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Andres Balbuena
Mr. King
English 1
5 October 2015
My First Track Meet
All the spectators watched as the maroon crowd of jerseys stampeded onto the
track like a herd of wild wildebeests. It was to be the first track meet of the season for
Heritage Middle School and the first ever track meet for a 13 year old me. It was a hot
day in late May yet the team seemed unaffected by the heat and ignored the thick rays of
sunlight shining down on their backs as they ran a lap to warm up. I ran with my friends
and we all chattered excitedly about what would happen at the meet. I was extremely
overwrought but didnt want to admit it to my friends since we had all been training like
Olympians preparing for this meet and I didnt want to lower the morale. What I didnt
know was that the hard training that I put into track was going to pay off and I would be
rewarded with a track meet full of success and happiness for my team and I myself.
Alright athletes lets get set up! yelled Mr. Moyer, a man in his 40s who taught
at the school as a social studies teacher but in the afternoons would almost change
identities as if he were a vigilante, and turn into our tough track coach who had been
pushing us to our maximum potential for the past 3 weeks. He ordered my group to go
get some benches up in the softball field. As soon as we entered the field we were hit by
the ample coolness of the shade that was coming from the looming outermost branches

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that were growing out above the field. We returned with benches and waited for the other
team to arrive. Each second felt like a minute in the immense wait for the arrival, the
whole team had an aura of anticipation with everyone staring at the road waiting for a bus
to arrive. And then it came, a bright white bus pulled up to the curb and a silent gasp
escaped the crowd as they walked out. All in navy blue jerseys they looked as though
they almost were malicious in the mind of a nervous 13 year old and went straight to
warming up not even caring to take a glance at the crowd or our team as though we were
just ghosts. It was time for a classic match between red and blue.
The first gun popped and the meet officially started as the boys mile began. I was
getting ready for the 100-meter dash, which was right after the mile. My only problem
was the fact that most of the kids on the other team loomed over me like mountains.
Sprinting was more based on body size or whoever was growing the fastest at the time. It
happened quickly, the loud pop of the gun, the racers rushing forward as if they were
bulls, and the finish, which I got 6th overall. A look of disappointment washed over my
face as I walked back to the bright orange cooler to get a drink of water. My friends were
there to inspirit me that I still had the 800-meter left and that I would do good in it. The
800 was near the end of the meet so I sat down under the blue sky and watched my
friends compete in their events. Time drifted by like one of the clouds in the sky and I
looked up to see the score. The other team was leading barely and the only events left
were the 800 and the relays!
As the 800-meter was called up I felt pressured as if a 2-ton weight had been
placed on my shoulders. I had to get in the top 3 in order to get my team points, which we
needed badly to get in the lead. All the runners lined up on the black asphalt and then the

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gun popped. I started off at a good pace with the rest of the runners in a swarm of red and
blue as everyone tried to compress into the lanes. The first lap was over and I was in the
front of the middle swarm of runners, there were 2 opponents and 1 of my teammates in
front of me. My teammate was in the lead but I knew I still would have to beat one of the
people in front of me to get 2 people in the top 3. We were on the last stretch and all I
could hear around me was the heavy panting of runners all around, everyone had used up
their endurance. I was still keeping up and Coach Moyer yelled, Catch them Andres!
and I broke into a last sprint. I whizzed past one of the runners and before the one in front
of him could sprint I was already with him and passing him running through the finish
line. I got 2nd and as the crowd cheered I couldnt hear through all of my exhaustion. My
feet felt like they were ablaze and all I could manage to do was shake the hands of the
other runners. Our team got into the lead and later that night everyone was delighted
when the Heritage relays won and kept the score up. Heritage Middle won the meet!
In the end I managed to persevere and push on to get points for my team. None of
this would have been possible if not for all the hard work and training I had put in the
weeks before. For every atrocious or fun practice we had I got faster and better at what I
did and so did the rest of my team. We earned our win and ended up going undefeated for
the whole season. Even though we had other amazing meets this first one taught me that
hard work pays off and led me to be successful in the future track meets. I have always
put in my best from then on and have been thankful for all the things my Coach and my
team taught me.