“These are the moments you’re going to remember.” -Coach J

19 girls ✔

4 coaches ✔

3 suburbans ✔

The Wahlert Girls’ Track Team started out for state Wednesday afternoon. Two hundred miles and 20 million snacks later we arrived in Des Moines.

The races began Thursday morning and continued through Saturday, but the weekend was more than just the the long days on the Blue Oval. It was about the late night hot tub runs, the endless pump up music, charade championships, and most of all, “the family.”

Track is about pushing yourself to the limits, seeing how strong, how fast, how good you can become. But track is about a lot more than that: It’s about being the best cheerleaders when your teammates are running and supporting each other the whole way.

The team grew so close throughout the season; it made every minute that much better. We were all tired together, we all celebrated together, and we all ate ice cream together for the first time in four months.

In many ways, the track team is a second family, an always hungry, make you laugh-until-you-cry, push-you-to-the- limits, kind of family.