Lawson hopes to reach new heights at Stanford

Corning-Painted Post High School senior distance runner Jessica Lawson has won multiple state championships in cross country and track for the Hawks. She is hoping Stanford University will help propel her to similar success at the college level and beyond.

Lawson made a verbal commitment to the prestigious California university official by signing a National Letter of Intent last week to run cross country and track for the Cardinal. Thursday was a time to celebrate that decision, with her parents, four siblings and a good chunk of the school joining her for a signing ceremony at the high school's cafeteria.

"I was very excited to have my family and friends here," she said. "It means a lot to see everyone that came. I'm very excited for the next few years. Stanford's an awesome program and I can't wait."

Lawson picked Stanford over two other prominent Division I programs she visited: Providence College and Georgetown University. She verbally committed to Stanford on Nov. 3 after winning a fourth straight Section 4 cross country title. She described the recruiting process as "a busy but good experience."

"I’m hoping my freshman year to make that top team (at Stanford)," she said. "They’re headed to NCAAs this weekend (for cross country), so I’m very excited to see where they’ll end up. They’re a very successful and hard-working program. I’m very excited to be a part of that and hopefully they can help me reach the next level in my running. One of my goals is to become a professional runner. Talking to those coaches, they seem like some coaches who can help me reach my goal."

Stanford, a member of the Pacific-10 Conference, has five NCAA Division I national team titles in women's cross country, with the most recent coming in 2007. The Cardinal women have two national runner-up team finishes in indoor track. Stanford's track and field program has produced more than 60 Olympians.

A college scholarship has been a long time coming for Lawson, whose cross country coach is her dad, Ray Lawson, himself part of the University of Rochester's 1991 NCAA Division III national championship team. He started his comments on his daughter by talking about how as a 4-year-old she wanted to follow her mother, Julie, during a 5K race. Jessica hopped out of the double-jogger she shared with 2-year-old brother Nathan and started to run behind Mom.

"It was a little bit embarrassing. As a 4-year-old she was passing some people who were running," Ray said. "Some of them were saying, 'Aw, how cute,' and some were not saying that."

After returning to the jogger for a break, Jessica ended up with a 27-minute 5K. The next day, however, she was aching.

"I was like, 'Oh, bad dad, bad coach. You let a 4-year-old run a 5K,'" Ray said.

Their running partnership has obviously evolved since then, with Ray coaching Jessica throughout her four seasons of high school cross country and in the years before when she was home-schooled.

"It’s definitely very special," Jessica said of their relationship. "I feel so lucky to have had him as my coach for the past four years, and even before that because he was my coach in middle school for me. It’s just amazing the relationship that we’ve formed and that he’s going to be able to form with all my younger siblings if they come to school also."

Jessica's competitive career began in seventh grade, when she would go on training runs with her mother after school and her grandparents would drive her from her home in Addison to modified meets in Pennsylvania. She said her family was supportive of her decision to go to college on the other side of the country. One bonus is she has an aunt who lives five miles from the Stanford campus, which is in the Palo Alto area of Northern California.

Lawson's list of high school running achievements ranks among the longest in New York state history. It includes two overall Federation state titles in cross country and one public schools championship. Last year, she placed 11th in the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in San Diego. This year, she has her sights set on competing at the Nike Cross Nationals on Dec. 3 in Portland, Oregon.

Lawson and her Corning teammates will compete in the Northeast Region qualifier Nov. 26 at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls. She finished third Saturday in the Class A race at the state public schools meet at Chenango Valley State Park. TullyRunners.com called that particular event perhaps the toughest in the nation among high school championship races.

In track, Lawson is a three-time state champion in the 3,000 meters (two outdoor, one indoor) and was part of Corning's state champion 3,200 relay team in 2014. She holds Section 4 records in the 3,000, the 5,000, the 1,600, the 3,200 and two relays. All this came despite missing nearly her entire sophomore track season with a foot injury.

Lawson, a member of the National Honor Society, owns and manages a herd of registered Holsteins, a breed of cattle, that she has raised and displayed at shows. She plans to major in biology at Stanford, then attend veterinary school. In the meantime, she's enjoying her final year of high school, which included a Section 4 team title in cross country for the girls and a Class A state title for the boys.

"Every year is a different team, a different dynamic, and I have to say this cross country team this year is very special to me," she told the gathering. "Their work ethic and their determination, and their love for their teammates ... everyone's just friends and I love it so much. This kind of attitude I believe has allowed this group to be the best cross country team that Corning has had yet. My teammates really just motivate me every day and they really taught me to be a better teammate and develop into a better leader."

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