The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Former Jackrabbits Wendell “WoWo” Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.
The562’s coverage of aquatic sports in Long Beach in 2025-26 is sponsored by Watersafe Swim School.
If you walked into the Long Beach Poly natatorium on any given competition day, you would see a crowded pool deck full of excited high schoolers ready to jump in the water and represent their teams. As you survey the swimmers, you may not see a loud, boastful leader on the Jackrabbits’ team.
However, amongst the crowd, there would be a senior superstar who has his name on six of the 11 records that hang on the natatorium’s wall. Lucas Jue, a University of Louisville commit, is one of the best swimmers to have walked through 1600 Atlantic – and he leads with a quiet gentleness that serves as an example of dedicated strength.
“Lucas is one of the highest performing athletes I’ve gotten the pleasure to coach, but he’s pretty nonchalant about it,” Head Coach Ish Pluton said. “He’s one of the nicest, sweetest kids I’ve got to coach. He’s not just a crazy fast swimmer, he’s the whole deal – full package. More than anything, he’s a good representative for what a Poly Jackrabbit is.”
This nonchalantness that Jue carries speaks to his leadership style. Pluton said the senior leads purely by example, and his teammates feed off the reserved energy he consistently carries onto the deck.
“It’s super cool because the kids just vibe off his confidence and rally behind him knowing that he can do anything,” Pluton said. “They also follow his calm, cool, collected composure through everything. So as a leader, it’s a lot of lead by example.”
Jue’s silence isn’t a testament to his attention to detail. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. He studies the game as hard as he studies for exams.
“He’s quiet and reserved, but he’s also crazy analytical,” Pluton said. “He really is a tactician in secret. It can look like he just kind of shows up and swims fast, but he’s doing a bunch of stuff behind the scenes and you would never know it.”
With his deep knowledge for swimming, Jue often takes it upon himself to help his teammates improve in any way they can. Whether they’re trying a new stroke or working on turns, Jue will be the first one in the pool volunteering to teach what he can.
Growing up with two older brothers who were also elite swimmers, Jue said this drive to succeed and be the best started with the competitive nature he gained from racing his brothers.
“They’ve always been there to push me through everything, whether they knew it or not,” Jue said. “I don’t know what word I could use to describe this, but I was maybe envious or even jealous of them. I wanted to be better, and I had a natural competitive drive when I was younger against my brothers that fueled it.”
His brothers were also a major influence in why Jue picked Long Beach Poly for high school rather than Wilson, the typical dominant aquatic school. Part of the reason Jue became a Jackrabbit was because of the rivalry between the schools but also because of the culture he saw at 1600 Atlantic.
“There were just great role models that set the tone for what the culture is at Poly and what they’re here to do,” Jue said. “That just kept me on track of trying to keep the culture together, keep the ambition, keep the winning drive.”
In 2023, Long Beach Poly accomplished a historic feat when they dethroned their Moore League rivals in the Wilson Bruins for the first time in 50 years. As a freshman, Jue was a huge contributor in this milestone, winning two individual titles in the 200 IM and 100 back.
After the success Jue saw in his first year as a Jackrabbit, he faced tough competition the next year against the Bruins and Wyatt Mitchell. The senior in Mitchell narrowly beat sophomore Jue, which only fueled the underclassman to work harder and get stronger.
“I think those moments for Lucas, both as a freshman and as a sophomore, really helped his growth as a competitive athlete, realizing what he needed to do to get better and faster and figure out who he could be for his team,” Pluton said. “He’s improved leaps and bounds in his athleticism, and I think that was pivotal for him to grow into the athlete he is today.”
The improvement Jue has already seen through the past four years has allowed him to set his goals on what he wants to accomplish in his final year at Long Beach Poly.
“I’m just trying to get the team together and get us as far as we can,” Jue said. “Our end goal is to obviously place as high as we can at Moore League, CIF and see how good we can go as a team. I’m just trying to encourage everyone to stay persistent, stay consistent and just keep driving to the end.”
Now, in his senior year, Jue has his eyes set for more success. While the senior will continue reaching for individual records and recognition, he also knows his role as a leader goes beyond what he accomplishes.
“He’s figuring out what impact he wants to leave on this program,” Pluton said. “When you hear about aquatics and swim, that’s Wilson’s claim to fame, but the paradigm shift is happening where people start talking about Poly, our aquatics athletes and the legacy they’ve made.”
Pluton said it is already evident that Jue is leaving a legacy at the Funkhouse. First started by superstar Colin Geer and continued on by Jue, the senior is inspiring the next generation of Jackrabbits.
“I’ve noticed my whole team get faster as they try to chase this new standard of excellence set by Colin, first, and then now, being paved by Lucas,” Pluton said. “They set this cool tone of, ‘Poly swim is about producing high quality athletes.’ We can chase that same level of excellence because of them, what they’ve taught us about what it means to be a high achieving swimmer. That level of intensity and seriousness is contagious and has made my whole team faster, and I’m super thankful for it.”
The Jackrabbits have a few more chances in the pool to tighten up their swims and team before Moore League finals take place at the end of the month.
