Girls Start
with Sheriff and long time ref, coach and volunteer, KC Lehr.
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PAC - Youth Track Meet
by Terry Allen
May 19, 2018
Friday afternoon, May 18th at 2:30, the PAC (Pinedale Aquatic Center) held a youth track meet for ages 5 to 14, but also threw in a surprise running event for toddlers.
Big dark thunderclouds coming in from the Gulf of Mexico were building as Phil Vrska held the U. S. flag and All American Girl Preslie Simkins sang The Star Spangled Banner with her pageant sister Kandis by her side.
According to Joe Steege, the organizer of the meet, 138 athletes signed up for their choices of 30 and 50 meter dash, and 100, 200 and 400 meter runs. There was also a softball throw, a running long jump, and a standing long jump.
Our county sheriff, KC Lehr was getting his gear ready to be the starter of the Dash events and I noticed he was enjoying being there. "I've been out here helping for a few years now," he said. "It's nice to watch them grow up and now I'm seeing kids of kids."
The Antoninio family were sprawled out in a comfortable huddle on the grass and looked like a picture. Mya needed one of my Ricola drops to get in the mood for a photo, but Marley walked out of the house ready...dressed as My Little Pony.
KC demonstrated the starting pistol to the athletes so they'd know how it worked and that it was safe, but at the start of one of the heats it didn't fire while using the small and quieter blanks so he had to use the big noisy blanks. I jumped.
Those big clouds started shooting lightning bolts before we got done with all the events, and everyone was packing up fast, so with the help of a few friends, we made a few quick and dramatic shots to make up for the shortened event.
A special mention is deserved to all the folks who showed up to help put on this fun event. A small town is often more like a large family and that is the case with ours. Bigger kids were looking out for smaller kids...one young lady admonished a younger young lady to "act like a lady." I asked if that was her little sister and she just said: "Nope."
I noticed other young people and volunteers grab kids by the collar if they wandered into the path of runners or other fast moving people...like photographers who weren't looking where they were going.
I hope you all zoom in on the faces of the people in the photographs. I think they show the poise the young people possess and the caring and attention they receive from the adults.
Terry Allen: txpartisan@gmail.com
Thank you to Dawn Ballou at www.pinedaleonline.com for sponsoring this story.
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