50 Tickets to Brooklyn: Boys #29

THE SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

• 800m – 1:58
• 1600m – 4:20
• 5k (XC) – 15:58

• 8^th Place – OK Red
• 8^th Place – Region 1
• 4^th Place – D1 State 4×8
• 25^th Place – D1 State 1600m
• 2^nd Place – Region 2 1600m
• 3^rd Place – OK Red 800m

Ratings Throughout the Years

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
9	Luka Hammond	16:04.3	Grand Haven	191.6	MITCA	11-Nov	2023
9	Luka Hammond	15:58.7	Grand Haven	194.8	Division 1 State	4-Nov	2023
9	Luka Hammond	16:16.2	Grand Haven	188.3	Region 1	28-Oct	2023
9	Luka Hammond	16:08.2	Grand Haven	190.9	OK Red Conference	19-Oct	2023
9	Luka Hammond	16:01.9	Grand Haven	196.4	Portage	7-Oct	2023
9	Luka Hammond	16:16.4	Grand Haven	191.2	Allendale Falcon	30-Sep	2023
9	Luka Hammond	16:20.1	Grand Haven	196.0	Spartan	15-Sep	2023
9	Luka Hammond	16:39.2	Grand Haven	189.3	Bredeweg	9-Sep	2023
9	Luka Hammond	16:29.9	Grand Haven	193.4	Under the Lights v2	25-Aug	2023

The Rundown

Freshman year that ended with a few runs in the 16’s? Track season with a concentration on the 16, ending in a top-3 time amongst 9^th graders? Running under the careful tutelage of the Grand Haven coaches?

Comparison is the thief of joy, but it’s really hard not to see the similarities between Seth Norder and Luka Hammond.

Enough about that though, let’s concentrate on Luka. He caught many of our eyes early on in his running life, winning meet after meet at the middle school level, even reaching into the 9’s on the 8^th grade XC circuit. We were privy to a 5k as well, a 16:50 at Allendale’s PROM. So there was no doubt he could handle the distance.

A sub-16:30 effort to commence his HS career wasn’t mind-blowing given his past. The impressive part is how he was able to perform race after race, always in the mid to low-16’s. Then on the biggest stage of the year, Luka summoned a 15:58 at MIS.

Come track, it was more of that, and I might argue at an even higher level. With a concentration on the 8’s and 16’s, Luka stayed primarily in the 2:0x’s and 4:3x’s before peaking. Come season’s end, Hammond had summoned a 1:58.3 at the West Michigan All-Star Meet, then a 4:20 to make it out of Region 2.

Let’s see what the next three years bring. I’m sure they’ll be special.