High School Track Meet

ORN: Wednesday; 5.1 miles, R6/W1, 9:35/mile

I can’t remember the last time I went to a track meet before Tuesday night. On a fantastic spring evening, we had one of 8 regional qualifying meets at our local HS track and I went to just enjoy the evening.

And what a fun evening it was. This was a girl’s meet, with the top three in each event qualifying for the state track meet in Indy next weekend. No weak runners at this level. The competition was awesome. The crowd was enthusiastic. It was fun to be so close to a sporting event.

Two vignettes stand out which capture HS sports at its best.

Mid-way through the meet, two runners came up into the stands and sat with one of the girls’ parents, right behind me. These two had finished their efforts in the 4x100m relay and were back in their sweats. They greeted the parental units, plopped down, opened their backpacks and pulled out calculators and Geometry textbooks. “Gee, why do we have to have a final exam tomorrow morning?” the girls wondered aloud. I asked them if they were set for alternate interior angles; they laughed and dug into the book, as more events continued in front of them. I’m guessing they got good grades.

In the 3200m race, two girls led the whole way and had a 40m lead on the third place girl at the bell lap. This tall runner with perfect form then proceeded to kick it. With 200m to go, she had reeled in the leaders and took the lead going into the final turn. She poured it on and won the race by 20m. As she powered down the front stretch, the crowd rose as one to applaud an utterly marvelous athletic effort. The buzz continued, when some folks from her school turned and told me “Not only is she fast, but she’s valedictorian of the senior class and has a full ride to Louisville in the fall.” You go girl.

A fun evening. And perhaps no coincidence I had my best 5 mile training run of the year the next morning.

Persevere. These kids sure were