Lane has long been known as “The School of Champions.” It is a term that often lingers in the minds of Lane athletes when practicing and competing.

As long as Lane has had this name, it has been producing top notch athletes.

In the early 1900s, NFL running back and the first African American to coach in the NFL, Fritz Pollard, attended Lane, according to a biography titled “Fritz Pollard: Pioneer in Racial Advancement.” Similar to Pollard, Johnny Weismuller, who won five Olympic gold medals in swimming, is said to have attended Lane for a short while before dropping out to work and support his family who had recently immigrated, according to multiple online sources.

Many successful athletes have come and gone since those two athletes, but today a new age of Lane athletics and its coaches have produced a plethora of athletes who compete at the college and professional levels.

Pavlo Hutsalyuk is a Lane alum who currently runs track at the University of Iowa.

“I believe Lane is one of the finest high school programs in the city, producing athletes that can compete at the state level, with much better funded suburban programs,” Hutsalyuk said.

Hutsalyuk was the 1,600 meter state champion in his senior year at Lane, and also won All-America honors for his sixth place finish in the 3,200 meter relay at the 2014 National Championships.

“The [track] coaches at Lane gave me all the tools necessary for me to succeed and it was up to me if I wanted to use them and be successful,” Hutsalyuk said. “I am lucky to have been a part of the Lane Tech track program.”

Hutsalyuk is accompanied by another Lane alum at Iowa, Meghan Lavelle, a sophomore who has already captured two school records in swimming for the Hawkeyes.

Lavelle holds numerous records at Lane; she was a four-time all-conference, two-time all-state, two-time team most valuable player and team captain honoree.

“If I was to go to any other high school for swimming [besides Lane], I would not be where I am today in my swimming career,” Lavelle said. “Lane definitely had a positive effect on my swimming career.”

“The team and coaching staff had a positive effect on me as well,” Lavelle said. “Everyone was supportive of each other when we trained, and without the workouts written by Paul Rummelhoff, I would not be prepared for college training.”

Jason Santana, a freshman baseball player at the University of Memphis, graduated from Lane in 2015 and hopes to extend his playing career beyond college.

“I would love to continue to play baseball after college and be selected in the draft,” Santana said. “I do understand that percentage-wise what the chances are for anyone to make it, but it’s a shot I’m going to take. And if I don’t make it, at least I can say I tried.”

Santana was the defensive and team MVP for Lane baseball in his senior season, was an all-conference selection, and finished his senior season with a career high .429 batting average.

“[Lane] made me understand how much I truly love to play the game of baseball and how much I wanted to continue to play it in college,” Santana said.

But unlike Lavelle and Hutsalyuk, Santana believes Lane athletics did not fully prepare him for the college game.

“The Lane baseball program taught me the importance of communication and leadership and how much those two coincide and help a team grow,” Santana said. “By understanding a lack of communication and leadership in the Lane baseball program at the varsity level, it was my goal to try and fix that for my teammates. As for the physical aspect of the Lane baseball program, I was honestly not well prepared for college, especially for the position I play, catcher.”

“I know I could have found a better baseball program than Lane’s but that’s not the only reason why I chose the school,” Santana said. “I wanted a school that was the most well-rounded academically first, then athletically. Lane was that best possible place for me as a whole.”

Santana was still successfully recruited to the University of Memphis, a Division 1 baseball program where he is currently a starting catcher.

“[The recruiting process was] nerve-racking,” Santana said. “Sometimes it’s hard for you to get your name out and spark college coaches’ interest in you. I emailed quite a few coaches and sent them recruiting videos of myself hitting, throwing, and catching along with grades, and test scores, followed with my summer baseball schedule.”

Contrary to Santana, Hutsalyuk had an easier time limiting his options.

“The recruiting process was really exciting as I got to look at and visit different schools, finding the right one for me. After having visited Iowa and being offered a running scholarship I knew that’s where I wanted to go,” Hutsalyuk said.

On the other hand, Lavelle was a very highly touted recruit out of high school and had a tougher time making her decision.

“I ended up being contacted by 26 Division I schools asking me to take an official visit, commit to their swim team, and study at their university,” Lavelle said. “An NCAA rule is that I am only allowed to take five official visits. Out of all the colleges that contacted me, I decided to stick to the Big Ten conference and visit Minnesota, Ohio State, Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Purdue, and Iowa.”

“It was rough to balance schoolwork, visit colleges, and still train as a high school athlete,” Lavelle said. “After a long decision process, a couple of tears, support from my family, teammates, and coaches, I decided that I wanted to swim for the University of Iowa.”

According to Lavelle, she is currently training for the Olympic trials in Omaha, Nebraska in June 2016.

“It is unlikely for me to represent Team USA in the Olympics, but it’s not impossible,” Lavelle said. “I know I have a better shot of representing Team Ireland in the Olympics, because I am currently in the process of getting dual citizenship, but even then that still requires a lot more training after college as well.”

Hutsalyuk has a similar mindset on taking his talents to the next level.

“After having put up some great marks in my first collegiate season, running professionally is definitely a possibility and something I would be excited to do,” Hutsalyuk said. “Having double citizenships gives me an ability to represent Ukraine at the Olympics, which is a lot easier than making the USA team.”

Santana on the other hand has one goal in his mind for the next level, the MLB Draft.

“It’s been my dream since I was a little kid to one day play in the big leagues on a baseball field. That’s my plan,” Santana said. “I would love to continue to play baseball after college and be selected in the draft. I do understand that percentage-wise what the chances are for anyone to make it, but it’s a shot I’m going to take. And if I don’t make it, at least I can say I tried.

The ambition of the three athletes perfectly encapsulates the mindset of the “School of Champions,” as they all vow to do what they can to participate at the next level.

“One piece of advice to young athletes is to never give up on your sport no matter how tough it gets,” Hutsalyuk said. “There have been countless workouts where I ask myself why I’m doing this to myself, but nothing feels better than getting on the podium and getting a medal or winning a trophy with your team.”

“Putting that extra 10 minutes of practice into your schedule might not help you specifically for the next upcoming meet, but it will help you in the long run when it comes down to your championship game or meet,” Lavelle said. “Don’t be afraid. Be Confident. Own it.”

“Understand that not everyone is going to remember specific stats or how many points you scored in each game, but what they will remember how you played the game, and the type of guy or girl you were while playing the game. Leave a mark–a good one,” Santana said, addressing young athletes, as well as his former Lane baseball players. “Good luck this season, boys! Grab the ring #LetsEat.”