TO’Neshia Dawson
Professor Hoke
TTH 9:35-10:55
2/14/2013
Track
The moment I approached the track I could feel the heat waves attack my anxious, nervous, yet determined face. I could not directly focus on how beautiful the day was, but I do know the flowers were in full bloom and the grass was perfectly green. Most track meets would start in the evening and end at night but on March 31, 2010, things were different. Competitors, coaches, and referees began to gather in the field, between the athletic warehouse and the late night club, around nine o’ clock a.m. Other people began to rush in the stands around ten o’ clock a.m.; in some counties there were so many fans that most of them had to remain in their vehicles to watch the scene, but in Falls County, if you paid money, you were able to sit, stand, or kneel wherever you wanted. Our Marlin High School sprint relay team consisted of four members, which were fifteen- year old- Amber, the first leg sprinter, sixteen- year- old Ashley, our third leg runner, seventeen- year- old Kate, our bring it home sprinter, and I, the teams’ sixteen- year- old second leg curve runner. At about eleven o’ clock a.m. the sun began to rise from behind the colorless, fluffy, pillow- like clouds. Water slowly drifted three miles per hour down my itchy, moist scalp, to the center of my forehead, and past the end of my short tense neck. I was on fire! Not only did the triggering crowd, the sudden sweat, and the too tight, too small, but just right size five cleats bother me, I could not stop contemplating the fact that the team was placed in lane one. Being in lane one was an advantage; I am not talking about an easy advantage or a mild advantage; I am speaking on a challenging advantage, which one who is determined could accomplish this obstacle at any time. At about twelve o’ clock noon all the coaches and referees were to attend to a meeting. The meeting was a small group session where all the head supervisors, coaches, referees, and managers would discuss and go over all rules that were needed to be abided by during the competition. As time flew by, the team exercised and ran a quick warm up lap. Our competitors were in all the other different lanes. Many of their facial expressions showed that they were ready for this race, and that did not affect me. I stayed alert.
By the time we got situated, the referee was back at his post, breathing hard, as if he had been chasing chickens all morning. All dried up and dysfunctional, forty two- year old, Sam, the referee checked the track to make sure all competitors were in correct position. The race was just seconds away from beginning, and I had more than enough confidence in myself and in the rest of the team. There was no
