7/8/2010 9:42:07 AM
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - It only makes sense that a cross country season that began in pouring rain and lightning, ended with a track meet ending early due to the possibility of tornados and the threat of strong winds.
It speaks to what this sport is about: a little bit of crazy and a whole lot of work. It is hard to ask a runner what he or she thought of a season, to sum it all up, because winning and losing don’t quite look the same in this sport. While decidedly a team sport, your main competitor is yourself, therefore winning is always a couple seconds faster, a few inches higher, a few feet farther. It’s easy to not stop for a moment and reflect on the accomplishments of this season, but with as great as they were, it’d be a travesty not to.
Aly Goldfarb was named SCAC Field athlete of the week and Robert Willett was named SCAC Track athlete of the week three times. We have had races and field events won by many. Mary Elaine Williamson won the 1500 this past weekend at the Coach O Invitational running in poor weather conditions. The week before, Shelby Moore won the javelin throw at the Georgia Bulldog Limited with a distance of 40.37 meters, Mary Elaine won the 1500 again at the Gem of the Hills Track and Field invitational at JSU, David McConnell won the hammer throw and Mark Messenger won the javelin throw.
The BSC track and field team’s successful season also extended outside of competition when Cahaba Heights Elementary school took a field trip to the track. It was a successful day when our team was able to share our love of the sport and have so much fun doing it. From running a lap with them (They went off at a sprint, which surprised even Mary Elaine), to hearing them cheer for Coach Smith as he pole vaulted, we brought children joy, which is a day well spent in my book.
Lastly, personal records have been broken, records reached for, and the boundaries of one’s limits stretched. Junior Caitlin Hodges actually broke her personal record four weeks in a row. As junior Mary Elaine explains, “Our times have dropped during the past few races, and I can see some major improvements from last year.”
Senior Aly Goldfarb explained the season saying that “The team stepped up for some big meets at Tuscaloosa, Jacksonville State, and Georgia. We all worked exceptionally hard this year and as a team did very well. With the change of head coaches, it took the team a while to get used to the new style of coaching, which put us a little bit behind from the beginning, but I think we all handled it very well and bounced back for the end of the season. It was pretty sad to go to our last team meet and only have a people run because of bad weather. I think Troy would have been a great showing of all the hard work we put into the season.
For those continuing to compete in a few weeks, hopefully they will run well and end the season on a high note.”
*originally printed in the Hilltop News