Athletics Update

Most of the world uses the term 'athletics' where we use 'track and field'. I think that regardless of what you call it, the sport does indeed show true athleticism. Speed, endurance, power, coordination, jumping and throwing abilities cover nearly all athletic aspects. There is no 'faking it' in track. You don't get lucky breaks or rely on your teammates skill. Mariah and Jake were recently involved in the school and 'zone' athletics carnivals and proved themselves to be quite athletic. They must have gotten most of their genes from their mom...We had a great time watching them. We both took a day off work for the regional event (Don't tell anyone!).

The school level competition involved 8 contests: the 100, 200 and 800 meter runs, the long and high jumps, discus, and shot put. A relay is also run. Jake and Mariah each tried every event against all their classmates in Old Bar School. The school is small. It has about 25 boys and 25 girls in each grade. Jake won the 200, 800, discus, and long jump, finished second in the 100 meters, and 4th in the high jump. His relay team also won. He was awarded a medal as the Junior (8,9, and 10 year olds) Male Top Athlete. The top 2 in each event move on to zone which is a meet against the winners of 35 other primary schools. In the field events you could only move on if your marks met the qualifying standard, too.

Mariah won 7 of the 8 events. She only missed out on a sweep by getting 2nd in the shot put. Drew Stevick, her track coach in Olympia would have been so proud....He is a strong believer in multiple event contests, such as the decathlon, and has tried to talk Mariah into entering one, to no avail. Maybe this will help change her mind. She was the winner of the Senior (12 and 13 year olds) Girl of the Meet. Her throw in the discus wasn't long enough to qualify for zone so she would be competing in 6 events.

The zone 'comp' was held in Tuncurry which is about 1/2 an hour south. The track was grass, painted on the cricket pitch and was virtually round. There might have been a maximum of 30-40 meter straight sections on each side. The rest was curved. The 100 meter races were were set up to run on the inside of the circle/oval/ellipse as there wasn't a straight section anywhere near long enough. Their were about 35-50 kids in each running event as some of the even smaller schools had less than 2 representatives in each event. The field events had about 15 contestants each (just those that made the standard). The 100 and 200 meter heats had 4 or 5 heats of 8-13 runners. The inside section of the track had 13 lanes for the 100! The top 2 would move on to the finals and the top 2 in those would move on to regionals only if their heights/distances met the regional standards. Jake finished 4th in his 100 heat, 4th in his 200 heat and 7th in the 800 final of about 25 racers. He finished 6th of the 15 boys in his long jump comp. His relay team didn't make the final. He had a great time and spent the afternoon playing tag with all his teammates. Apparently he still had some energy left over.

Mariah won her 100 heat. She won her 200 heat. Her relay team qualified in the morning for the afternoon finals. She finished 3rd in the high jump and went high enough to meet the regional standard, but only the top 2 moved on. The exact same scenario happened in the long jump. She was very pleased, though, because she had jumped very well in both. The 800 was a final of about 30 runners. Mariah ran a smart race and drafted behind the leader the whole way, but couldn't ever get past. She finished 2nd to qualify for the next level. She ran a great 200 and finished 2nd, as well. In the 100 she pooped out a bit and finished 5th despite having the 2nd fastest time coming in. It was her 8th event of the day....Her relay team finished 7th out of 8. She had done 9 events and was completely wiped out, but was feeling great. She didn't play tag with her friends when it was over...

We're very proud of the wee ones. We know many of you relatives feel the same. Thought you'd like to know.