District XC was today. The top 3 teams move on to Regionals to compete as a team. the top 10 individuals move on to compete on their own. Gatesville WON!! 3 in the top ten, 5 in the top 20. Abate will go on to Regional with the team. He came in 11th he will not compete individually. He was devastated. He missed it by 5 seconds. His injuries still plagued him, he hasn't had a hard workout in two weeks. His ankle was hurting him for most of the race as he miss-stepped into another one of those dreadful huge holes caused by the drought. He kept pushing. At the two mile mark he was in around 20th place, I was discouraged. I could see the pain on his face. He ran on down into the loop out of sight. When they reappeared I thought I was seeing things - that couldn't be him - so close to the leaders? It was! Abate was sprinting, he was pushing the limits, he was so close. So close...but what he did he did for the team, while he may have missed qualifying as an individual, his performance in that last mile won the meet for the team. I couldn't have been prouder! To me he is a superstar! My hero. No sad faces here, just one of sheer joy.
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