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Santa Rosa Express Sectional Meet - April 5, 2003

James competed in his first track meet in Santa Rosa running his first ever 800 and 1500. James finished 3rd in the 800 with a time of 2:46.69 and 1st in the 1500 with a time of 5:24.78. Not bad for a kid that hadn't run since December. This was a one day meet and ended up being one of our favorite for their great organization of the meet and the good food at the snack bar.

Goldrush Track Meet - April 19, 2003

The Goldrush Track Club hosted a meet at Bella Vista high school. This meet was a one day meet also. Although it was fun to compete so close to home, the meet didn't have the competition that the Santa Rosa meet did. James won the 800 with a time of 2:42.6 and the 1500 in 5:21.9. Both times were Personal Records (PR's for James).

James sprinting to the finish line in the 1500

James at the end of the 1500

3M Track Meet - May 16th-17th, 2003

This meet was our first experience with a two day meet. This meet was held in Union City at James Logan High School. The 800 was run on Saturday and the 1500 on Sunday. We decided to have James only run the 1500 on Sunday because he had a basketball game on Saturday. James won again with a time of 5:22.61.

Classic Track Meet - May 31st & June 1st, 2003

Again, this was a 2 day track meet with the 800 on Saturday and the 1500 on Sunday. This time we decided to stay overnight in San Jose so James could compete in both races plus we entered him in the 400 on Saturday. James finished second in the 800 with a time of 2:38 (another PR) and he ran his first 400. James finished 6th in the 400 with a time of 73 seconds. The next day, James was very sore from the 2 races on Saturday and ended up dropping out of the 1500 because of severe leg cramps.

James and a "little friend" play soccer between races

Sprinting to the finish line in the 800

PAC Championships - June 14th & 15th, 2003

On Saturday, James was once againbothered by leg cramps in the 800 but still managed to finish 3rd. He came back on Sunday and finished 1st in the 1500 with a time of 5:17. He said that his legs bothered him but he ran for his dad because it was Father's Day.

Pacific Association Championships - June 28th and 29, 2003

This meet is the qualifier for the USATF Regional meet and was one of James' best meets yet. The top six in each event are eligible to compete in the Regional meet. It was yet another two day meet with the 800 on Saturday and the 1500 on Sunday. The meet was at Logan High School in Union City. Saturday was hot with a little breeze later in the day. We got to the high school at noon and had to wait 3 hours for the 800. James was in the 3rd heat and won in a time of 2:36.62 (yet another PR) which turned out to be his fastest time to date. That was James' first win of the meet. Sunday looked like it was going to be another hot one but fortunately, James' 1500 was run at about 10:00am. James once again took 1st in the 1500 with a time of 5:15.76 - again, his fastest 1500 to date.

The end of the 1st lap of the 800

James wins the 800 in 2:36!

James enjoying the indoor pool at the Embassy Suites in San Jose

Jim and James in the hot tub at the Embassy Suites

The start of the 1500

Regional Championships - July 12th and 13th, 2003

This meet was held in lovely Fresno, CA. Temperatures were predicted to be around 108 for the weekend. We were staying overnight with Grandpa Mike and Diana in Fresno on Saturday and James was to compete in the 800 on Saturday morning at 11:00 so that meant we had to leave Sacramento at about 6:00am. Friday night James had some "intestinal problems" and was up until about midnight. He slept through the night so we woke him at 5:30 to hit the road for Fresno. James was only able to eat two bananas before his race but he was determined to run. He got off to a good start but the pace was just too much for him to hold on to for that second lap in his weakened condition. He ended up finishing 6th with a time of 2:42.52.

After the race, we went to lunch and James was able to eat a hardy meal. After swimming for about 3 hours in Grandpa Mike's pool and carbo loading on pizza that night - James was ready to run the 1500 the next day.

The 1500 was schedule to be run at 8:30 so we had to get to the meet bright and early. James got "coldfeet" before the race, probably because the meet program had two boys listed as running under 5:00 minutes in the 1500. It turned out that those times were a misprint and James' main competition came from a boy from the Central California Region, Conner Billings, whose time was listed as being less than a second slower than James' time at the Association Meet. James led the entire race but couldn't hold off Conner when he sprinted from behind in the last 100 meters to win the race. James came in second in 5:19.95 and was very disappointed in his time and the fact that the he had been, up until this meet, undefeated in the 1500.

The start of the 1500

2003 USATF Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships