IUP Athletic Hall of Fame
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Lisa Bonaccorsi-Lucas was a member of two teams that rank as the best in IUP history in their respective sports.
Bonaccorsi-Lucas competed on the 1985 cross country squad that won PSAC and Northeast Region titles and placed third at the NCAA meet, the program's highest finish ever. In 1988 she ran the 5,000 and 10,000 meters for a track team that captured the only conference championship in program history and finished an all-time best 14th at nationals.
An eight-time letterman at IUP, Bonaccorsi-Lucas was a three-time All-PSAC honoree in cross country, finishing a career-best ninth at the PSAC meet as a senior. In her sophomore year she placed 12th at the PSAC meet and 11th at regionals, then earned All-America honors along with the rest of her teammates in recognition of their third-place finish at nationals.
After raising her family, Bonaccorsi-Lucas resumed running competitively at 42 and discovered she hadn't lost a step. Her 2015 performances were especially noteworthy: USA Track & Field awarded her masters Athlete of the Year honors, she achieved world class ranking for her age group in the 5K, 10K and half-marathon, and she was the overall female runner-up at Pittsburgh's Great Race 10K. Bonaccorsi-Lucas won the women's masters half-marathon at the Pittsburgh Marathon six years running and was the women's masters champion in Pittsburgh at the full marathon in 2012.
She joins her brother, wrestler Rich Bonaccorsi, in the IUP Athletic Hall of Fame. Bonaccorsi-Lucas, who works in food service for the Upper St. Clair School District, resides in the Pittsburgh suburb of Upper St. Clair with her husband, Andrew Lucas. They have four adult children: Adam, Angelica, Mary Elizabeth and Lydia.
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