Final Season

Elizabeth's final indoor track season came to a close a few weeks ago and it was such an emotional ride for her. Despite her love of lacrosse, I think that track might actually be her favorite sport. This year, she qualified for states as a member of the 4x200 relay team and individually in the 55m dash.  Her goal has always been to grow the program, and any runner being successful is the best way to do that.  She was a tremendous captain this season (her third year captaining this team), with several parents reaching out to her at the end of the season to thank her for guiding their daughters. We are so incredibly proud of her success this season, as well as her leadership.  We wish that she would have had the opportunity to compete last year, but she definitely made the most of the opportunities that she was given.

Cheering on Julia, her ride or die for four years of cross country and track, in her final race.

Last relay leg ever

 

Huge PR for the 4x200m relay team at States.

Last 55m

 

Track meet carpool

Running the SMR at the Last Chance Meet.

Favorite seniors.

Gabe and his dad made it down to Floyd Little for one of the last meets and loved watching her run.

Fastest NWC 4x200 relay team in four years.

Her coaches lined up to hug her after her final race.

Sisters and teammates

We weren't allowed to attend all of the meets this year due to spectator restrictions but when we had the chance, we made the most of it.

She Runs Track Too

The Indoor Track season has come to a close and it was a moderately successful one for Emily. She qualified for states as part of the 4x200 relay, but did not qualify in the 55m or the 300m, which was both disappointing and frustrating for her. She initially ran the 55m dash on a lark, never thinking that she had the speed to qualify - and missed the state mark by .1 second. She then ran it at every meet for the rest of the reason - and continued to run almost the exact same time in every race; she just could not shave that .1 off of her time, no matter how much work she put into her starts and her form. The 300m dash presented a different kind of frustration, as it was an event that she thought that she would be successful in but was only able to run twice, due to various circumstances. The first time she ran it was on a small track, after four other events over 12 hours. The second time she ran it was 6 weeks later, under good conditions, but without the race history to run smart, although she did shave more than 3 seconds off of her initial time. We are hopeful that she can improve her speed before next year and feel better about her individual track performances. As a member of the relay, she did a great job and we are happy that she and Elizabeth were able to run together and be teammates for this last season.

Last Chance 55m

 

Last Chance 300m

 

4x200m relay at States

When you run against your soccer teammates...

Loved running track with her best friend.

FC Stars Showcase

The first weekend in December, after less than a handful of practices, Emily and her Sporting team played in the FC Stars Showcase in Massachusetts. They won two games and tied the third 0-0, a successful weekend overall. It was nice to see the girls back together for the first time since August, and to see them build off of successful high school seasons. They start their indoor season this weekend and we assume that as long as the weather is not too cold or snowy, we will see several outdoor friendlies prior to the beginning of the spring season.  

Love to see how much confidence Emily has on the field.

Life with Emily - so much time in the car.

Track is Back

...well, kinda.  After not allowing any indoor meets last winter, the CIAC and its members schools jumped back into track the third weekend in December. The girls attended the 20th Annual HillHouse Invitational in New Haven, running the 55m on Friday night and the 4x200 on Saturday morning. Elizabeth qualified for states in the 55m, which is super exciting. Emily missed qualifying by .1 second in her first ever high school race, so we are hopeful she can beat the standard at her next meet.  On Saturday morning, the girls were part of the 4x200 relay. You don't know (sports related) parent anxiety until your daughters run legs 2 and 3 of a relay and the race needs to go perfectly, including their handoff, for the team to qualify for states. Thankfully, it did and the relay team qualified for states, virtually guaranteeing meets through the middle of February. Unfortunately, the COVID19 numbers are insanely high in Connecticut right now and most athletics during the Christmas break were cancelled, including their scheduled track meet. We are hopeful that Emily will get another chance to qualify and that the relay team has more opportunities to better its time.

55m runners from NWC.

Emily and her bestie.

                

55m qualifiers

            

4x200m relay.  Elizabeth is leg two and Emily is leg three.

State qualifiers

Elizabeth running the 55m semis.

Family Christmas

For the first time in two years, we were able to get together as a family, unmasked in someone's house and enjoy ourselves.  Although this is our first time celebrating Christmas without both of my parents, there was something joyful about all of us being together, just how my parents loved and exactly how they would have wanted us to be, carrying on the family tradition without them.  We are all grateful to Joe and Karen for making this happen and hosting for all of us.