I FIGH T AN D ENDURE .

Withadeterminedattitude,freshmanRoderickSpruelpushesoffthestartingblocks Spruel placed3rdinthe60 meterdashand 5thinthe200 meterdash "WhatIenjoymostaboutthetrack team istheopportunitytopushmyselfphysicallywithteammateswho areconstantlybuildingeach otherupemotionallyandspiritually," RebekahGibbs,freshmantrackmember,said.

JuniorJaceyBaileysprintsaroundthetrack,pushinghimselftoplace

He placed5thinthemen's400 meterdashand 3rdalongwithhisrelay team inthemen's4x400meterrelay "My favoriteeventisprobablythe 4x400meterrelay, becauseitwasthelasteventineverymeet,and the wholeteam would lineupalongthefinalonehundredstretchtocheer youon,"KaitlynSchonta,junior,said. SophomoresChristinaMitchell and OliviaCharnuskileapoverthehurdleintheirpath In the60 meter hurdleracetheycompeted in,Charnuskiplaced2nd and Mitchellplaced 3rd "TheonethingthatI havelearnedisthatasateam we work hardand traintorunforthename ofGod andtrytoglorifyHim withthetalentHe gaveus,"Cameron French,freshmantrackmember,said.

The beginning ofthe Flame'strack and fieldteam's season showed promising outcomes.The men's track team had been ranked in the top 25 teams inthe nation and Coach Brant Tolsma believed they had a shot offinishing inthe top ten As forthe Lady Flames,Tolsma shared how the runners stepped up tothe plateafter losing two key women due to injuries.

The season kicked offwith exceptional running by thetrack members and several new program records were set. On the men's team,juniorJacey Bailey ranhis career best 60-meter,making him the number two performer in that race forour track program's history,

"When I finished the race,I was thinking I had a good push and good competitors,"Bailey said. "I thought I ran fast, but when I saw the time I got very excited because it was a program record."

On the women's sideoftrack and field, senior Jamie Watson stood out as she broke the 800 meter conference record and was ranked number 12on the NCAA national performance list "I thank God for such a blessing,"Watson said "I have been trying togo under 2:08 since I was afreshman."

The track team competed in their individual events,but during practice time they were ableto come together as a team through biblestudies, team prayer groups and prayer before every practice.

"Track and field is more ofan individual sport,but everyone on that team has a common goal while atthisuniversity, to be champions forChrist,"Evans Kigen, juniortrack member, said. "The coaches also take time tocoordinate meetings to bring us all together."

The team's unity showed during competitions Their cheering could teammate'sraces

"We have a team oftalented people that have been blessed and have done some amazing things," Bailey said. "Even though things may not go wellatevery meet, everyone on the team stillcompetes totheirbest and givestheirall no matter what the result is."

"I haverun two other5Kraces, butthis was my favoriteoneto run. Unlikethe othertworaces, I was runningfor somethingother thanmyself I was runningfor thegirl'sname writtenon my arm.I wasn't runningtobeat my personal record I was verymotivated to runand notto stop, because I knew the name on my arm was a girl who needed tobesetfree. The leastthat I coulddo wasto runand notstop runningforthis girl."

-Jocelyn Bowers,JR

"I chooseto participatein the "Run forTheir Lives"event because I believe in what Freedom 4/24 isdoingin Thailand When theygavethe community the opportunityto runin arace and bydoingso potentiallysave a younggirls life, I knewthat was something I wanted to beapart of. AsChristians, somethinglike sextrafficking should break ourheartsand we should takeevery opportunity we canto helpstopany kindof human traffickingand toshare Christ withthevictims ofsomethinglike this." -Parker

Spencer,SO

"I choseto runin the Run fortheir Lives racebecause it wasagreat opportunityto exerciseand participate inaministry organization atthe same time. I havea few friends who havetraveledto Thailand in the pastyeartodo missionsand theyhaveshared storiesabout workingwith girls in thesex slaveindustry It breaksmy heart, but Freedom 4/24 isaway I can beinvolved and helpright herein America."

-Whitney Bowers,SR

"Beforeeveryone ran, astaff member forthe raceshowed a listofgirls' namestoall of therunnersand allowed them tochoose who theywanted to "save." When you chosethe name,they wroteiton yourarm or legs While I rantherace, thenames on everyone'sarms and legs really encouraged me tokeeprunning becauseit was foragreatcause It broughtthe cityofLynchburg and students togethertofight foraserious cause."-Katelyn

Bowers,JR

"Itwas sogreat tobeapartof the Freedom 4/24 event "Run forTheirLives." I was sosurprised and excitedto seethemasses ofpeoplethat showed upto runand support thecause. It's wonderfultosee thatFreedom 4/24 is becoming morepublicized inLynchburg and atourschool."

-RitaWieland, JR

FreshmanJonathanChildressgrappleswithhisopponent,lookingfortheopportunemoment topinhim down.Thatmoment came 32secondsintothematchasChildresstooktheadvantageand pinned hisopponent,comingoutwithabigwin "I waslookingatafewplacestowrestleandthis schoolwasoneofthelastplacesIhadconsidered,"Childresssaid "Iwasnotsurewhattoexpectwhen Icame down tovisitbutI lovedeverythingaboutitwhen Iwas down,"

"The team has been performing very wellthisyear,"Head Coach