On September 13, 2016, I had my first ever-official Cross Country meet. I woke up to my alarm buzzing at 6:00 A.M. and a ready bag.  I had packed my Cross Country bag the night before, so I would not be rushing around in the morning.  It was full of everything I would need: my uniform, a change of clothes, and energy-packed snacks for before the race. I went to school in my Cross Country sweatshirt feeling excited and anxious for my first race. 

    Once I got to school, I constantly glanced at the clock, watching time simply fly by.  I then, left class at 1:00 P.M. to change and board the bus.  The bus was full of mixed emotions.  Some runners were enthusiastic, while others were high-strung and would be called a "Nervous Nelly". I was definitely somewhere in between. 

    We finally arrived in Athens to many people running around and it slowly became very hectic.  My nerves calmed down when we were stretching and doing our warm-up.  One moment I was watching the boys run and the next I was toeing the line waiting to run myself.  I heard the gun shot and I took off running in first place out of about 20 girls.  I held off a Wyalusing runner for about a mile and a half before she passed me.  Running, I knew that the course was one of the worst in the league and I would just have to push through it.  I ended up being passed by an Athens runner in the last half mile of the race.  I was the top runner for Wellsboro and third overall. 

    All of my training had paid off in the end.  The Wellsboro Boys and Girls Cross Country teams ended up winning and "sweeping" the meet.  My first Cross Country Meet was definitely worth all of the nerves as it was a success and eventually led me to Districts in my very first year of high school.  I plan to continue to push myself to run better and make it to States by my senior year.