CHAPTER 8
BACK IN THE BLOCKS
Leggie woke up on the morning of the Regional Championship meet with a clearer head than he’d had all week. Regardless of what events he was participating in, he was a competitor. He was determined to put forth his best effort to help his team.
Leggie also knew he’d be going up against the best shot putters in the region. If he didn’t enter the meet focused and ready to compete, he wouldn’t stand a chance.
Most of his teammates were at the track already when Leggie arrived. He smiled, trying to keep a positive attitude, even though the season hadn’t gone the way he expected.
As Leggie walked from teammate to teammate giving them fist bumps and high fives, he noticed that Gary wasn’t there. He also noticed Coach Crespi walking around nervously, and talking with the other coaches.
Leggie spotted Zack Zimmer sitting in the grandstand, having a conversation with a couple of the race officials. The Waukegan Footprints were a major sponsor of the Northern Illinois Regional Championships.
Before Leggie could ask anyone where Gary was, Coach walked over to him.
“I’ve got a problem,” Coach said. “Gary’s got the flu.”
Leggie couldn’t believe it. Gary was the best runner on the team this season. Losing him would make it very hard for Bricklin Middle School to have a chance to win Regionals.
Leggie didn’t wait for Coach Crespi to ask. “I’m ready to run, Coach.”
“If you take Gary’s spot in the four track events, though, you can’t do shot put,” Coach said. “It’s a four-event limit today.”
Leggie thought about it, but it wasn’t really a choice for him.
“Pierce is great, Coach,” Leggie said. “He’ll lock down the shot put for us.”
* * *
Leggie’s best event had always been the 100-meter dash. When he lined up at the starting block, he felt ready to finally pick up where he had left off last season. Originally, he’d hoped to break the state record this year, but if he could just win the race today, he’d be happy.
He’d always taken feeling strong and healthy for granted, but for the first time, Leggie felt thankful that his body had healed enough for him to run. He bent down into position and listened for the starter’s pistol.
The bang of the pistol rang out into the air and Leggie got a decent jump out of the block. He churned his legs as hard as he could, trying to move the ground beneath him, like coach always told him.
But as Leggie dug his spikes into the track, he couldn’t quite get the explosion he wanted. Three other racers jumped out in front of him. The 100 meters was over before he ever had a chance to catch up.
Unfortunately for Leggie, the 200-meter and 400-meter races went similarly. Leggie was always going to be fast, but today he couldn’t quite run fast enough.
Leggie hung his head in disappointment. He’d come in fourth in all three events. He wondered whether Coach might choose someone else to run the anchor position in the 1600-meter relay.
Before that final race, though, Pierce was set to take his turn at shot put. Leggie walked up to his teammate, who was warming up.
Neither of them said a word to each other. The arrogant guy Leggie had met over holiday break just wasn’t there anymore. And as disappointed as he felt about his own performance, Leggie wanted Pierce to know he was behind him.
“Do this,” Leggie said, giving Pierce a double fist bump. Then, he playfully shoved him in the direction of the toe board.
