X-Country Regionals

Taylor has been working so hard and is doing so well with x country. She came home a few days before regionals disappointed that an injured girl that hasn't been on the team the entire season came to practice that day and was joining the team for the last meet of the season, regionals. I guess the coach pulled Taylor aside and told her that Olivia got 8th at regionals last year and was coming back to try and make state since only the top 7 runners make it. Taylor has been in the 7th position most of the season and I think the coach knew this girl was going to bump Taylor into the 8th spot at regionals a few days away. Taylor came home discourage saying she probably wouldn't make state after all and was telling me what her coach had said. I wasn't happy that the coach would say those things since running is 90% mental. But I also knew Taylor is the most competitive thing I've ever seen and I need to light a fire under her so this could turn into something productive instead of destructive like the coach had planted in her mind. So I talked with her and told her that she would just need to run her best and hold her 7th spot. I won't lie, I was sick over it the whole day of regionals thinking about it. Taylor seemed calm. The meet wasn't going too smoothly and everything was delayed. The boys run first and there was a boy that got hurt on the course and another that got lost and so the start was getting delayed. I think Taylor stood at the starting line for a good 20 minutes before we knew what was going on. I could see that she was getting anxious and nerves were getting to her with the wait. I looked over at her at one point and she had her arms folded and I knew she was saying a prayer to calm her nerves. There were 7 schools competing so it was probably intimidating to stand at the starting line with 75+ runners.
The race eventually started and I nervously waited with the stop watch going on my phone. Just approaching 15 minutes the first group of girls came in 4 Providence Hall girls and 4 from other schools. The girl that had come back was in that group and I knew that Taylor would more than likely take that 8th spot. As I looked up from my phone at the stopwatch I saw another group of girls coming around the curve. Among those 4 girls was my short, super blonde Taylor! The problem was all 4 girls were Providence Hall. They would come in 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th. The last one of the group wouldn't make it to State. All I remember doing was yelling to Taylor to Run! Run! Run! and I started running to tell her she had to beat just one of them to get 7th. She ran down the home stretch with everything she had and got 7th! It was such a proud parent moment to see your child shine and overcome the odds. I thought her coach was going to cry when she saw Taylor crossing the finish line. She had a time of 15:16 which was exactly 20 seconds faster than her fastest time. Coach Ballard told Taylor she was probably the only 6th grader from any school boy or girl to make State! The rest are mostly 8th graders and a few 7th graders. Providence Hall boys and girls team took first place for regionals. Taylor came in 11th overall for the meet (7th for PH) and was a little disappointed at the medals ceremony because only the top 10 get a medal but I told her, "You're going to State!" and she was excited again. Way to go Taylor! I'm so proud of you!!