All through my school years so far, starting in first grade, I’ve played basketball and baseball. But this year, I knew that Tripp Middle School had some different sports programs. I decided I would try one new sport because I don’t usually play a fall sport. I decided to try cross country running. I told my mom and she gave me the ok. It was so easy, I felt like I was already a veteran. I told her I would be at practice after school and would need a ride at 4:30. And that I did.

I went to the first day of practice pumped. I really wanted to see how I compared to the other Tripp students. On the first day of practice I wanted to make a good first impression so I ran a little harder than I probably should have. I trained hard for the rest of the practices until our first meet and, by the time it came, I felt that I was as ready as could be.

When the day of the first meet arrived, I was both pumped and nervous. After school I went to the gym and we went outside to greet the other schools immediately. Everyone was so nice and kind that I felt like they were my friends right away. At the starting line everyone was nervous and so was I. But as soon as the gun went off, we took off and then it was just like practice. I ran the whole race at my fastest pace. My team mates cheered me on and it felt so good when I finished. Tripp came in second place that meet by two points. I had so much fun that I want to try cross country skiing and track. I think other students would have fun, too.