All Three Hawks Qualify for Nationals!

Our three regional qualifying Hawks did it again, placing in the top 8 at Regionals to qualify for Nationals at Hayward Field in Tracktown USA!

The weather could almost not have been better, given Merced and July.  On a brisk, sunny Saturday morning Elias competed in the 3000m with a strong effort - not quite running a PR but improving on his time from the last meet in 9:32 to finish second again. He is hoping to improve his time at Nationals at the end of the month.

David showed up to compete Saturday afternoon, running hard in his 800m to not quite reach his PR but finish with a time of 2:47 and seventh place to move on to Nationals. When he needed to push on the back stretch of the second lap, David responded like the veteran runner he is becoming, passing a competitor and pushing his time fast enough to keep the winner of heat 1 from snagging his ticket to Eugene!

By the time Norah competed Saturday evening, there was a wind down the backstretch that made a PR difficult for her in the 800m, but she still ran with confidence and strength - leading the first lap and going for her PR.  She unfortunately learned that head winds can sometimes be too much to overcome and was only able to run 2:24 but still finished in fourth place to comfortably move on to Nationals in the 800m.  

Sunday morning the weather was absolutely perfect, and our competing Hawks rose with on the warm summer breeze.  Even though David wasn't competing, he and his mom came out to cheer the older kids on in their 1500m races.

First up, Norah warmed up and felt fine when checking in to the clerking tent, but by the time she was crossing the field toward the 1500m start line she her stomach was very upset. Despite that, she got herself a little water, shook it off like a true fighter, and got to the line.  Running hard from the beginning, Norah fought throughout the race to finish seventh and secure her spot in the 1500m at Nationals.  She definitely looks forward to running with a settled stomach the next time she gets out there!

Finally, Elias wrapped up the Delta Hawks competition this weekend with another blast-off in his 1500m.  He took the lead after 200m and kept pushing his pace throughout the race, not running a PR but winning easily by 6 seconds to bring home the regional title and getting ready to take on the world at Nationals later this month.

I hope everyone is getting their easy runs in this summer - the time to rest is over and we need to be building that base for cross country which is just around the corner!  If you have any questions, or have any fast friends you want to bring to practice in August, let us know!

Remember - champions are made in the off-season, let's GO!

​Coach Eric