Track State Championship Essay -- Memoir Essays

Track State Championship The pit of my stomach felt as if it was being eaten away by gnawing insects inside. It wasn't just the ordinary butterflies but evil-biting insects. I was standing impatiently on the track quickly sliding further toward the inside as the incoming runner completed her handoff. Screaming encouragements, I waited for Rachel to make her way down the last stretch. We successfully completed our exchange of the baton and I was off. We arrived at Dutch Clark Stadium in Pueblo, Colorado our normal two hours early on a dark, rainy Friday morning. Our team carried in the large tarp, blue tent, coolers full of energy food and many cases of water to keep us hydrated throughout the day. The sight of the enormous red rubber track brought that familiar tingle to my stomach. "It's the same size as any other track, but we just run the opposite direction," I heard Coach Dirst joke with the always gullible Erin. Shortly after we set up camp, I heard the familiar words, "Get out of here!" come from Coach Dirst. Our team made our way down the mountain of unevenly spaced, concrete stairs to the track. After doing our routine warm-up of a two-lap jog, stretches and form running, the team scattered, some preparing for their event, others just hoping to catch a few more zs. As I was making my way back to camp, I noticed everyone's red stained t-shirts and sweatshirts from stretching on the damp track, not realizing those stains would in time become memories I'd never forget. The day of prelims jumped off to a great start. The medley relay qualified for finals, and Kendal became a two-time state champion in high jump capturing the team's first ten points. The rest of the day went just as well. After placing fourth a... ...owerful! To hear Coach Dirst say that just made the whole experience that much more special. All the hard work we'd put in throughout the year had finally paid off when it mattered most. As we ran our final victory lap of the 2002 track season, we realized we had accomplished what every team dreams. After the sharing of many hugs and tears, happy ones of course, I made my way back to camp to gather my belongings. I then slowly strolled to the parking lot wanting to savor the incredible feeling. As I gazed up at the pitch-black sky, a raindrop fell to my forehead. Within no time at all, I was standing in the midst of a downpour taking everything in as I thought, "This is as good as it gets!" All the emotions, triumph, thrill and excitement, I was feeling acted like a bug bomb to the evil-biting insects that were at one time eating away at the pit of my stomach. Â