Omwojo. It is an African word that means team. A great African tribe, of whose name I can't remember how to spell, or say for that matter, used to say this word to each other as they prepared for battle. It reminded them that alone they were weak, but as a team they were one of the greatest tribes in all of Africa.
That is what I must remember. Omwojo. Omwojo. It is a bittersweet feeling to feel like you have been a part of something; and yet at the same time feel like you have not been a part of something. That is how I feel. I feel like I have helped the team get this far, and yet I am seventh man and so I do not feel like I have helped any scoreing. I must remember that it isn't all about me anymore. I am a member of a team now. I have others who depend on me, and I depend on them. Why then am I upset today after coach told me that Trevor is going to take my place on the varsity team for the state meet? It is the best thing for the team. He ran faster than I did at semi-state, so he should take my place.
I say that there is no hard feelings. I say that I understand. The fact of the matter though, is that I feel that I am a better runner than Trevor. The fact of the matter is that on Saturday, I want to make coach wish that she had run me in the race. I want to run a time trial, and prove to myself that I am the kind of runner that I know that I am. And yet Trevor earned it. I feel like I have been a lot of talk. I have told myself that I am some good runner and yet I never perform like my mouth does. Trevor performed where I didn't. He earned my spot fair and square.
A man that I greatly respect once said that there is no use saying something that you don't intend on trying to fulfill. This is what I seem to do in both my spiritual life and my physical life. I pray and ask God to help me do something, but then I don't try to put forth the effort to do my part to try and live the right way. The same is true of my physical life. Especially running. I have always said that I would like to be a great runner someday, but I never seem to give it everything that I have to get better to try and fulfill my dreams. When someone told me recently that this was my last chance to go to state, I answered that I was going to return next year. They just laughed. I am so much more determined to prove them wrong.
As with the Trevor thing. God please help my selfish attitude. Help my pride. Help me to be determined, but also give you the glory in all that I do. I am, in a way, thankful that Trev beat my time because maybe that is what it takes for me to finally break through. I am going to go to state and be there to support my team. Support Trevor. Omwojo!
Monday, October 22, 2007
!!!!Semi-State!!!!
Semi-state on 10/20/2007. We went into this race as the underdog. People were saying that it was going to be a close race for the sixth place spot that was the last spot to go on to state. The sixth spot was predicted to go to one of the following: Delta, Mishawaka, South Bend Saint Joseph, or Penn. We were not expected to make it out.
We awaited the announcement for the teams that would go on to state. As we listened, we heard Delta announced at 15th place, Mishawaka announced at 11th place, and St. Joe announced at 8th place. The tension grew. Would we hear the word "Penn" for 7th place? Would we make it out. The announcer said, "In seventh place, with a score of 224 points----- Norwell High School." We screamed and cheered. Sorry Norwell. We weren't celebrating your loss, but the fact that we had made it out. They announced sixth. It wasn't Penn. They announced fifth; it wasn't Penn. They announced fourth, and there we were! We were ecstatic! Fourth place! We had done better than anyone predicted. I was in tears. I was literally bawling. I don't know why. I think it was the first time that I have ever cried because I was happy. We made it out. Why? Because we wanted it the most. We believed that we could achive our goal that we made on that hot day at Warren Dunes when we told the coaches that we wanted to go to state. And we did.
I speak for myself when I say that I had a bad race. I was last on the team, and I ran 17:57-a horrible time for me. The other guys ran spectacular races I would say, but we always seem to criticize ourselves more. But, the day wasn't over.
After every race in our tournament series, we have a time trial for the other guys on the varsity team to see if they will take anyones place in the top seven. Trevor ran great. As he approached the line, I prayed. However bad I felt about it, I still did. I prayed that Trevor would not be able to run faster than I had. He crossed the line in 17:53. Four seconds faster than me. Would he take my spot? I guess that would be up to the coaches. I had come this far only to have my fulfillment of running in state torn away.
Regionals!
We had regionals on 10/13/2007. We were very excited coming off our win at sectionals, and we were going for a second place finish behind Northridge. We ran hard, and we got what we wanted. Praise the Lord!! My race wasn't the greatest, but it's the team that counts. Semi-state on the 20th. Here we come.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
On October 9 we had sectionals. Andy (red shirt in the fourth picture) and I ran together for most of the race but he beat me on the big hill at the end. Way to go Andy! After conference, the team just wanted to come away with the win from sectionals. Most of us ran in groups during the race. We ran hard hoping that we would win. It was agonizing to sit and wait for the results. We knew that it was going to be a close race. When the results came out, we had beaten Mishawaka by 15 points. We were #1!
On September 29 our cross country team had our conference meet. We hoped to beat Mishawaka, but lost to them by 3 points. It was a disappointment but we had sectionals coming up and we were determined to beat them there and win the sectional title. I decided to go with a little different hair style for the race day as you can tell from the previous post as well as a few of the pictures in this post.
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