Senior Night

 I'm very happy that the initially scheduled senior night for Salem Women's Track was rescheduled from last Tuesday to this Tuesday.  Even though it was May 2, the weather was awful! Rain, wind, snow flurries, and uncomfortably low temps were expected. And the parents of the seniors were expected to stay at the meet until the end! 

Well,  someone got smart and actually canceled the whole meet! I was kind of surprised they flat-out canceled the whole meet that morning,  I mean,  those athletes are used to performing in all kinds of weather, but us parents weren't keen on the idea of being out in the cold for an extra amount of time!

We were also relieved that the whole meet was canceled because Victoria had been experiencing some really bad shin splints and extraordinarily tight calves. She had to take a little break from running the 400 and 200 and just focus on throwing disc for the previous two meets.

Of course, on Thursday,  she slashed her right hand on her spikes and had to get it wrapped,  so her throws at Saturday's invitational were not the 95+ feet she was hoping so she could earn her backpack and her name in the records book. Needless to say, she was very discouraged at the invitational on Saturday, not getting her new PR at a meet and not being able to run. She went into the Senior night meet on Tuesday still feeling discouraged because her hand was still wrapped. She was scheduled to run the 200, but for the JV because there are so many 200 runners. I felt discouraged for her. Why did they schedule her to run for JV on Senior Night?! 

As I was rushing to get to her meet to watch her throw, she called me to tell me that they had Varisty throw first for a change and that she had already thrown, and it wasn't good. She was bummed, I was bummed for her. I secured a spot on the bleachers to watch the runners for the rest of the time. The 200 is toward the end. Well, she nailed that 200 with a 29.11 PR in the first JV heat!

I was so happy she could get a little boost in confidence again.  Not long after,  the female senior parents were invited to come to the field. As we were waiting for the small "ceremony " of the side line poster of each senior to be unveiled, with flowers and cookies passed out and a picture of each girl with her parents, a small commotion was occurring. I watched as senior distance runner Jack strode over to Victoria with a huge smile on his face and a poster held high in his hands.  He was asking her to prom! (Now, Victoria knew it was going to happen at some point and kept telling me she was hearing things from her friends who knew when it was going to happen,  so I had been wondering the same thing. ) I instantly became a bubbling little school girl, gushing behind the "promposal ", but trying to keep my cool for my daughter's sake. I only took pictures from afar and from behind or to the side. Vicky's friends took the ones straight on and were so cute all rallying around them and supporting this exciting event. 

So, it turned out to be a pretty good meet after all! She came home with 3 posters, 2 bags of candy,  a Crumbl cookie,  and 2 bouquets of flowers! The next day, she learned she was named "Rock" of the meet for her race! (We're the Salem Rocks).  

There's another invitational this weekend and the cut on her hand has healed.  She's been throwing over 100 ft at practice,  so here's hoping she keeps it up!

The poster we put up.

"Promposal!"

See the play on words?

The poster made for her by her teammates. 

Seniors and coaches!

 

Salem Women's Track Team (one of the best in the state!)