Sarah goes to STATE!

Sweet Sarah went to the State Track Meet on June 28th at Mt. View High. There was a big turnout for the runners ages 9-14 to show their "stuff". You could feel the energy and excitement in the air and Sarah was pretty wound up. She would walk away from us just to try and loosen up. Emily whispered in my ear, "Mom, I'm so nervous for her. How can she handle this pressure!" Finally Sarah's call came and off she went to the bull pen and then to the track for the 50 meter. The gun went off, Sarah was not looking like she was running comfortably. She was running heavy and tight. However, this was a close race for the first 4 racers and Sarah came in as fourth. (She was not happy about this yet still congratulated the other runners with a smile and a high five.) I took pictures until the last 20 meters, then I was a cheering maniac! Right after she got her ribbon, they made the final call for her to come to the track. So off she ran to get to the track for the 100 meter. Ahh! The gun goes off. Soon three runners are ahead of the other four. Sarah, the gal who beat her at Regionals and another girl are going full throttle to the finish. Again, Sarah was not running naturally. Still she ran to to the end as best she could. She came to the line in third. As soon as they returned to the line, Sarah gave the first place and second place runners a high five and a hearty congratulations. Still as her mother, I could see the disappointment in her smile (the one only moms and dads can see). I finally got her attention, yelling to her "Sarah, great job honey!!" She gave me a disappointed smile. I continued, "This is State! Look at how well you did for your first shot at STATE! Good job sweetie!" This makes me as a mother tear up. The pressure kids feel that the only best thing is first place makes me sad. To me, Sarah is a winner - why, you say, she took third/fourth? Here's why - my proudest moment in watching Sarah was when she graciously and sincerely gave her fellow racers a high five and a congrats. She is the only racer I saw do this. This speaks volumes to me as to what kind of competitor Sarah is. This is where we see character and to me, that is most important. Way to go, Sarah! We love you!