Dear Track and Field,
You began as a sport my mother forced me into. Lord knows I did not want to be associated with you; but, as time progressed, you slowly became my first and favorite priority. I only agreed to my mom's wishes to become faster and more explosive. You were just a side sport, a conditioning tool, to keep me in shape for the other sports I played at the time. I could have never guessed the number of valuable lessons you would teach me. You introduced me to new people, places, and cultures in this world. Just as you gave me the greatest highs of my life, you also made me experience the worst lows that helped shape me into who I am today. Sometimes, you tore me down to make me feel like I was not good enough; but, in the blink of an eye, you built a new foundation for me to grow into a more confident, wise, and outgoing person. You have been a part of my life for eight years, going on nine, and you still manage to show me various outlooks on life and the people in it. You were there from the beginning and are there until the end. You have seen me through three different programs, starting with Yuma Catholic High School, then Pima Community College, and lastly Idaho State University. At each of these schools, you have taught me lessons to last a lifetime.
Yuma Catholic High School track and field, freshman year I was stubborn I didn't want you in my life and I didn't want to be associated with you at all but the more track meets I did I slowly started to find a mutual liking for you. Too bad it was cut short because my grades weren't right. the next year I was super excited to start the season. I can actually say there was some excitement to put a track jersey on with the super short track shorts, with white leggings and white long Nike Elite socks, and with the new Nike spikes with the sliver chrome plating on the bottom. I was ready to take on the new season ready to work harder in the classroom and on the track. Sophomore season was going great, full of improvement in my jumping events and hurdling events. But who knew you would soon teach me my first lesson.
It was a mid-season meet at Mojave High School and the 110 meter hurdling heats were stacked with many great hurdlers from my town and other schools in my division. There I was in the last and fastest heat of the 110 hurdles in lane three. The announcer prompts us "runners to your marks", I'm set in my blocks ready to explode to the first hurdle. "Set" a deep breath is inhaled, "Bang" gun sets us off. Everyone is even to the first and second hurdle, then comes the third hurdle. I hook the hurdle with the bottom of my foot and fall and roll two lanes over into the grass. I am bruised, startled, discouraged, and sad because that was the race that felt the best all season. I was scared to run hurdles for the rest of the year and because of that I always doubted in my head about running the hurdles. Because of that, my coach changed my most loved event to the 1,600 meter relay. I had a conversation with one of my childhood friend's mom and she told me to progress in track and field and life, you have to experience getting knocked down on your butt so that you learn and experience discomfort. If everything is easy, how are you going to learn how to deal with adversity that pops up in life?
Junior year has arrived, I had finally grown to be six feet tall, and had a phenomenal year in football, earning a starting spot on defense and winning a state championship ring. Then making it to the semi-finals in the state basketball tournament having. But Track, I was even more excited to step foot on the track again. I was ready to make it to state championships in both 110 and 300 hurdling events and long jump and triple jump. I was so excited for you that every time I thought about you my heart would start pounding out of my chest with excitement. I feel like I am having the best season of my life it seems leading the state in my division with the top 3 marks in those events, meeting new people, getting faster and more skilled. Then comes the last chance meet two weeks before the state meet. I start my 110 meter hurdling race and everything is going great I am winning the race and all of a sudden I feel a pop in my right hamstring at the seventh hurdle. I didn't want to stop, I powered through the final three hurdles in pain and finished fourth. I had never experienced an injury before in my life and this experience was new to me. I remember the lesson I learned before, adversity happens, I stayed optimistic that I would be in perfect shape the week of state. It's the week of state hamstring is still pulled but I was not going to let that stop me from possibly winning my first-ever state championship. I make it through prelim day winning my heat in the 110 hurdles and placing in the top eight in the 300 hurdles. Finally, the day where you have the chance to earn the title of being a state champion comes.
The 110 hurdles finals are up and my hamstring hurts more than it did on the first day. I don't want to quit because this season was going too well to give up on during the final race of the year. My coach said to me before I left to get into the check-in tent, "roll with the punches and no matter what happens I am going to be proud of you." Hearing that come from him I was happy that no matter what, my coach was going to be happy for me. I am standing behind my blocks and the official starts his commands. I am super nervous because I don't want to hurt anymore and I want to win. The gun goes off and I am immediately behind because of the pain I am going through I am passed the first two hurdles and I remember thinking "this sucks and hurts I am going to lose and it's all because of my stupid pulled hamstring." Then I remember I hear my team cheering for me and I snapped out of it I quickly caught up and was competing for the gold medal. I get neck and neck with the guy that was winning the race. We are flying over the final three hurdles and now it's a foot race. We both are straining for the finish line. It's a photo finish. It felt like an eternity waiting to see the results on the videoboard, finally, times are posted. I lost and not only did I lose I lost by one, one-hundredth of a second. I remember feeling so devastated about losing standing on the podium sad because I wasn't crowned a champion. My leg was hurt I couldn't finish any of my other events, and I remember having a conversation with my mom about my experience. The lesson I learned from this experience was anything I put my mind to I can do it and everything in life isn't going to be the perfect scenario. It is how you choose to fight adversity and as long as you can say you put 100 percent into what you did, then you cannot blame yourself for the result.
It's senior year finally, this is the year where everything finally gets put together. I got more athletic, taller, faster, and stronger. Won another state championship in football going undefeated. But of course, I was waiting to see you again track and field, you were my comfort zone and the one sport where I knew I mattered and was able to be the leader everyone said I can be. It was my turn to lead a team. Sometimes it felt like I didn't matter in my other sports but when track came, all that changed. Senior season taught me I was capable of being a leader and doing things I didn't know I was able to do. This season we broke a lot of school records and won four state titles. I didn't know I was capable of doing that but this year you helped me gain a new swagger and confidence.
Heading into collegiate track and field would bring an entirely new level of intensity...
Next week, Malone's story will conclude with how he rose through the ranks of the NJCAA and, after transferring to Idaho State how he continued that rise to top the Big Sky.
