Chickasaw Trails Invitational

So much to write about and so little time to write.  That's the story of my life.

Last weekend after work, I picked up sushi from Sakura in Franklin and drove to Decatur, AL, still in my coat and tie.  I had booked a hotel room in Decatur because it was about 20 minutes away from the park at the Oakville Indian Mounds in Danville, AL.  

The 22nd annual Chickasaw Trails Invitational was held on the cross country course at the park.  Saturday morning - a week ago - I found myself driving the back roads of rural Alabama, listening to Jimmy Buffett, then waiting in a line of traffic to turn into the park's grassy parking lot.  

I had no idea what to expect as I followed the crowd and walked toward where I believed the staring line to be.  There were tents set up everywhere for the cross country squads from high schools all over Alabama and Tennessee.  JP's MBA varsity team was running in the large school division against 4A and 5A teams from Huntsville, Birmingham, etc.  JP's old school, USN, was running in the small school division.  

It was a sight to see for an old runner like me.  High school runners - boys and girls - loosening up everywhere, along with coaches, parents, and siblings.  I felt a low level buzz of nervous tension as I walked through the sea of tents, looking for JP and his teammates.  After a few minutes, I saw two maroon tents, side-by-side, nestled against a lake with other schools' tents on each side.  "MBA" was emblazoned proudly - or so it seemed to me - across the front of one of the tents.  

Roll Red Roll, I thought, as I glanced around for JP.  I saw Jack, JP's longtime friend who was running with the junior varsity, and he told me JP was with the other varsity runners, stretching somewhere.  As I walked away, I saw JP and his varsity teammates walking up the throughway.  I walked toward him and as I do before every race, I silently and solemnly fist bumped him.

"You ready?"  I asked.  

"I am."  

I walked away to let him do what he needed to do to get ready for the race.  

I wasn't sure where to set up, since I was unfamiliar with the course.  I settled on a spot on the front stretch at about the quarter mile mark.  When the gun sounded, I started intently to my right as the mass of boys approached, trying to catch a glimpse of JP.  There were so many runners massed together as they ran by me that I couldn't pick out any of the seven MBA runners.  They ran by me in a blur.  

I jogged over to a different part of the course at, I guess, just before the two mile mark.  And I waited and waited some more.  Nervous because I hadn't seen JP yet and I had no idea how we would do.  Finally, I saw Samuel, one of MBA's seniors and a co-captain.  He was in third place and running strong.  10 or 15 second later, I saw Jack, a junior I haven't too much about other than that he always runs hard on race day.  Then, I saw Mitchell, also a senior and co-captain.  

Still, no JP.  

Finally, I saw Gabe, then JP, running close a couple of seconds apart.  They looked good, though not as fast as the MBA upperclassmen.  I was able to get to a spot closer to the finish line, the to the finish line, too.  Samuel finished third overall, (15:29) which was impressive in such a large field - 329 runners.  The rest of MBA's team finished Jack (15:56), Mitchell (16:25), Gabe (16:43), JP (16:46).  Senior, Junior, Senior, Freshman, Freshman.     

What was really impressive was that MBA finished in second place overall in the large school division, behind only Huntsville HS, a 5A high school in Alabama.  That's quite an accomplishment and a reflection, I think, of the depth of MBA's team.  In my book, too, it's a tribute to the leadership provided by Samuel and Mitchell in preseason and in season workouts.  1 - 5, all of the boys ran well.  

Samuel and Mitchell presented the second place trophy to Dr. Daughtrey at assembly on Monday morning.   

I was proud of JP.  He competed, ran well, and got his first race in the books.  I'm excited to see him - and the team - the rest of the cross country season.