At St. Peter's High School Lionel ran 1:19.40 for 600-meters - the fastest
indoor time in the country in 2007, and the third-best ever run by a prep. He
currently holds the National Catholic High School record in the event. He was
also among the top HS runners in the 800, clocking 1:52.29 in the same year. At
one point during the 2007 indoor season he was ranked number one in the state of
New York in the 600, 800, and 1000.
As a soph at Penn State Lionel finished seventh in the 800-meter final at the
NCAA East Regional Championships, running a personal-best 1:48.99 in the
preliminaries. During the previous indoor season he placed second in the
600-meters with a personal-best 1:17.65 - the second-fastest time in PSU History
. In the 2009 outdoor season he split a 1:48.39 on the 4x800 at Penn Relays,
helping the team to an outstanding fourth-place finish in the Championship of
America in 7:18.66.
