Iver has had a blast running in spring track-- sprinting is a true love of his! Unfortunately, only one K-4 meet was held (the second cancelled due to weather), but he chose and was allowed by coach Kristin to "run up"-- with the 5-8th graders, at both Fortuna High a few weeks ago, and this past week at McK high.
At these "Championships," he participated in the 4x100 m relay as the third leg, the 400m, the 100m, and the 200m races in that order. The races were officially timed which made things interesting (multiple heats were done of each events and places awarded after all the times were in on athletic.net). He again wore his gold spikes, which he received from aunt Katherine as a gift in December.
His relay team (him plus three fifth graders) got first place again (1:05:25), as they did in Fortuna anchored by speedy Juan Emilio! They are great at not dropping the baton!
Ready for the 400m...
...which he completed in 1:21:62 for third place, behind a fifth grader from Blue Lake and teammate Juan Emilio.
The 100m race (his favorite) was TIGHT-- a photo finish indeed and which he won by his lean!
When times were notated, he came in first place at 15.65!
The 200m, also a a great distance for Iver, was held near the end of the meet, hence the dark photo. He clocked in at 34.68 in second place, just 0.26 seconds behind the fifth grader he edged out in the 100m.
The haul!
The Spellmeyers encouraged Iver to participate in Cal Poly's "Lumberjack Splash & Dash," a swim and run event this weekend put on and benefitting the Women's Triathlon team. Iver deliberated for several days about whether he wanted to enter, as he's not a strong swimmer (living in a cool area without outdoor pools means you have to be really dedicated to get any swim practice in!). However, he decided to give it a whirl, for which I was extremely proud since I know he doesn't like to not be "the best" at anything.
The kids could choose from a "short course" (50 yard swim + 0.75 mile run) or "long course" (100 yard swim + 1.25 mile run). Iver, the sprinter, chose "short."
We checked in shortly after 8 a.m. and the kids got to set up their "transition" area and take a swim test, and then were allowed to warm up. I think Iver was (understandably) a bit intimidated by the other swimmers (many of them with skintight shorts, caps and goggles and competitive swimmers in the local Humboldt Swim Club), but he knew he could use his running strength to stay in the race. The races started around 9:30 with several heats ("waves") from youngest to oldest competitors and short- to long-courses.
Iver was last in his heat (by about 3/4 of a pool length) after the swim ...
...but transitioned well into the run, toweling off but forgoing socks and a shirt, even though it was about 50 degrees outside! (A couple of kids ran shoeless!)
He made up time, passing several runners, including those ahead of him after his heat of the the swim, finishing with the two laps (800 m) around the Redwood Bowl Track. His finishing time was 6:55.6 and in second place out of nineteen competitors, just 33 seconds of the short-course winner (who is a member of the Humboldt Swim Club), with official race results here.
Olivia crushed her long-course race as the top female finisher (in 12:29!)!
Learning to side-breathe!
Maybe even the little one will be Splashin 'n Dashin' next year!
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