It was May 5, 2023, my first day of competition at the Great American Conference Championships.
After competing at 13 meets across six months along with 10 months of training, it was time to cash in all that hard work on the biggest stage.
Primarily, I was a 400-meter hurdler at Oklahoma Baptist University, but in an attempt to capture the team conference championship I would be running the 110-hurdles and 4x100meter relay. First, was the 110-hurdle prelims, where I was projected to easily make the finals.
As the race began, I kept up with the pack, but as I clipped the last three hurdles, I lost major momentum.
Crossing the finish line I realized I’d underperformed, as the clock read 15.15, more than .3 off my personal best.
I watched anxiously as the other heats took place, praying for another chance that unfortunately I wouldn’t get. My teammate also ran a 15.15, beating me by less than a thousandth of a second.
Which meant he got the eighth and final spot in the 110-finals, while I was the first man out in ninth.
Devastated, I angrily cried tears for a couple of minutes, but quickly I had to let it go because I had a job to do in the 400-hurdles.
I ran consistently fast all season and I was the conference favorite heading into the weekend, so I knew I had to go take what was mine.
I lined up for the prelims and did something I’d never done before, take 14-steps in between my first six hurdles. I ended up winning my heat by two seconds, even slowing up the last 50 meters.
Not only did that performance restore my confidence, but it set me up as the top seed in the final.
After a night of rest, it was the final championship day. Before the 400-hurdles final though, I had to run the 4x100 for a chance at team points.
We succeeded in scoring with a third place finish, but on my relay leg I reaggravated a pinched nerve in my quad that I had been battling the past month.
This was different though, it was by far the most pain I’d been in as a burning sting lingered in my muscle.
I nervously rushed to the trainer, doing everything I could to help it, but at this point it was about pain management because I was 100% running.
Just like that, the biggest moment out of my entire season was here, it was time for the 400-meter hurdles final.
As I did my pre race ritual of running over the first hurdle, pain shot through my quad. Anxiety plagued my mind with doubts, as I thought “it was painful just in the warmup, how was I going to run full-speed?”
I quickly shut down those thoughts, reminding myself of all my hard work and that I was the favorite in the race. I was the best in the conference all year and that wasn’t going to change now, I was going to win.
I raised in the blocks and as soon as the gun fired, nothing was on my mind but winning. Once again, I hit a smooth 14-step pattern through six hurdles and in the process I swiftly caught my biggest competitor on my outside, or so I’d thought.
As I cleared the eighth hurdle, one of my teammates emerged beside me as we cleared hurdle nine simultaneously. I loved my teammate but I’d worked too hard to lose, so I pushed to another gear, widening the gap as I jumped the last hurdle.
Running through the finish line I was overwhelmed with joy, realizing I was the conference champion as the scoreboard flashed the time of 52.87.
I’d beaten my career best by almost half a second. Through overcoming circumstances and seizing the moment, I now had a gold medal around my neck.
Every ounce of pain from training, racing or injury, was all worth it because I now laid claim to the name of conference champion.