Freshman Lucas Somers was told when he began chemotherapy that he would lose his hair within 10 days. A few days after beginning treatment, his cross country teammates lost theirs.

On Oct. 27, Somers was diagnosed with stage-three testicular cancer and told that the disease had spread as far as his lungs. He had surgery on Nov. 2 to remove as much of the cancer as possible.

“The first thing that went through my mind was not being able to run for some time,” Somers said. “I was more shocked than anything.”

Somers met with the team at his house soon after the surgery and told them about his diagnosis. Junior Mark Bowers said an idea immediately began to spread from runner to runner.

“We wanted to say, ‘Hey, we are here for you’ and to let everyone else know we are a team and in this together,” Bowers said. “Me and the guys were talking about it. We thought, ‘He is going to lose his hair. We might as well lose ours too.’”

Nine runners took turns passing the clippers one night, shaving their heads in support of their teammate.

While walking slowly down the halls of The Medical Center the next morning, Somers was greeted by faces he said he almost didn’t recognize.

“I saw a bunch of bald guys walking out of the elevator,” Somers said. “It never crossed my mind they were here for me or that they could get that many people together to do it. This is more of a team than I ever expected.”

Besides visiting Somers every day, shaving their heads is a visible way to show support for him, senior Patrick Jenkins said.

“You hear of people shaving their heads for family all the time,” Jenkins said. “This team is like a family, so when he told me, I wanted to shave my head. I never thought we would have as many people buy into the idea though. That’s just the kind of guys we have on the team.”

Bowers, who had the longest hair on the team, said he didn’t think twice about getting rid of it for Somers.

“We can go visit him in the hospital once a day, but shaving our heads tells him that we are thinking of him all the time,” Bowers said. “When we look in the mirror, we now think, ‘I wonder how Lucas is doing?’”

Bob and Pam Somers, Lucas Somers’ parents, said knowing that their son has the support the team has helped the family deal with a difficult situation.

Lucas Somers’ sister, Hannah Somers, said she moved back to Bowling Green from Louisiana when she learned about her brother’s cancer and is encouraged by the runners’ support.

“You get a phone call at the beginning of the week saying, ‘Hey, I might have cancer,’” Hannah Somers said. “It kind of slaps you in the face. He just started that team this semester. We didn’t expect them with arms wide open and take time out of their days to come check on him. It has meant a lot to us and helped our family cope with this.”

Lucas Somers said he’s been told his form of cancer is 98 percent beatable with chemotherapy. He begins the last week of a nine-week treatment program on Dec. 29.

Somers said he fully intends to compete for the Toppers next season, and the goal is one of the main things helping him deal with chemotherapy and long stays in the hospital.

“I just have to stay positive, because I know as soon as I get out of here I can start running again,” he said. “That’s what I have to keep thinking about.”

Somers said it’s been incredible to receive so much support from the other Toppers.

“I just met them this summer,” Somers said. “It’s amazing how close you can get to some guys just by running with them.”

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