Sectionals!

The four runners and the alternate.

The girls had a GREAT time, which is really the point, after all!  They came into sectionals ranked 14th out of 16, so there was no pressure.  They knew they weren't going to State, so they could just go, have fun and enjoy the experience of getting to Sectionals.

Waiting for the hand-off.  She ran the 3rd leg.

They ran their race with everything they had and ran just shy of their team best time.  RoseBud felt like she has really figured out her strategy for running a 400 now and tested it last night.  It won't help her anymore this season, of course, but she'll go into next season with more confidence that she CAN go out harder at the beginning of the race and still have energy left for the finish.  She ran a 1:06+ and was pleased with that time.  They actually finished 12th, better than expected!

Rehashing the race and finding out their splits.

They were laughing and smiling after their race and they all said how much fun it was.  One of the senior girls on the team had ordered t-shirts for them all with their sectional, the date, and all the girls' names with their events on the back, so they wore them to the meet.  And RoseBud wanted a t-shirt from the meet (cross country meets always have shirts available for sale and she has quite a few, but only really big invitationals for track sell shirts, so she didn't have any to this point.) so I bought her a shirt.

The weather was a little dicey--it was VERY windy until the storm blew through.  There was a 30-minute delay and then it cooled off beautifully and the wind died down in time for RoseBud's race.

And we're sending 3 other events to State!  Altogether a very nice night!

Going to Sectionals!

Regionals went well.  We qualified over half the team for something at sectionals later this week.

RoseBud jumped 14' 2" in the prelims.  She was a little disappointed, but glad to have finished her season that well and happy she had met her goal of breaking 15' at least once.

Long jump take-off

While I was watching a race, I heard them announce her name, but missed what they were announcing it for.  I assumed it was the results of the long jump.  Counting, I estimated her to have finished 5th or 6th.  Not bad!

A few seconds later, I happened to glance across the track and saw her on the long jump runway.  OMG!  She was in the finals!!!  THAT was what they were announcing!!

I sprinted around the outer fence over to the long jump area in time to catch her first jump from afar.  I don't remember what it was but her second jump was 14' 7.75"--very respectable for her.  She scratched on her third jump and ended up 9th of 9 finalists (top 4 go on to sectionals).  Still, she was thrilled to have made the finals and to have completed a better jump in the finals than in the prelims.  Yay, Seagull!

She finished 6th overall in the 800m with a time of 2:36.48.  The top 4 finishers qualified for sectionals.

After the 800, her coach thought she looked tired and she said her legs were wobbly.  He substituted an alternate for her in the 4 x 400m.  She was a little disappointed, but she's a team player and she knew it was better for the team if they wanted a chance at qualifying.  They finished 4th with a qualifying time of 4:22.76, so they're going to sectionals!  The coach said he will run her at sectionals, and since it's her only race, she should be nice and fresh!

Team player, RoseBud contemplates block-holding strategy for her 4 x 400m teammate. (That's the starting block she's holding.  When you use a starting block, someone else stands on the end of it to keep it steady when you take off.  She held the block down.)

Way to go, RoseBud!  A great way to finish your season!

(I added photos to the previous, Conference, post.  Check 'em out.  And thanks, T, for taking all these great pics at the meets!)

Conference

Rose Bud's 4x800m came in 6th out of 7.  She was the first runner and they were 4th after her leg.

She finished 5th (out of 16) in the 800 with a time of 2:38.08.

Her best jump was 14'2", not enough to make the finals. (earned her 12th place out of 17)

Their 4x400m finished 3rd and she ran 1:06!  Her best finish of the night.

The girls' team finished 5th overall, not too bad, considering they've had a tough season.

15' 4" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and a quarter inch!

She broke 15 feet!!!

Rose Bud has been consistently jumping in the low-mid 14s.  Her previous best, set this year was 14' 10.5".

She qualified with a 14' 7" and then had her super-jump in the finals.  She said it felt far, so on her way back, she glanced at the tape and saw it was over 15'.  Then she asked how far it was and started jumping up and down.  It got her 4th place (she was a little disappointed since 3rd and up get medals).

They have a new long jump coach this year, a woman who has recently moved to the area and previously coached at the college level.  This lady, new to the area, was just looking for something to do and picked OUR school district to coach in.  It's definitely been to our benefit!

She's been consistently running 1:08 and change in the 400, which doesn't get her better than 6th or 7th usually.

But their 4x800 has been doing well, earning 2nd, 3rd or 4th, depending on the size of the meet.  She's been consistent at 2:35ish for that.  They were 3rd tonight.

In an interesting twist, a freshman on our team who's been doing very well at the Triple Jump this year jumped long jump for the first time in competition last night.  She won the meet at 15' 11"!!!  Rose Bud was really excited and amazed for her teammate.

And THAT spirit is what contributed to their team winning the Sportsmanship trophy! (as well as the overall meet)

Track 2012 ~ Home Meet 2

Meet 3:  RoseBud ran in the 4x800 (they were disqualified for a lane violation), the 4x200m (4th place), 4x400 (5th place) and she did the Long Jump (5th place with a 14' 4" jump).


