Thoughts on the Nike Midwest Regional Meet
11/12/16
God blessed us with a beautiful day. The 55-degree weather and light winds were the best conditions possible at Terre Haute, Indiana. I came into this race feeling optimistic and surprisingly, I was relaxed. All I wanted to do was have fun racing, whether I was moving on or not, I wanted to make this a fun last race for the seniors still running: Dan Leonard and Max Sellers. Therefore, when the team made their way to the tent, no one was nervous or uptight. Everyone was feeling confident. The team warmed up 1.5 miles and stretched. We made our way to the line where we did our drills and strides. Just as we were finishing our last strides, the girl's championship race leaders were coming through. This is just a minor detail; however I realized that one of the girls was close to breaking the course record and Ohio runner India Johnson performed well, proving to me that the course was running fast like the Ohio State meet course. Not too long after the girls race, the gun shot off for the boys championship race and we were off. I got a great start and immediately darted to the front. I was in first for about half a mile until Gabe Findel from Indiana caught me and took the lead.
Special Moment: My special moment of the week goes out to my fellow students and faculty at Lakota East High School. It is a tradition at Lakota East to have a ticker-tape parade for State winners, so the school all gathered out in the big hallway we call 'Main Street' to help me celebrate what had happened last Saturday. As Lakota East's AD Rich Bryant drove me down Main Street in the Gator, I felt so overwhelmed with the support of my friends, classmates, and teachers. It was such a blast to be able to share such a special moment with everyone, and I believe that the spirit and support East has to offer is second to none. It meant a lot to have that much support. It was also nice to be accompanied by Coach Thomas at the parade, who managed to put his own teaching job on hold again to attend the event. What a great way to cap off a wonderful post season. Despite all the celebration and reflection on this year, I'm ready for Portland and what this Nike National meet has in store for me.