Phase I: Introduction.

Every year the WIAA state track meet is held at UW-La Crosse. It symbolizes track for the entire state. UW- La Crosse has 15 national championships for the outdoor season and 18 for the indoor season. They’re the definition of winning. When June arrives, I get serious and I only think about winning. I hate losing a lot more than I love winning and at the state meet there’s only one winner. 

I’m a mid distance runner on the Arrowhead Union High School track and field team. I’ve been living in Wisconsin and running track since age 13. Track has been a huge part of my life and since I moved to Wisconsin, I’ve been able to develop as a runner. Wisconsin has a few top track guys in the country every year. There’s really fast guys at the state championships. 

The Arrowhead state track and field team meets in the athletic lobby after school. We take a group photo together, have a little parade, and we start loading up the vans. When we get onto the vans, that's when the business trip begins. We never come to the state meet just for the fun of it. We come to the state expecting to win and doing anything we can. We will have multiple guys triple up to obtain as many points as possible. 

Before arriving in La Crosse, we made a quick pit stop at Pizza Pub for the pre-meet dinner. We ate pizza that night .We slept at the Stoney Creek and we had a quick meeting in their conference room before we went to bed. My roommates and I got hungry when we first arrived so we walked to the Kwik Trip right next door. 

Phase II: Rising Action.

We take the vans up to The Bluff as a tradition. Me standing there on the huge hill with my teammates puts butterflies in my stomach. It was like standing on the rooftop of a building. The breeze was calm and slow like it was not in a hurry to blow. The small edges reminded us that one wrong step and it's all over. The greats of the past have stood in my exact spot with the same goals. Us standing there gives me hope. It feels like we have filled their shoes and continue the tradition of excellence. Standing on that bluff makes feel like the king of the world. It prepares us for tomorrow's battle. No one likes Arrowhead winning. 

UW-La Crosse has one of the nicest track stadiums I've ever seen. The stands are filled and I can hear the whole state of Wisconsin screaming at me. In that situation you have to stay calm. Chill like a brick of ice. Getting nervous because of a huge crowd will ruin my race. I shuffle to the start line and the race begins.

The crowd is electric. A scream of seas. After one lap, I get to see my time on the clock and after another you get the opportunity to hunt. That last straight away is something that will be forever frozen in my mind. An army of people cheering. The noise is so loud, the vibrations blow you away like a strong gust of wind. I remember crossing that finish line feeling achieved. 

Standing on the podium in the moment, reminded me that we made history. Today was a special day. I can feel the same breeze in my air as I stood on The Bluff. I got deja vu, a familiar feeling of this emotion again. I felt like I was king of the world. I got that same slow breeze and that same being on a rooftop feeling. Looking down from The Bluff, I can see downtown La Crosse and see the railroad tracks. I can see the rocks that support it and the trees that surround me. It's the mountain from a distance that's always in the background and always watching.

Phase III: Finale. 

After the 4x4, the winners were announced, “and the 2022 WIAA state champion is Arrowhead.” The coaches told us weeks before that winning a state championship is the peak of most people's lives. Winning that state championship that day brought me a new found respect and joy. I felt like I finally started scratching the surface of my true potential. I was and still am thankful for all of my teammates for putting in their all. We deserved it and I am happy that our hard work showed up in some state hardware. We take our stuff out of the La Crosse Student Union and we head back home. 

La Crosse gave us the opportunity to show the whole state that we’re the best. Wisconsin gave me the opportunity to jump start my track career. Thank you for both for making this possible. This is the end to another state track meet. Where Arrowhead High School symbolizes the definition of winning.