Running Around the World with James Lawrence

Before bringing his talents to Loyola this fall as a graduate transfer, James Lawrence called Dartmouth College home for the past four years. 

During his fourth-year, Lawrence served as captain of Dartmouth’s cross country team. He said he hoped to similarly establish himself as a leader at Loyola.

Both Lawrence and head coach Gavin Kennedy agreed his experience helped transform him into a leader heading into his fifth year of collegiate sports.

“He does bring that to our program whether it’s in uniform or out of uniform,” Kennedy said. “I always see him talking with the guys on the team, giving them his experience. I would certainly consider James a leader not only by what he does in the uniform, but what he does outside of the uniform too.”

Lawrence’s journey to leading the Big Green and Ramblers wasn’t similar to those of other high school athletes. Despite being from Charlottesville, VA, Lawrence didn’t attend high school in America. Instead, he spent his four years over 7,500 miles away from Rogers Park in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at Bingham Academy.

Lawrence said the reason he left the U.S. to attend high school was because of his father, Scott. His dad, an optometrist, took an opportunity to work for Doctors Without Borders, where he provided free eye care to people in Ethiopia.

His father’s humanitarian work inspired Lawrence to do charitable work himself. During his time in Ethiopia, he volunteered with the Ethiopia ACT project, helping provide medical services to families in Addis Ababa who’ve been affected by HIV/AIDS. 

He also worked for Jewish Voice Ministries International, helping arrange pharmaceutical services for medical and surgical projects for the people in northern Ethiopia.

While attending Bingham Academy, Lawrence was a varsity cross country and soccer athlete, captaining both teams in his third and fourth years. Lawrence said the running culture in Ethiopia helped train him and gave him an extra edge before entering college.

Running is at the center of Ethiopia’s international athletic success. All 58 of Ethiopia’s Olympic medals, 24 of which are gold, have come in running events varying from the marathon to 5K’s and 10K’s. Lawrence said the long history of competitive racing in Ethiopia prepared him for meets and invitationals in the States.

The summer invitationals are where Lawrence said he got his best chance to show off for colleges. By recording quality runs during the invitationals, Lawrence was able to garner the attention of Dartmouth for the next four years of his college experience.

At Dartmouth, Lawrence established himself on the course during the 2022 fall season when he placed third in consecutive invitationals. His performances clinched Lawrence’s only appearance in NCAA Regionals where he placed 46th in the Northeast region, a placement he’ll look to improve Nov. 15.

Last fall, Lawrence podiumed four times, including two first place finishes, catching the attention of college programs looking to add Lawrence for his last year of eligibility. 

From there, Lawrence found himself looking for a program to spend a year in graduate school. He said he initially had an interest in Loyola with their ability to produce recent All-Americans, after back-to-back seasons where former Ramblers Ryan Martins and Chris Devaney both qualified for the NCAA Cross Country National Championships. 

Cross country assistant coach Patrick Murphy was the first to reach out to Lawrence about joining the team, and when Lawrence eventually got in touch with Kennedy, he said he thought it was a perfect fit.

“We had great conversations with him,” Kennedy said. “We felt like the academic profile would be really good at Loyola coming from Dartmouth. It’s a big part of our recruitment process — you’ve gotta be able to be good not only in the classroom but also in cross country on the track as well.”

His decision to join Loyola has been beneficial so far, as he finished first for Loyola in both the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals Oct. 19 and later at the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships Nov. 2 — finishing third overall in the men’s division. 

With the cross country season winding down, and the possibility of Regionals and National Championships on the horizon, Lawrence said he might have a little time to put some energy into his guitar-playing hobby.

Whether it’s by himself or jamming in one of the numerous bands Lawrence played in with friends at Dartmouth, he said he loves playing music when he can and has even held a few jam sessions with fellow athletes at Loyola, where he enjoys covering songs from pop, rock and even punk.

Heading into NCAA Midwest Regionals Friday Nov. 15, Lawrence said he hopes he can help himself and Loyola advance to the Division I championships. If he can qualify, it’ll mark the third-straight year Loyola has sent a representative to the NCAA national championships.