Mission: Accomplished

      It is with great pleasure and relief that I write this post. I am going to vault in the U.S. Olympic Trials next week on Monday. This is the opportunity of a lifetime where I will compete with some of the Nation's greatest athletes for a spot on the #1 track team in the world! I enter this competition with a feeling of confidence because I have already overcome the largest obstacle, getting into the Trials. I am within 8" of second place going into the meet, meaning a place on the team is wide open and anything can happen!
     It is fun to think back on how my track career got started. I attended elementary school in a town of 2,000 people called Lovelock, NV and every year we ended school with a "Fun Day". It was a low key track meet with events like the softball throw instead of discus or javelin. My twin brother, Jacob, and I always came home with several first and second place ribbons even though we had no formal training in track. We just grew up playing outside all day, so running and jumping came to us naturally.
    Fast forward 16 years and I am still just a big kid competing for ribbons. The only differences are the marks have improved and the audience has gotten a little bigger. I still enjoy running as fast as I can and flying through the air like a wild man! I still get to run around in shorts and a tank top in the summer sun hanging out with friends, who also run track. My Mom still asks me to wear a helmet when I go out to play, because she knows I don't show much respect for gravity (or hard surfaces). And when I compete on Monday in the prelim I will remember that's what it's all about and I will live in that moment, rather than worry about what is next.
     As usual I will keep this short and finish with saying thank you to all of the people who have helped me reach my dream of vaulting 18' and competing at the Olympic Trials. My family who raised and supported me from the beginning. My friends who trained with and encouraged me. Coaches who shared their knowledge and experiences with me. UCS who supplies me with poles to vault on. Fans who get me fired up and support the sport itself. And of course God, who makes everything possible and gives us purpose in life.