I love spring track...and this year was even more busy and fun because both Rachel and Taylor were on the middle school team together. They had me hopping at the meets to try and get to all the best viewing spots for their different events! This is Tay's last year of middle school...and Rachel's first. And it's the last year they'll be wearing maroon and gold. Next year they'll be in Navy and white for Skyview High and South Middle. Crazy!
These two are only 18 months apart in age. They have always had a "love/hate" relationship...but as they've gotten older, I've noticed that most of the time they are great friends and show each other a tremendous amount of support. This year especially...where Rachey was a new 6th grader, I noticed how Taylor (the big 8th grader) did so much to let her know how awesome she is.
This was Rachey's first year in track. She competed in the 100M hurdles, 200M hurdles, 100M run, and 200M run or the 4X100 relay depending on the meet.
Rachel is in maroon on the inside lane. We were so proud of her, she was only 1 of a few 6th graders who even competed in the hurdles. Here she is in the first heat against all 8th graders, and although she always finished 5th or 6th...she was never far behind, and she never gave up.
Throughout the season, I just kept telling her to forget about how she placed, but to concentrate on her times and try to improve...and to remember that she was running in the 1st heat each time, which meant she was running against the best! She had a great attitude...even though she never won or even placed in the top 3, she just kept trying and didn't quit. She had a bad hit on a hurdle early in the season, but she didn't even let that make her quit...she overcame her fear of hitting another one and kept on going.
She was so disappointed at this meet...because the timers somehow lost the times before they were recorded...and this was her last meet of the season, so she didn't find out how much her total improvement time was. But I am so excited to see what the next couple of years bring for Rachey...as a 6th grader to be keeping up with the 8th graders....she's amazing and I'm sure she'll have her turn "on top." As it was, I couldn't have been more excited or proud to watch her compete, she is awesome!
Taylor had the best season any graduating 8th grader could want. He had so much fun with his friends from his own school, and met a lot of other kids from the competing schools. In fact, he kept having girls from other schools tell him, "you have pretty eyes." ha ha! This made me laugh! He kept asking me, "mom, why do they say things like that anyway? Isn't that strange?" I couldn't decide if I should leave him in the dark, or let him know that um...duh...they were flirting with that cute tall blond guy from East Valley.
This was Taylor's first year doing hurdles too. He competed in the 100M hurdles, and ended up taking 4th place at District in them! He was super excited about that and plans to continue with them next season.
And he had a great season on the "runway". He improved from last year by 4 feet in the triple, and 2 feet in the running long. And all of that improvement with no coaching. East Valley doesn't have a jumping coach...so Taylor is so excited to be going to Skyview next year where we hear they have an amazing jumping coach.
I love watching him launch, it is amazing...and stressful too. Its so disappointing if they "scratch" which means they launched after their mark...so each jump I'm silently praying, "please don't let him scratch, please don't let him scratch!"
These two shots show how pretty much ever single muscle is involved in jumping. The jump is over in a matter of seconds...but it's just amazing how it takes every bit of physical effort to fly that far.
Tay's best triple jump was 36 feet, 7 inches...and his best running long was 17 feet, 6 inches. He took 1st place in both jumps nearly all season, and took 3rd place in the Triple at Districts, and 5th place in the running long jump at Districts. (He had a really "off" night on his long jump, but stuck with it for a medal.)
After Districts, Tay's head coach told me something that made me even prouder of my son than any of his awards or medals. His coach said, "I wish every member of this track team had an attitude like Taylor's. He has been so positive and such a hard worker all season long. I've never met a kid like Taylor, he has a personality all his own, and he's a natural leader. He's going to go far." Wow. Now that was an awesome "Mom" moment.
I love these two! They are the best!
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