With the spring season in full swing, the Aliso Niguel track and field team is showing no signs of slowing down. Under the leadership of Coach Lusar, the team has built a reputation for consistency, discipline and strong performances especially among the girls team, which is currently producing some of the best results in school history.
“We practice at this point five days a week with meets on Saturday,” said Coach Lusar. “We don’t practice less, we just practice differently.”
According to Lusar, the team follows a detailed training cycle that changes depending on the time of year. “We go through training cycles: July through September is one phase, then October looks different than September, and so on.”
This approach allows athletes to train all year while focusing on different aspects of their performance. “It’s not easier or harder,” she explained. “The different training we do can be hard in different ways.”
Fall training emphasizes building a strong foundation of endurance, strength, and skill. “You’ll develop all your skills through our base in the fall, and when we get into the season, you start to build up more on your speed.”
Meets are a key part of the experience, and they demand a lot from both athletes and coaches.
“Our typical meets hold 16 events with four levels, and they take about three or four hours,” said Lusar. That’s hours of sprints, relays, distance runs, jumps and throws—with athletes often competing in multiple events.
This season, the girls team has been a standout. “Our girls team has been doing great,” Lusar said. “We have one of the top throwers in the state and nation, and we have a top 4-by-1 team.”
In addition to top relay teams, individual athletes are also breaking records. “Two of our girls just ran third and fourth of all time,” she said, referring to school history. “We have a minimum of 15 athletes right now that are in the top 10 all time.”
With so many strong performances, it’s no surprise that many Aliso athletes have advanced to finals. “A lot of kids got into finals,” Lusar said proudly. And the season isn’t over yet—many of the girls are preparing for CIF competition on May 10th, one of the biggest meets of the year.
As the team heads into the final stretch of the season, their hard work and dedication are paying off. Whether it’s breaking records or qualifying for CIF, Aliso Niguel’s track and field program is showing exactly what it means to push limits and go the distance.
