The bus rolled into the parking lot. Then it parked and the doors cranked open. One by one in a single file we exited the vehicle. We had arrived-we had arrived at Thompson Park. On any other day Thompson Park isn’t that big of a deal to me usually. But today Thompson Park was the place where the Central Jersey State Sectional Meet was being held, and that was a huge deal. The Central Jersey State Sectional Meet is a Cross Country meet is the first of two qualifying meets to get into the State Championship Meet. When I stepped off of the bus the sound of cheering and cow bells erupted into my ears. This was a very large meet so the races had already begun. Along with the noise came the smell of the fresh and crisp fall air, as well as the food from the food vendors. You could smell french fries, hotdogs, and other fatty foods, all of which we couldn’t eat before our race because it would slow …show more content…
When I crossed the line I had decided that was the hardest and most painful race I had ever ran. Never had the pain gotten that bad, but that made me a little proud because I knew that I had tried my hardest. Brandon placed 2nd and ran as amazingly fast as he always had. Austin made a huge improvement in time and placed 12th. Sean did not do as well as expected but placed 25th. I myself placed 48th, which wasn’t awful. My time was decent. Justin tanked and he placed 56th. 56th wasn’t bad, but was expected to be much faster than me. Coach was a bit disappointed when we finished because based off of what he saw it did not look like we made it out. While we were back at “camp”, Sean pulled up the results on their phone. “Guys! We made it out!” Sean stated with the utmost excitement. We had placed top 5 and would now advance to the next State meet. This brightened the mood a lot, everyone was so happy when they heard this. This was a true accomplishment. This is the moment that made me proud to be part of the
I am now officially in my Senior year of Cross Country , and am close to the end of my season. My first race of this year though was a big accomplishment for me, because I hadn`t been able to run. When I ran that race though it made me just so happy I was able to finish it, I was`nt happy with the time, but there is always time for improvement. I was glad to be racing again and being apart of the team again. I believe that my injuries were a barrier in my way, but they did not stop my sports career.
When the dorm step show came homecoming week I was so nervous you would have thought I was about to be interrogated. The female’s dorm Kleist had just begun finishing up and they came back and said, “High Rise you’re up.” From that moment on, my nerves began to take over. My heart felt like it was beating out of my chest. The crowd started screaming as soon as they saw us coming out onto the stage. Once I heard people yelling out, “yessss go Tre!, go High Rise!” those butterflies flew away and I instantly grew confidence. It was like I had a flashback of myself being in another cookout or party when I was a kid and I let it out. Before we could even finish our first step, the crowd nearly blew the roof off of the gym. Once I heard the crowd’s reaction that allowed me to get comfortable and start really having fun. After our performance, I knew we had a good chance to win but I wanted to stay humble because the other teams worked hard. After the last performance, they said that they were going to announce the winning team. I shook hands and hugged all of my teammates and closed my eyes tight like I was making a wish. The announcer said, “Drumroll please….and your winner is……. High Riseeee!.” The entire team ran out on the floor full of energy and joy; it was like we won the Super
Wind howling, heavy breathing, spikes clicking on the ground, coach’s yelling. The most intense race of the season. The wind was very powerful for this course on the Tell City Country Club through these enormous green hills of the golf course. Dead grass and brown leaves were blowing nonstop. All nine of the schools slowly started walking up to the starting line. Everyone was looking at each other while representing their own school with showing their school color off with pride. There were three teams total that knew that would be an extremely close score. My team and I stood in our red jerseys knowing that we were going to be the ones to win. I could feel the jitters going through my body. Boom!(personification) The gun went off. Nothing
With my mindset being ‘redemption mode’ I wanted to put up my best performance. Out of eight people, I was able to finish in fourth. Not too bad, not too great either. Regardless, we were still able to have a good time, even though our competing abilities were not the best.
