I have to say as a current UL track athlete, we did better competing this year at conference. We may have gotten last AGAIN but we did have some people qualify for regionals, which we are very proud of. We scored more points than last year and I know that is not good enough but we did try. We want to do better and I think we improved. Maybe not to some peoples standards but we improved on individual standards. We improved on our own abilities and we also improved our interaction with each other as a team. To be honest, we were a TEAM this year. We cheered each other on and ACTED as a TEAM and that was something that we wanted to change and honestly something that we needed. WE as a TEAM accomplished that. In the past years, we haven't smiled at conference but this year there were many smiles. We were so happy for each other and what we all had accomplished. Coming out last did not make us smile but in the end, it really did not matter b/c we were a team for once. We may have come out last but we came out first within each other and excelled at our own personal standards.
We have had a lot of people on our team who have struggled and fallen, but they got back up and fought. For instance, we had a guy run the 10,000 who has been dealing with a stress fracture in his foot for a while now and he pushed it in conference to do well. That is heart! Also, on the sprinter side we had Stacy Fuller who came down with a hamstring injury during the season and GOT BACK UP and qualified for Regionals. He is an amazing athlete with great potential and he will do very well in his college career. He is an inspiration to our team. Also on the sprinter side is Jamie Blue who has dealt with many injuries. She is pretty much the most stubborn but has much heart in what she does. She has been dealing with an injured foot due to multiple stress fractures for the past 3 months. That injury did not stop her because throughout the last 3 months she has improved her time. She ran the 400m in conference but during the race her foot gave out but she finished the race. That is heart! She was supposed to anchor the 4x4 too and usually she is the alternate that steps up for the team when something goes wrong. She is always there and willing. That is heart! Kayla Vice, on the other hand, won conference in the pole vault. She has overcome a torn ACL and a sprained ankle and this is all in 2 years. When she messed up her ankle last year, there was a chance she wasn't going to be able to pole vault ever again. Well, she proved that wrong and came back strong and healthy for conference and unbelievably won! Her heart is so big and her goal was to win. She overcame everything and accomplished what she wanted. A gold medal! Luke Moody, after struggling from his injury last year, decreased his time every meet and finished out his last outdoor season like he wanted. He has dealt with a lot and he has GOTTEN UP. He has one of the biggest hearts on our team. He has not missed one practice and by that shows. That’s heart! Roderick Houston, he has a hamstring problem and has been dealing with it for some time. He ran is butt off in the 4x1 relay and he played a huge role in the reason why they are going to regionals. He always said they were going to regionals and he was confident in doing so. He still has the injury too. I can keep going but we ALL have heart.
Of all the things that are posted on this site, they have made us stronger as a team. We appreciate that people care so much about our program and we hope you continue to do so. Until next year, we hope we can make our fans happier. This is only the beginning!