On Monday, May 20, 2024, Central Bucks East senior Luke Lehmann was recognized for continuing to his rowing career at the University of Wisconsin.
Luke Lehmann – University of Wisconsin (Rowing)
Major: Business
Final list of colleges: Wisconsin, Purdue, Clemson, Indiana, Delaware
Reasons for choosing Wisconsin: “Rowing drew me in, but also, I went out and visited, and I just loved the campus. The people that I met and interacted with were all super nice, and what they can offer – their business school is a top business school, and that drew me in because I want to get a good education while I’m there. It was just a culmination of those things.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in rowing at the collegiate level? “I stopped playing soccer my junior year, so I started rowing fall of my junior year. My parents were like – ‘Why don’t you try rowing?’ I was like – ‘I’ll give it a shot.’ I had never heard of it before – it was a completely foreign sport, so why not give it a shot. I went to Jersey, tried it and loved it my first practice there.”
Princeton National Rowing Association-Mercer rowing coach Michael Hurley says: “It’s really unusual for an athlete to be able to reach the level that Luke has reached in the two years he’s been rowing with our varsity. We’re a program that right now is ranked fifth in the country, and Luke is really an important part of that. As a novice, we took a look at him, and his size and everything else is great, but I’ve had a lot of athletes who’ve had all the size and all the physical characteristics but just didn’t have it in their heart and didn’t have it in their head. Luke made the ultimate commitment and has really, really done well over two years.
“I introduced him to the coaches at Wisconsin who are friends. Both of them have rowed for the United States. One rowed in Oxford in England. His coach next year has a gold medal from the 2004 Olympics and a bronze from 2008. When they saw Luke, they saw some talent, and they were really concerned and wanted him to come to Wisconsin. So much so that they told me not to coach him, not to make him any better than what he was right then so another school wouldn’t come in and scoop him up. He’s going to Wisconsin, and the Badgers are going to be better off for it. In fact, when I look around here (at CB East) and see some of the notations of some of the schools and some of the championships and some of the accolades – if he stays with it and he stays healthy and he gets stronger, I really think he has every chance in the world of wearing red, white and blue and representing this country internationally in Rome (for the 2028 Olympics). He’s a great athlete.”
About Luke:
Favorite food: Cheeseburger
Favorite TV show: Survivor
Favorite music: Rap
- Log in to post comments
