2025 Herald-News Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year: Lockport’s Nolan Lamoureux

Heading into his senior season, Lockport’s Nolan Lamoureux was approached by coach Tom Razo. Lamoureux had been running the 400 meters and had been a sprinter since the sixth grade. But Razo believed Lamoureux had what it took to be a distance runner and head the 800.

“We looked at the times of everyone around the area as they got older, stronger and faster,” Razo said. “I told him, ‘I know you can place, but if you move up, what do you think you could do?’ He said, ‘I think I could win.’ ”

Razo ran Lamoureux in the 400 during indoor track and went back to him at the end of the season for a firm decision.

“I knew I had to move up in order to win,” Lamoureux said. “My plan was to win state, and that’s where I was meant to be at.”

Indeed he was. Lamoureux excelled throughout the season, winning the Class 3A Lockport Sectional with a time of 1:52.45, four seconds faster than anyone else and the top time among 3A qualifiers at state.

After finishing state prelims in a razor-thin second place [his 1:54.94 was 0.02 seconds out of first], he gave it everything he had in the state finals, running a 1:51.92. That time was 0.3 seconds fast enough to win the gold medal and an individual state championship.

It was also, along with the rest of his dominant season, enough to earn him the 2025 Herald-News Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

Beyond the individual performance, it was Lamoureux’s work ethic that stood out to Razo the most.

“His work ethic [set him apart],” Razo said. “He had to do a lot of it by himself because there really wasn’t any teammate that could run with him. ... His teammates saw how hard he worked by himself and they really appreciated what he did throughout the year.

Winning state in any event would’ve been enough to earn Lamoureux consideration for boys track athlete of the year. What sealed the deal for him, however, was that he also anchored the Porter’s 4x400 relay team. That team won sectionals by 0.89 seconds at 3:21.41, finished first in state prelims at 3:19.06, and took home silver in the finals at 3:18.01, just 0.28 seconds out of first.

“It was a bit of an adjustment because the 400 workouts are pretty much sprinter workouts,” Lamoureux said. “So I had a regular workout, then doubled what I had been doing for 800, so it was a lot.”

When it came to relay team, though, he wanted to set an example as a senior leader. He consistently put his best effort in to motivate them as well as the rest of the team at large.

“There were a lot of guys on the team that were only a year younger than me,” he said. “I wanted to set an example for what they could do next year. I think they could take the 4x400 next year because I’m the only one graduating, so it was good to give them that experience down at state.”

No one wins state without natural talent. Of course, no one wins without extraordinary hard work either. For Lamoureux, he also attributed his success to the effort put in by his coaching staff at Lockport, especially Razo.

“[Razo] has always known that I was longer distance guy,” Lamoureux said. “He was the one that really pushed me to run farther distances, work hard and do harder workouts. It’s been really good of him.”

Lamoureux’s track journey isn’t over. He’s staying close to home and running for Lewis University, allowing Razo, his friends and family to all come see him compete. The ability for his people to come and see him was a big factor in his decision to head to Lewis.

As for aspiring future athlete of the year winners, Lamoureux’s advice was simple, but true.

“Give it 100%,” he said. “Not just in workouts or at meets, but just overall. Everything has to be at 100%, and then you’ll end up where you want to be.”