austin would imagine himself as Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward. His father, a running coach, would say “Austin just ran forty fifty-meter intervals.” Over time, Austin came to realize that he was built more like Steve Prefontaine than an NFL receiver and that distance running is his truest athletic gift.

During his sixth grade year Austin volunteered to be a manager for the GCS varsity track team. One day in practice, he saw the varsity boys running 600 meter intervals. Austin, dressed in cargo shorts and basketball sneakers, wandered over to where they were starting and jumped into an interval run. Up to six years of age, spikes and running shorts were not enough of an advantage for the varsity runners. By the time coaches ushered him off of the track, Austin had left the entire pack of runners behind and dropped a hint of what was to come. The following fall, running as a 7th grader, he would win the first of his five straight Wasaren League varsity cross country championships. He is a prohibitive favorite to win a 6th this fall and he plans to break the 15:00 barrier at the Spa Park cross-country course.

Alone, ahead of the field  in a cross country meet

In Austin’s family, winning is fine, but achieving potential is what is most important and his parents are expert at assessing potential. His mother, Dena Lane, is a GCS assistant coach and Bob runs the “fourth season” for GCS runners- the Fastlane Summer Running Camp. Austin’s two older sisters may have broken ground for his running career in the family, but they left very high standards in their wakes. Caitlin (GCS ’08) is an All-American runner at Penn State and Brittney (’10) is a scholarship runner at Sacred Heart University.

In the 8th grade, Austin was the junior high school national champion in the indoor mile. In his freshman season, he broke a thirty year-old school record in the 1600M. He has won more cross country, indoor and outdoor invitational, league and sectional titles than one could count without an abacus. He holds multiple Greenwich school records and in outdoor track, this includes the 800M (1:56.97) and the 1600M (4:19.72). He has run within one second of the school 3200M record (9:24.1) and is likely to eclipse the 400M record (50.2) in his senior year.

Austin is currently extending his track and field season with some summer U.S.A. Track and Field meets. Throughout the GCS track season, he typically ran four events per meet in leading the Witches to a Wasaren League Championship and a second place finish at the Sectional Meet. Austin’s selflessness elevated his team, but did not allow him to fully tap his potential in individual event performances. The extension of his season is designed to address this.

In his first summer meet, Austin ran 4:00.06 in the 1500M. He has since run a comfortable time trial of 2:30 for the 1000M, suggesting that his meet times will continue to drop in the middle distances, now that he can concentrate more on these events. He is currently on pace to drop his 1600M time to the four minute and fifteen second range this summer. By next spring, the goal is to run “single digits,” by breaking the 4:10 barrier.

In his senior year, Austin’s schedule will include Physics, AP English and college calculus. He has been contacted by several Division I college coaches, but has no favorite choice, so far. He does know that he would like to attend a school with both fine academics and a competitive running program. This would be fitting for a scholar-athlete of his rare caliber.

                                            Powering forward in 800M race