Home meet #2 (overall, Meet #4). In this jumping picture, something went wrong with her shoulder. Her coach looked at this pic and said she had perfect form, but whatever happened with her arms threw her off and she made a terrible landing. She wasn't hurt, but she was laughing about it. Anyway, she's knows at this point in the jump that something is wonky. You can see it on her face!

Just before the wonky jump, she cleared 14' 8.25" (her personal best is 14'9") She came in FIFTH with that jump. The other team had a banner day and all jumped 15' or better. You could tell they were surprised because they were all hopping up and down hugging each other.

This is the 400m, her first time this season she's run the open 400.  She came in 4th with a 1:06.84.  (her best is 1:05.30)

Taking off in the 4x400m.  She ran the first leg and did well.  She was third until the final 100m and then she sprinted past everyone to put her team in first place after that leg.  They finished the race 2nd.  But more impressive to me than her run was her team spirit.  One of the runners had a sore leg and didn't want to run this race so they pulled in a freshman who had never run a 400m or a relay before, just 15 minutes before the race.  RoseBud took her to the back of the track, ran her through a baton transfer, kept giving her tips and encouragement and then after RoseBud had run her leg, she was there at the side of the track coaching and encouraging the new runner through her whole leg of the relay.  She's a great leader and a super team-player.  I'm so proud of her!

Track 2012: Home Meet 1

RoseBud missed the first Track Meet of the season because she was competing at Forensics regionals that day. She qualified for State for the second year in Forensics (last year she earned a Silver at State). Here is the second meet of the season, the first meet at home.

Running the first leg of the 4 x 800.  They came in second (of two teams) and her split was 2:39.

Her first long jumps of the year.  She scratched the first 3 and jumped 13'5" on the 4th jump.  The winner jumped 14'10".

She also ran the first leg of the 4 x 400 and they won that race.  Her split was 1:09.

Regionals

9th in the 400, but ran her best time:  1:05.30

4 x 400m was 8th with THEIR best time of 4:18.33

She didn't jump, but her best jump would have gotten her 10th.

Conference Track

Conference is done and the girls were 3rd.  Rose Bud ran in the 4 x 800 and their team was 3rd at 10:38.90.

Long Jump held preliminaries and she squeaked in to the finals with a jump of 13' 10".  Then in the finals, she only jumped 13' 10.5" to finish 9th out of 9.  Not her best night.  This was the field with the freaky board.

4 x 400m was 3rd with a time of 4:23.97. 

Overall, the girls' team was happy with their performances.  They've been hanging 3rd or 4th in the conference all season, so to finish this meet in 3rd place was quite nice.

Next up, Regionals.

Track Catch-up #487

Track Meet #7

We never got any written results for this meet, so I have to guess.  The 4 x 800 team won.  They were the only team. :D

 Rose Bud was 3rd or 4th in the Long Jump.  This field had an actual board for the board and it wiggled and freaked her out.  She didn't jump very well.

In the 400m she was 2nd.

The 4 x 400m relay won.  The girls' team lost this meet by one point.

Track Meet #8

This was a big 11-school meet with medals (very exciting!)  Rose Bud ran the 400m and was 6th (out of 16) with a 1:05.66 (best time, I think).  She was 4th in the Long Jump with a jump of  14' 6.25" and their 4 x 400m was 4th out of 9 with a best team time of 4:20.54.  So she got 3 medals.

Track Meet #9

A 2-school meet on a beautiful, warm and sunny afternoon.  Grandma and Grandpa traveled down to watch.  Rose Bud was 2nd in the Long Jump with a 14' 9.25", 3rd in the 400m with 1:05.65 (she was ahead until the last 50m!), and the 4 x 400m won in 4:21.96.

Track Meet #10

Another big meet with 10 or 11 schools.  The 4 x 800m did really well at 3rd with 10:35.00.    She didn't run the 400m.  The 4 x 400m didn't do very well.  Rose Bud tripped over another girl in the hand-off and it slowed her down.  They were 5th of 6 with a time of 4:26.13.    Her Long Jump was good and she was 3rd with a jump of 14' 4".

Next up: Conference.

Track Meet #6

It was far to wet and COLD to take any pictures.  I wore leggings under jeans and a long-sleeved shirt under a fleece sweater under my winter coat under a rain coat.  And a blanket over all that.  Under an umbrella.  No pictures.

Rosebud had a great meet, though!  Her first event was the 4 x 800m Relay.  Their team won (out of 2 teams...)  They were told by the coach to take it easy in this race since they "knew" they would win, so they didn't push it and therefore their time was 12:04.51.

Right after the 4 x 800m, she had to rush over to the Long Jump pit to do her run-throughs and then jump.  They get 4 jumps in Varsity and she jumped 14' 1.25", 14' 9.5", 14' 1" and 14' 4":  all really great jumps!  The winning jump was 15' 8", so she came in 2nd.

