I watched the girl with medium length, wavy hair that shone from the bright sun drive into the Lacrosse parking lot with what seemed like her parents and sister. She began her day by putting on ski equipment, starting with her snow pants and ending with her helmet. She wore a black coat along with her sister. She seemed nervous as she took deep breaths while laughing with her friends. I quickly found that she should be nervous.

It was state weekend and they had a chance to win it all. Stakes were extremely high for her. She was the first seed for the team, so everyone was counting on her to do well. She began her day by taking one free run before inspecting the course. As she got more comfortable she seemed to calm her anxious body. 

Then came the race. “Bib number nine! Bib number nine” the announcer called. 

She scurried to take off her coat and snow pants and quickly stretched before clipping her boots into her skis. Click click. Both boots snapped into place. She took one last deep breath—in and then out. She looked to her right as she swung her poles over the timing wand. “Racer ready? GO!” the starter screamed. 

She used all her strength as she pushed out of the gate. As she flew down the hill she began to pick up more and more speed. Her skis knifed into the snow as she made the turn into the headwall. Her skis slightly lifted off the snow before she got into a rhythm. I watched her from the bottom of the hill as she almost approached the finish line but then everything went still. 

She’s gonna crash. I thought to myself.

Her legs were shaking as her backside slid on the ground. I close my eyes, scared for what might happen next. To my surprise, I heard chanting. I slowly open my eyes one after the other. I could not believe what I saw. The big screen wrote: Seventh place. I blinked one, then again. 

I looked at the person next to me, “I thought she fell?” I questioned.

 “No, you must've missed that she saved herself from falling”. The person smirked. 

Her teammates sprinted to her. They began cheering with complete joy. They were now more certain than ever that they had a huge chance to win it all.