It’s safe to say Dean Lourenco was probably the most unlikely NJSIAA Meet of Champions medal winner of this winter’s indoor track season.
And yet there he was, leaving the Toms River Bennett Center with the fourth-place prize for the 200 meters, concluding what would be the West Windsor-Plainsboro South senior’s only full season of track & field in his high school career.
It was all kind of amazing and Loureno had a good description for it.
“One word – funky,” he said. “That probably isn’t the best word to use but I think it sounds like how the season went.”
The lifelong lacrosse player entered the campaign “knowing I had some sort of ability” but never thought he had enough to accomplish what he did.
Prior to winning the 200 meters in 22.77 at the Mercer County Championships; along with taking fifth in the 55 hurdles in 6.67; Lourenco was talking to some of his competitors.
“People were asking me what times I ran, and I would say, ‘I’ve never done this before,’ and then win the heat,” he said.
What made it so astounding was his complete lack of track experience, coupled with injuries that hindered him for an early part of the season along with a diet not really suggested by trainers.
“There were definitely ups and downs, injuries and eating questionable empanadas throughout,” Lourenco continued. “ I definitely had my own style out there. I think because I haven’t been exposed to track that much I did things my own way rather than what is expected.”
He recalled walking into his first relay meet and being amazed by what he witnessed.
“I looked to my left and saw a team doing synchronized warmups looking intimidating,” Lourenco said. “I looked to my right and saw a bunch of skinny distance kids talking about splits. I looked ahead and saw some absolute massive dude – probably a shot put guy – munching on a Subway sandwich.
“It reminded me of that scene in Monsters University where all those teams are warming up for the Scare Games.Being my first real year, a lot of new things hit me straight in the face. I did my best to take it in stride, and I was able to take it all the way to the MOC.”
Unfortunately for the track program, Dean is returning to lacrosse this spring.
“It’s frustrating, I almost wish he wasn’t this good,” head coach Matt Coburn said with a laugh. “He sort of came out of nowhere. You see him skateboarding around. You figure this guy looks like an athlete, sometimes you see him around the hallway; you’re not real sure what he was doing, just laying low. And then his junior year, lo and behold, he comes out for the Covid year of all times.”
There was a reason for that. Lourenco fractured his lower back in the winter of 2020, just prior to the pandemic shutdowns. His activity was limited for four months and Dean was admittedly out of shape by the next school year.
In order to tighten himself up in time for lacrosse, Lourenco went out for track just to get in shape. With a season limited to dual meets against WW-P North, he still showed flashes of ability. He also had some friends on the team, which made it enjoyable as he worked with sprint coaches Amirah Muneer and Jessica Murphy.
It was enough to bring him back.
“I did well in that short season,” Lourenco said. “I remember Coach Muneer had no idea who I was then I went crazy in the tiny meets we did versus North,” Lourenco said. “I was very shocked with myself and I wanted to see how I would compete in a real track season.”
Upon his return this year; Coburn noted that Muneer and Murphy worked hard to bring Dean’s potential out in the short time they had to work with him. The injury – which occurred when he rolled his ankle after planting his foot too hard on a tight turn at Lavino Fieldhouse – kept him out for about 10 days.
“That was frustrating for him because he just wanted to practice,” Coburn said. “While he was recovering he just came out and hung out with coaches in the cold. I always wonder how much better he could have been if he hadn’t missed those 10 days.”
Lourenco’s goals for the winter season was to experience self-growth, discover his strengths and have fun. He accomplished all three and, in the process, came within 0.01 second of the school record in the 55.
How does he do it?
“I don’t know how to explain it,” Coburn said. “He’s a very talented athlete. I guess you can say he’s a natural. With two seasons of coaching under his belt he’s able to harness his potential. I can only imagine . . . . actually I don’t want to think about what he would have done in spring track. It would just be too depressing.”
Coburn laughs when he says that, adding that the coaching staff “has been extremely annoying trying to bring him back to spring track.”
In further assessing Dean’s talent, the coach feels it goes beyond just natural athletic ability.
“He works really hard, he’s very coachable,” Coburn said. “A lot of it is his work ethic. He doesn’t know how to give anything less than one hundred percent. He’s constantly pushing the throttle. Probably a few injuries that were unfortunate. But in the end it worked out for him more or less. He’s got one speed, on and off, and when he’s on, it’s really awesome to watch.”
Indeed it is. And it had to be a bit annoying to all those veteran track athletes to see a stone cold rookie come in and win medals out from under them.
In both the MCT and MOC, Dean ran in the slowest heats. After his 200 race at the counties, he eventually checked his phone, and was astonished to see his time held up through the remaining heats and he was the winner.
“I didn’t expect it,” he said, “because normally in the fast heat, when you win the race you immediately know you won the meet, so it was unconventional,”
It’s also impressive, considering Laurenco pushed himself to a winning time without having top competition; whereas the fastest heat lends itself to the fastest times. He was again placed in a slow heat at the Meet of Champions, but still recorded a personal best time of 22:57 to take fourth.
“I was super happy because my grandfather came to watch in his wheelchair,” Lourenco said. “He was quite happy to see that the Lourenco family could produce someone fast.”
Dean called the entire experience “eye opening.”
“It let me look back on the work I’ve put in to appreciate what I’ve done, but also makes you wonder how much better I could have been,” he said. “I was competing against guys who have been doing this for eight years and then I walked onto the stage with big bushy hair and did pretty well. I won’t admit that it’s beginner’s luck, I’ll just accept the fact that I found a talent that went under the radar for a while.”
Once it surfaced, Lourenco had a tough decision to make. Should he go back to lacrosse; or try and see what he could do with a full season of outdoor track? In the end, he decided on the sport he began playing in fourth grade to take the place of baseball.
“There was a very intense battle between the spring track and lacrosse team,” Lourenco said. “Ever since junior year my coaches have pestered me about doing spring track. Friends, people I’ve met at meets, teachers, teammates, almost everyone wanted me to do spring track. I remember my coach telling one of the teachers about my times and that teacher went out and found me during the school day and questioned why in the world I was staying with lacrosse.”
But old habits, as they say, die hard and the Pirates lacrosse defense will once again have Dean holding down the fort.
“At the end of the day, I thought the best way to end my time in high school was on the lacrosse team,” Lourenco said. “I’m one of our captains, and I’ve just been playing for so long. Track was a ton of fun but I just got more from playing lacrosse. I love my teammates a lot, the team atmosphere, and I also feel like I can use my speed in lacrosse as well, so it’s not going to be a waste I assure you.”
Liking what one does is never a waste. Lourenco deserves credit for understanding what gives him the most joy, even if he does not plan on doing the sport in college.
“I enjoy playing in games and the practices and the jokes and more,” he said. “If anything, I think it just shows how versatile I am, that I’ve got two teams both begging to be on their team. Apologies to Coach Muneer and Murphy, but I had to go with my gut and stick to lacrosse. As they say, the captain goes down with the ship.”
But this is one captain who has enjoyed one heck of a cruise in whatever sport he has done.
WW-P High School South’s Dean Lourenco was a medalist at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions for the winter indoor track season. The event was held on March 4-5. (Photo by Rich Fisher.) ,
