CHASING THE MOMENTS

It was a hot spring day in 2021, and the sun was beating down on the track. There were a lot of teammates in the stands, and the air was filled with excitement and anticipation. Jane was part of the 4x100 relay, and they were about to compete. She was running the anchor leg of the race, and she was feeling nervous. Jane had run very few relay races before, and she didn’t want to let her team down. The first runner took off, and she ran as fast as she could, and she had a clean hand-off with the girl running second leg. She sprinted down the back stretch, and passed the baton onto the girl running third leg. They were in the lead and she ran around the curve, and made her way towards Jane. She was nervous waiting to enter the exchange zone. She continued to approach her, and then she passed it to Jane, and she took off running. She could feel the wind in her hair, and her heart was pounding in her chest. Jane could hear her teammates shouting words of encouragement, and Jane ran as fast as she could. She was so focused on the race that Jane didn’t even notice the crowd cheering them on. As Jane crossed the finish line, they all ran onto the track to celebrate their victory. It was an incredible feeling for Jane to know that they had accomplished something as a team. This feeling is what kept Jane going through four years of track at Rocklin High School. There is not one moment during a race that forever changed Jane, but it is all of the little moments. Going through all of the practices as a team, and feeling the accomplishments on the track throughout all four years of high school helped her to form meaningful friendships with all of the girls, Jane said, “going through practice with these girls helped me form meaningful and and lasting relationships. I learned how to work together with teammates to reach our goals. I’m grateful for my team and all they have taught me my four years of track & field.”