4:08.8

Butterflies are pounding inside me, I can feel them colliding with the sides of my stomach. There is energy tingling up every inch of me. I strip off my sweats as Katey Wegemer, our first leg of the 4x400 meter relay steps to the line. BANG! Katey soars away with the sound of the gun, two laps later she hands the baton to Kesley Heckathorne for the second leg. We are right in the mix of the pack. She flies past on her first lap, and I shuffle down to the exchange zone. As she fights the pain of the last stretch, I can feel myself anticipate the feel of the cool metal in my hand. Our exchange is sloppy, but once it is safely in my hand I am gone. Around the first corner I pass two girls and slip into second. The first 200 meters are gone in a flash as I feel myself digging deeper. I swerve into the second lane to pass the first place girl and pull back into the curve for the final stretch. My stomach is no longer filled with butterflies, but in a knot. My head is pounding and I know this is as fast as I can go. With all my teammates screaming me on, I hand the baton to Ashley Miller, our final leg. Handing off to her in first place position means one thing, victory. I try to watch her leg as I fight the extreme pain that is the 400. Kesley screams, "62!" a four second personal record for me. All the coaches are going crazy as Ashley crosses the line well ahead in first place. Now for the agony of waiting. The screen refuses to show us our official time. Finally we know.

4:08.21. Less than six tenths of a second faster than the qualifying mark. Nationals, here we come.