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Checking in, Track season

Well, life continues busy at Casa Smith.   I’ve finished and sent off the last of three articles commissioned and written in the past 9 weeks, got the quilt done (will share in a couple of days I hope), and watched many miles of track and sundry field events.  Today was the KVACs, the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference meet and will be followed next weekend by States.   Astonishingly, Eli qualified as a Freshman–in a race (300 metre hurdles) he had only run twice in his life!   He was also put onto the 4×400 relay team!   And thankfully, the week of ceaseless rain finally ceased and it was glorious Maine today:  upper 60s, sunny and clear in Bath, where the meet was held.

Here’s Eli in the 300 hurdles–he finished about in the middle of the group of boys running in Class B–not bad considering he’d never jumped a hurdle before this season!  If he can work on his form, he has a chance in this event next year!

Eli clears his last hurdle (literally) in the 300 metre hurdles.  He finished in (I think) 50 seconds.  Pretty good for a Freshman who had never run hurdles before early May!

Eli clears his last hurdle (literally) in the 300 metre hurdles. He finished in (I think) 50 seconds. Pretty good for a Freshman who had never run hurdles before early May!

Eli is also fast fast enough that since he had not qualified in any other events, the team put him on the 4×400 relay as he was faster than some of the other boys who had run it during the regular season.  He may have turned in the fastest lap for the team–in part because the anchor, Ben Trapani, WON (!!!!) both his 800 and 1600 metre races!  Way to go Ben!   The 4 x 400 is the LAST event–the kids arrived at the meet at about 8 am, and their race ended just before 7 pm!  LONG day!

During the llllooonnnggg wait, I managed to sketch some kids and one adult waiting on a bench:  the first sketching I’ve had time to do in nearly two months!

A  VERY quick sketch--less than 10 minutes--of some kids and one adult on a bench late in the afternoon

A VERY quick sketch–less than 10 minutes–of some kids and one adult on a bench late in the afternoon

Here’s Eli in the far outside lane on the first leg of the 4 x 400 relay:

Eli on the last 50 metres of his lap, the first of the relay

Eli on the last 50 metres of his lap, the first of the relay

Eli ran the first leg in about 57 seconds and the team finished at 4:00:75 to place 7th!  YES, the Camden BOYS placed at KVAC’s!  Here they are having just been handed their ribbons:

The boys--Mark M., Adam, Eli and Ben T--look at their ribbons

The boys– L to R Mark M., Adam, Eli and Ben T–look at their ribbons

and all the teams:

 

On the podium

On the podium.  Eli is third from the right.

What is astonishing is that Eli is a Freshman, Ben T. is a Junior, and the other two boys are sophomores:  what a young team to do so well!  Most of the other teams are older, so kudos to them!

And astonishingly, Eli has now qualified for States in all three of his sports as a Freshman.  Absolutely amazing!   I’ll be back soon, and now that the deadlines of the past two months are met, hope to return to a more regular blogging schedule.  I’m also traveling to North Carolina to teach in 2 weeks and then to Southern California in early July!   Hope I get to meet some of you.  Now it’s late and time to collapse on the sofa before the week begins anew!

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