Daily Journal Athlete of the Week: Serra’s Luke Lewis

The championship heave on his fourth throw of the finals did the job though, after which he was all smiles with the big league answers.

“I’m just happy to be here,” Lewis said. “I try to work every day. Just piece by piece, that’s how I try to work. And it came together today. It’s been a season of hard work, an off-season of hard work — and there’s more there.”

If Lewis is supremely confident and comfortable around the track, it might have to do with being something of royalty in the sport. His father Mike Lewis is a longtime track-and-field throwing coach of Skyline College and College of San Mateo fame. And one of Mike Lewis’ all-time greatest prodigies — former Olympian in the shot put Gregg Tafralis of Millbrae — is like an uncle to Luke Lewis.

“Part of it is being around the sport,” Serra head coach Jim Marheineke said of Luke Lewis’ swagger. “That’s the way Gregg was. When Gregg walked into a track meet, you knew he was there.”

Because of the air he brings to the track, it’s easy to overlook this was Lewis’ first season on the varsity circuit. He spent all his freshman season with the Serra junior-varsity team. With the exception of competing in one JV invitational this season — when he broke Jason Dossey’s 33-year-old JV shot put record — he has earned his varsity stripes through and through.

“Last year was not quite as good as this year,” Lewis said. “But we’re putting it together this year. I’m excited.”

In addition to his CCS shot put title, Lewis earned a podium spot in the discus, taking sixth-place with a PR throw of 141-5.

Lewis is one of two promising sophomore throwers at Serra. Teammates Jay Leder also reached the podium in the shot put, taking fourth-place with a 50-4.5. The two have a natural competitive air built into them, with Lewis growing up attending Our Lady of Angels, and Leder going to St. Matthew’s, where the two competed on the basketball court over the years.

Now, that competitive vibe has translated into a daily routine of the two bringing the best out of one another as Serra teammates.

“The two of us, we talk a little bit of smack to each other here and there,” Lewis said. “We push each other. Always mental toughness is what we rely on. That’s a big secret of Serra throws.”

Considering the Serra mantra of “brotherhood,” though, Lewis is a perfect fit. His father is one of three brothers to emerge from Lincoln High School in San Francisco, along with Pat and Dennis Lewis. All three have distinguished themselves in the coaching world — Mike and Pat in track and field, and Dennis in basketball.

Marheineke best described Mike Lewis: “The first time you meet Mike, be ready for a hug.”

Luke Lewis’ mother Nicole is also a track-and-field great, having competed at Fresno State before meeting Mike Lewis when he coached her post-graduation in the javelin throw. Mike now serves as their son’s personal coach.

“I think it’s been great,” Marheineke said. “It’s a great opportunity for his dad and Luke to share something ... the the same love and passion for the sport.”

The sophomore had to dig deep Saturday though. Admittedly, he wasn’t on his game through the first few rounds. Marheineke said Lewis’ second throw of the day might have been his best had he not faulted on it.

Two rounds later, though, he put himself among the Serra greats, becoming the first Padre to earn a CCS shot put title since Elijah Folau — now in his third year as an assistant coach on the Serra staff — won both the shot and discus title in 2018.

“Today was a little bit of a rougher day, a rougher start for me,” Lewis said. “I didn’t really come out of the gate firing; last week I did, I caught the [57-8] PR on my second attempt. And so this week my first three throws were a little lower than I would like, but I sort of just quieted my mind and focused on my technique, and was able to get one and come through.”