A Tribute To Wesley

Oh Wesley...

Today was our first cross country meet of the season! And where better to run your first 5k of the year than at Sunken Meadow State Park. So I woke up at 6:30 and got to the school at 7:00. We piled onto the bus and Sam, Aly, and Grace slept the whole way there. Our bus driver pulled into Chuckie Cheeses and we all got really excited because Frazer said that she made up the meet and that she was really taking us out for a day of fun at Chuckie Cheeses! But then the bus pulled out and started going to Sunken Meadow again... We got there early so we had some time to play on the beach. Wesley ran to the water and picked up this horseshoe crab. Oh Wesley... Some peopled played on the lifeguard tower for a bit before we all went back to the spot. I took pictures of Shea, Emily, and John in their first ever high school cross country races. Then it was time for me to warm up with the other sophomore boys. We warmed up, stretched, and walked to the line. For those of you that don't know, our team runs all of it's league meets at Bethpage State Park which is one of the flattest and fastest courses in the state. Sunken Meadow, however, has two killer hills, Snake and Cardiac, that eat runners for breakfast. So, as we stood on the line, we were all pretty nervous because this was our first 5k on this course. So the gun went off and we ran. I stayed with Timmy for the first half mile and then we hit the incline leading to Snake. I lost him there but going down it (which is one of the most dangerous things I've ever done running-wise) I caught a few people. Then we ran around the picnic area and towards Cardiac Hill. This is no misnomer; many people have to walk up Cardiac because it is so difficult. But although a few people in front of me walked, I persevered. So after Cardiac the race is mostly downhill. We ran through the picnic area, around the moat, and towards the finish. I achieved my goal for the day; 18:58!!! My best from last year was 18:52 at Bethpage so I hope to be under 18:30 on Tuesday. So me, Timmy, and Kenny all got t-shirts for being in the top 25. After that I ran around cheering the rest of Wantagh on and taking tons of pictures (355) of everyone. To my surprise (and delight), I ran a faster time than Pat, Vinny, and Dan! That was exciting. But even more exciting than that was Wesley... Going down Snake is extremely dangerous because it is really steep. Wesley fell down the hill and looked really beat up. But he finished the race really well! At the end he told us the story of how he fell and we took him to the ambulance that was standing by to get him all patched up. Because of his determination to finish the race even after falling, Wesley gets my imaginary MVP award! *Gives Wesley award* When the meet ended, me and Liz went into the Sound knee deep while Cass watched. Then we piled on the bus and rode home. After relaxing at home for an hour I went to church and from there the set up for Danny's Eagle Ceremony. Then I came home...hehehe...hehe...he...

CROSS COUNTRY CAR WASH AT SAPORITO'S TOMORROW FROM 10:00 - 2:00!!! BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!!!

Word of the Day: Postprandial - Happening or done after a meal