Next up was the 400m and she ran a 1:07.33 and finished 3rd out of 6.

The very last race at every meet (yay, us) is the 4 x 400m.  Since this was only a 3-school meet, and one of the schools had hardly any participants in any race, they ran only one heat, so there were 6 male teams and 2 female teams.  Rosebud ran the first leg against a super-fast runner and the 3 girls who followed her were a) having an asthma attack, b) and c) not feeling well.  Even so, they ran a 4:38.98.  They were, of course, 2nd out of 2 female teams.

Any time now we are ready for a sunny, warm track meet.  I'm beginning to feel like they compare with the Packers, running on the frozen tundra.  Bring on those Southern teams!  We can beat them in the sleet!

Catching up on Track Meets

Meet #3, 10 schools

400 m  1:06.99 (personal best thus far)
10th out of 19, fastest on team

4 x 400m Relay 4:27.04
team was 6th of 9, she ran 2nd and liked that position

Long Jump 13' 1"
first time jumping this year, 15th out of 21, best jump on team
personal best is 13' 9" (8th grade)

Meet #4 Dual meet (one other school only, super cold and windy)

400m 1:09.07
3rd of 4

800m 2:47.16
first time ever running this event, 2nd of 4

Meet #5 Triangular Meet (2 other schools)  This was a really good meet.  The girls' team won the meet.

4 x 800m Relay 10:58.53
ran 2nd position--funny story:  she got WAY behind her competitor in her leg and was really worried that she couldn't keep up.  Came to find out later she ran a 2:46ish and the other girl ran a 2:18!  No wonder!  Even so, their team won the race.

400m 1:07.06
2nd place out of 8!

4 x 400m Relay 4:35.5
team 1st place

Long Jump 14' 8.25" !!!!
previous best jump was 13' 9" (8th grade)
2nd place! (1st place jumped 14' 10")
(her other 3 jumps were 13' 8", 13' 11" and a scratch)

So, there you have all the gory details for grandmas and aunties and other people who are interested and I can find all the stats when I'm ready to scrapbook her season.  Ta da.

Track Meet

On your mark...

Finishing 3rd in the 400m with a personal best time of 1:07.6

In the 200m (first time running this race) she does the cartoon circle-feet thing.  She was 2nd in the JV race.  (her other two races were varsity)

The 4 x 400m relay team finished first!  Rose Bud was the anchor (the 4th and final runner) and she finished very strong!  Her time was about 1:09.

As befits an early outdoor meet, it was FREEZING!  I made Mr. GT buy me (and himself--he was colder than I was!) a 50 cent coffee made from hot water and a coffee bag (like a tea bag) in a tiny styrofoam cup.  Then I made him go back and get me more hot water for my coffee bag, just to warm me up.  I liked holding the hot cup.  At least it wasn't raining.  And I'm really glad we made the kids stay home!  They would have been popsicles!

Track is Back!

Rose Bud had her first track meet yesterday.  She ran the 400m and the 4 x 400m relay.

She was 12th in the 400m with a personal best time of 1:09.09 (out of 46 runners).

Their relay team finished 11th out of 16 with a time of 4:45.11.  Rose Bud again ran 1:09 for her leg (she was the lead-off runner), which was really good for her, considering she'd already run the 400 that night AND they ran at 11pm!

Banana Boy: On Sports

Banana Boy:  I LOVE Track!  I love the long jump and those soccer goals.

Me:  Soccer goals?

BB:  You know--like soccer goals but they don't have nets.

Me:  ????

BB:  They run and they jump over them!

Me:  HURDLES!

BB:  Yes!  Hurdles.  I love those.

pause for reflection and dishwasher loading.

BB:  Do they do anything else for cross country?

Me:  What do you mean, anything else?

BB:  Extra stuff.  Like... handstands.

You all go off and picture that now.

The Seagull Still Soars

6-school meet (rescheduled due to thunderstorms a couple of weeks ago--it should have been 13 schools.)

Rose Bud ran her best 100m in 15.46s

Her 400 m was slow at 1:14 and she was 3rd in her heat--the other heat was faster.

She placed 2nd in the long jump with a jump of 12' 6 1/2". She jumped over a foot better than 3rd place. 1st place was 12' 10".

She is disappointed though because her jumps keep decreasing and she's jumped farther than 12' 10" before. She's thinking she should have had first. She's hard on herself. It was good enough for this meet.

3rd 3rd

Track Meet 4

100m 4th in her heat, time: about 14.7
400m 3rd but they didn't get a time on her.  She thinks, based on the runners behind and in front, it was about 1:12.5
Long Jump 3rd with a jump of 12' 2" (top jump was 13' 3")  She's not feeling her jumps and is frustrated that they're decreasing.  It WAS really windy.  She wants Mr. GT to rototill up a new jumping pit for her.  (he planted her other one!)

The 400m

The Dandelion Relay