When I first contacted the Rutherford County Elections Coordinator, I talked to her boss, Alan Farley. I have known Alan since I started here at Middle Tennessee State University. He is the Elections Administrator. At the beginning, I believed that I was to interview him. He thought that it was odd because he is not employed by Rutherford County. He is employed by a board, and his job description is in a Tennessee State Handbook. When I arrived to my interview with him, he realized that I was to interview Rhonda McFerrin, the elections coordinator. This was not a problem. He even sat in on our interview.
I picked up my starting blocks and walked over to the white line along with the seven other girls right beside me. I rubbed the bitter cold from my arms, and took a deep breath. I went to work setting up my blocks, dropping the footholds into the slots that fit my specific measurements. The starter announced that we would have two more minutes to take some practice starts before he would call us to the line. I got down in my blocks, rose up, and finally sprang out of them, just as well as I had been doing in practice the day before. I could not have been more ready for my eighth grade Mid-Southern Conference track meet.
During the race, I experienced a side cramp and it was uncomfortable. I was thinking about why I signed up for this and how I don’t have to be here running. The race was painful, but I did want to give up. I came to practice everyday and I wanted to keep improving.
I see my dad peering at me from the top of the stairs. “Dad, I got in! I’m so excited!” I exclaimed happily. “Good job. We are so proud of you!” my dad said, smiling at me. None of us could be happier, especially me.
The following week back to school I received many questions such as, “Did you win?” “What happened?” “How did you do?” After hearing these questions for almost 3 weeks I continued to respond with elegance and positivity. I told those who asked that although I didn't come home with the crown it was an outstanding experience. This life-changing event helped me realize that it is not necessarily the outcome that determines what is taken from an experience, it's the worth of the experience, memories, and the personal lessons learned along the
As the Tiger rolled around, there arose a question of whether or not to keep the team together or break it up and give the two seniors a chance to compete in other individual events at regionals. I actually didn't know about this possibility until about five minutes before the race began on Saturday. We were all huddled together preparing for the start. Jeremy came up to Rodney and me and told us that if we didn't do well the team might be dropped. Kicking our motivational drive into high, the four of us focused on only one thing: running the time we all knew we could. Getting into the blocks I felt more ready than ever. At the sound of the gun, I shot out of the blocks. I sprinted around the track, concentrating on making a great hand-off.
“I am super proud of you guys and I have loved sharing this experience with you guys too! If you didn’t hear the third place team got an eighty-one and when I got the score sheet back from the judges we got an eighty! This probably means that we got in fourth place! I am super proud of you guys and I hope you had as much fun as I did coaching as you did cheering!” my coach explained with a smile on her face.
Under a sky as blue as the fluffy scrunchie I wore every day that year, my second grade classmates pushed against each other. They were fighting for a prized spot just behind the line that marked the start of the loop around the fields perimeter. It was the day of the mile run. The smells of freshly cut grass and budding trees filled me with excitement as I took my place. I was ready to race.
We sat, holding hands, so tight they were purple. We had worked so hard to get to this moment. They called our name. Screams and shouts of happiness fill the area around us. As we stood on the podium, wide smiles appear on our faces. We laughed at each other as we remembered the previous nights activities.
At last we had brought all our practicing skills into work at the final stages. After working hard for three solid months it all paid off, the competing mat was beneath our feet. It was as if I could almost hear the girl?s hearts thumping before we walked onto the mat. I couldn?t stop smiling, I had the biggest grin on my face as if I were the cat who just ate the canary. Only when I thought that was enough, my facial expressions were amazing, all the nights I spent in front of the mirror or watching my self through the reflection of the glass door in my kitchen. It?s hard to go first because watching all the other teams compete makes you think, how did I do?
I replay the moment I reached the finishing line over and over in my head. The crowd cheered for the runners as they frantically shook cowbells to give us the last boost of energy. When I crossed the finished line, I felt a huge sense of relief. I was incredibly relieved that I was finally done with the marathon after being on the road for six long hours. I was more relieved because I proved my self-doubt wrong. The road to fighting self-doubt was long and exhausting. But, I look back on my experience and say that I am much more than my