And then, in one day we went from "Purple Mountains Magesty" to "Amber Waves of Grain," the high country to the hot farm country of Fresno. We left the mountains a day early for another Track and Field meet.
K had competed in the local Association Championships two weeks ago; the top eight competitors at that meet were allowed to move on to these Regional Championships. Here, only the top five competitors were eligible to compete in the Junior Olympic Championships, each of the five representing one of 16 regions across the United States.
She did it! Placed fourth for the entire region, which qualifies her for the national championships. Not bad for someone who has been without a team or coach and with little-to-no training since the end of her "regular" track season. One advantage: without a team, she could wear her Gryffindor shirt. She looked a little out of place among the serious track athletes, with their fancy high-grip shoes and lycra everything, but she threw like herself and that's what matters.
Love watching these athletes and seeing their strength! Proud of this athlete, too! (I saw awesome parent shirts at the meet that said, "Some people wait their whole lives to meet their favorite athlete. I'm raising mine." I thought that was cool. A bit sappy, perhaps, but cool. :-)
