North Region Middle School Track Meet

The weekend of April 18th brought me to Starke. FL, a.k.a. the middle of nowhere. No, it was not for your typical road race but rather for the regional track meet where a slew of runners, throwers, and jumpers will take their shot at qualifying for the Middle School State Meet on May 16th (hey, that's my birthday) in Clermont, Florida. The qualifying standards are either top 4 overall or if you hit a difficult automatic qualifying time. I had already assessed that my best shot at qualifying would be in the 3K, after months of specified training with my coach and teammates from Clay PAL. After a long drive we arrived in podunk Starke, quickly finding their only and somewhat rundown high school where the meet would take place. My dad dropped me off, going to buy some coffee to curtail his grogginess. I found the Clay PAL tent at the end of the stands and waited around while more of my teammates showed up. We brought a lot of talent to the event and with only 13 athletes in our ranks, we had our sights on winning the whole meet. The first events to be contested were the field events and then the running events were underway 30 minutes later. First up was the 4X400m relay where my team won handily. After a long warm up with fellow teammates Steven and Eric, it was time to get ready for my 3K race. I had the usual race garb on but instead of wearing a singlet I donned a Clay PAL sleeveless shirt, one of two remaining shirts from our coach's collection that Eric and I pounced on. The three of us made it to the inner field and watched the girls 3000m. The turnout for the 3K was small- only 7 kids showed up, 4 of whom belonged to Clay PAL (including me). Our chances of sweeping the top 4 spots were looking highly probable. Once the girls were finished, an official lined us up on the opposite end of the track. Once the starting pistol fired, all the runners fought for position for the first 100 meters. Matt, a very fast teammate of mine who was looking to break his PR of 9:43, assumed the position of 1st with Steven at his back while Eric and I close in on a couple of other runners. After about 2 laps the positions played out. Matt, of course, was in 1st while Steven, Eric and I formed a pack holding off a possible competitor. We all cruised through the 1st mile in 5:58. I was leading the charge and was in 2nd place up to this point, until Eric came up to the front with me. We shared the lead for another 100 meters, then I filed behind him with Steven a couple meters back. Each lap hurt more as I struggled to keep up with Eric. With only a lap to go in the 7.5 lap race, Eric picked up the pace as I made every last effort to go with him. Then in the last 200 meters Eric opened up a big gap with a quick kick, finishing in 11:18. I came in at 11:26 while Steven finished four seconds behind me. Matt was already back under the tent since he won the race in 9:43 and lapping the whole field in the process. But, it was a Clay PAL sweep with all of us running PRs. Once we got back to the tent we were swamped with congratualtions, but for all of us, the meet had only begun. After the 100m dash and 100m hurdles, the 1500m would be next, giving us another chance at qualifying for the state meet. The time passed by quickly and before we knew it, the four of us were toeing the line, along with another teammate, Billy Walker, who decided to run the 1500m and the 4x800m relay later. There were over 30 kids running the 1500m, which made for a congested start once the gun fired. Throughout the first lap Eric and I were trapped behind kids who started out too fast. We slowly picked off one by one and then caught up to Steven but the soreness in our legs prevented us from getting a better time. Matt got 2nd, losing by a hair while Billy came in 7th, Eric kicking in 8th, then me and Steven following in 9th and 10th, respectively. My legs were toast but I knew that only one event loomed ahead: the 4X800m relay. After exiting the track I made it back to the team tent and let my legs take a breather. I discussed some strategy with the rest of the 4X800m team: Billy, Steven, and Eric. Being the 'B' team, we knew that we would have to work for top 4. We developed the order in which we would go. Billy was first, Steven second, I was third, and we let Eric take it home with his blistering kick. For a while we practiced hand offs on the infield while the crowd diminished. Finally, it was time for the relay. The good news was that there were only four teams, meaning that we could walk, jog, or roll and still qualify for states. After racing directions were given out, the relay was soon underway. Coming around the first lap, Billy was in 4th and kept that position for the remainder of his segment. He passed the baton off to Steven who made up the lost ground, putting us in 3rd once the baton was handed off to me. I began pursuit of the nearest competitor, about 30 meters ahead of me. I gained more ground on him, then with 200m remaining I broke into a sprint and made his lead a mere 10 meters once handing the baton to Eric. Eric began a fast pace, trying to chase down the runner ahead of him. With about 200m to go, Eric unleashed his kick and passed the runner in front of him to assume 2nd place with about 100m to go. But it was a sprint to the finish and in the end we lost. En route to the relay finish, Eric ran a new PR of 2:38 to cap off a successful day. After the relay, the rest of the team awaited the team scores for the guys. It turns out that we won the meet and for our efforts we received a small half-foot trophy. The team now started to pack our bags, looking ahead to the state championship on May 16th where we have an outside chance of winning the meet. But this is only possible if everyone runs to their full potential. I have my eyes on top 8 in the 3K, which will score some much needed points for team Clay PAL. These next couple weeks are crunch time as we gear up for the MS Meet so no road races for a little while. So long runners and keep training!