Meet 9

Samantha qualified for the Oakland County Championship track meet with her teammates in two events this year - the 4x200m relay and the 4x100m relay. She was very excited about the chance to run these races. Although they qualified in the middle of the pack, in an event like this you never know what can happen. Unfortunately the girls didn't have the smoothest 4x200m race that they've ran this year, as some of the handoffs were a bit off. This resulted in them being left off the medal stand in this event. Shortly before the 4x100m relay race was set to get underway, Sam found out that she had been replaced. This not only broke her heart, but it pissed her off as well. I can't say I blame her, as I was quite pissed myself. It took all of our willpower for Tara & I not to go over and say something to her coach about the situation.

Needless to say, Sam was initially led to believe that this other girl had a faster time than her, despite Sam running this race the entire season, and her being on the team that qualified for the event. This wasn't a very good answer for any of us, but there was little we could do about it at this point. Later she was told that she should not have been removed from the event, that she had been confused with one of her teammates who had missed the last two meets. Whatever the reasoning was, it was tough for Sam to take after working so hard all year long to achieve this goal. The worst part is that if she had known early enough in the meet, she could have left after her first race and then played for her baseball team in the evening. Oh well...

Track & Field Meet - Oakland County Championships
	Samantha and a couple of her teammates walking across the infield prior to their 4x200m race.
	Sam in position and waiting for her turn.
	Sam reaching back for the baton handoff.
	Sam racing along the turn.
	Sam coming to the straightaway.
	Sam heading down the straightaway.
	Sam nearing the handoff point.
	Sam preparing to make the handoff to her teammate ahead.
	Sam approaching the handoff zone.
	Sam reaching out the baton in front of her.
	Sam finally managed to get her teammate the baton.
	Sam and one of her teammates walking across the infield after the race.

Track & Field Meet - Oakland County Championships

Samantha and a couple of her teammates walking across the infield prior to their 4x200m race.

Sam in position and waiting for her turn.

Sam reaching back for the baton handoff.

Sam racing along the turn.

Sam coming to the straightaway.

Sam heading down the straightaway.

Sam nearing the handoff point.

Sam preparing to make the handoff to her teammate ahead.

Sam approaching the handoff zone.

Sam reaching out the baton in front of her.

Sam finally managed to get her teammate the baton.

Sam and one of her teammates walking across the infield after the race.