Hannah's 7th Grade Track Season

 

Hannah had a fantastic 7th grade track season!  After having a successful but abbreviated 6th grade season (due to Covid), she was looking forward to another year.  But as the season got closer, she almost changed her mind!  She had more overlap than we realized with cheerleading and volleyball over the winter, which headed straight into track, and she almost took a break.  It was a very last minute decision to sign up, and I think she's very glad that she did!

In the regular season, I believe she got 1st in the hurdles at every meet, with the exception of one time when she caught a hurdle with her trail leg (she would have easily won otherwise).  I also believe her 4x100 won every meet, although their 4th member switched out many times due to sickness, injury, and travel.  She did great in long jump as well, but had a lot of scratches because we knew nothing about steps and starting marks.  Once we got that figured out, she did great every time!  (We had one or two meets before that where she scratched every time.  I say that was the best thing that happened because then we learned a lot about technique!)

Hurdles - 1st Place!

Gracie helped her once when she was home from college.  She learned how to use blocks, reduce her steps, etc.  It was helpful for sure!

She was pretty dedicated to going up to the track to work hard outside of practice!

One day, we used the Westville long jump pit to practice on our own!

At the last meet before county, she decided to add the 200 to her line-up.  That was a good move!  She won county, placed at sectionals, and qualified for state!

The 7th grade Salt Fork girls won the county and the conference! Hannah personally added 40 points, as she was the county and conference champ in all four of her events (100m hurdles, 4x100 with Taylor, Ella, & Callie, 200m, & long jump). She beat her PR in the long jump by almost 2 feet! She wanted to get to 13', and she actually cleared 14' before she had even jumped 13'! She also broke several conference meet records.

7th Grade hurdlers:

4x100 girls:

She hasn't been taught much about form.  She's going to work on her "arms" for 8th grade!

We had the toughest sectional in the state, but the girls had another great day. They ended up placing 2nd as a team! Hannah placed 1st in the hurdles and qualified for state! She also placed 1st in the long jump and crushed her PR with a 15'4"! This also qualified her for state! She was surprised to place 3rd in the 200m (her new event) and also qualify for state!! The biggest disappointment of the day was her 4x100. We had a major lead, and the final handoff between Ella & Taylor was dropped. They still managed to place 3rd, but unfortunately it cost them qualifying for state this year.

Hurdles results:

Long jump results:

200m results:

Her legs were shot:

Grandma sent her banana bread which she ate before the long jump.  

We decided it was lucky, so she made it for state, too!

Mr. Cox came to cheer everyone on!

Coach Morgan with her girls:

Salt Fork State Qualifiers:

Next stop, State!  Wow, we had no idea what to expect!  I told Hannah there would be zero pressure to place at state.  It was just icing on the cake!  Well.... We had no idea that she would be seeded 2nd for the long jump and 3rd for the hurdles!  Ok, just a little pressure.... 

The school had a send off for the state qualifiers:

I didn't realize how much there would be to do this week!  A school parade, poster making, car decorating, hotel scheduling... and I decided to make cookies for the team, too!  Not to mention that Josh was getting ready to coach his first travel baseball tournament for Jacob in Springfield that weekend (track was in Peoria) and Lucas was sick.  We literally had 2 hotels in different towns on the same night and were managing 2 "athletes", 1 sick child, and 1 who was just along for the ride.  It was a lot!

Balloons from Uncle Phil & Aunt Erika:

A good luck send off from her bestie Belle 

(a cooler bag full of snacks & drinks which came very much in handy!).  So thoughtful!

Grandma & Papa at her send-off:

Cookies I made for the team & coaches:

The state track meet was a great day for Hannah!  It was also a very long and HOT day.  After hours of waiting, she had prelims for long jump and hurdles, and she qualified for finals on both!!!  She ended up placing 2nd in the long jump with a PR of 15'9"! She also finished 6th in the hurdles! The really crazy part of it was that she was in the middle of long jump finals when she had to run over to the other side of the track for hurdles finals. Then she had to go back and finish long jump. I think this gave her a slight disadvantage in both. But what can you do. She managed to place in both anyway!!! Josh and I were chasing her around the track like crazy people. Lucas was SICK (probably influenza with a horrible barking cough), which made for a difficult day. But we were so excited for Hannah and wouldn't miss it for ANYTHING. He just had to be a trooper. Poor kid. Mike Strunga also came over to support her (and brough a nebulizer for Lucas). It was so nice! (Note for next year that 11:00 long jump really means 3:45 long jump)! Yikes!

Parade of Athletes before the meet:

Our girls state qualifiers:

Youth Minister Mike there to support her 

(we actually took this pic a few weeks later because I forgot to get one at the meet!):

It was such a hot day, and she had so much waiting!  

We tried to keep her in the (almost non-existent) shade as much as possible:

Prelims:

Hannah and Taylor were in the prelims together:

Finals: She had a great start! That is her in the lead in lane 2:

She ended up placing 6th.  I really think she would have placed even higher if she hadn't been in the middle of long jump finals!  She had a few races under 18 seconds this year.

She finished 12th in the 200m with a PR!  Pretty good considering this event was a last minute addition, and she really never practiced sprinting all season.

She placed 2nd in the long jump!!!

So exciting for her to make the podium TWICE in one day!!

Hannah and her team were able to earn 4th place in the state as a team, with only 3 girls scoring points (Hannah, Miley, & Brylee!)

State Trophy:

All of the 7th grade girls:

County & Sectional Ribbons:

The only way to get state pics was to buy a plaque.  Aunt Betsy bought her one, and I bought her the other.  She really feels like hurdles is "her event," but she placed even higher in long jump.  

So she had to have both!

Aunt Betsy:

State Medals:

Coach Morgan who is so kind and a perfect coach for her:

We had to get the state shirt, too, off course:

I spent a lot of time helping Hannah as much as I possibly could this season.  

Lots of you-tubing and extra practicing.  We are learning as we go!  

I am so proud of Hannah for stepping out of her comfort zone.  She is naturally athletic, fast, and flexible.  But being competitive and conquering her nerves does not come as naturally (I can totally relate).  So I am proud of her for pushing through the "hard" instead of shying away from things that are scary.  I hope that through this, she is learning important life lessons that will help her conquer challenges in the future.  I love her and I am proud of her every day, no matter what!  

"Just do your best!"  Love my girl!