Diary

Wesley
Thomas

Past Entries

April 26, 2004

Here I am, writing the very last diary entry for the very last time. It's very bittersweet. If y'all don't know, we won UAAs in Pittsburgh. It was the perfect way to end the year, as well as my cameo here at Emory.

It's sad, but I'll deal with it. Of course, there were so many things that happened that I can not put them all here, but I'll try to recap everything from start to finish.

First of all, I just want to thank the coaches for putting us up in the nicest hotel in the history of nice hotels. I'm telling you we could've slept on the carpet because I know it was made out of poodle hair. The beds were so soft and plush that as soon as you sat down you went to sleep. And everything was white, immaculately white. They really trusted us! The beds had about 24 pillows on them and a down comforter that wouldn't let you move. But I digress. The hotel was nice.

As usual, the coaches put my name in a hat to see who I was going to room with. This time I got Josh McCaleb and Matt Smith, who I had never roomed with before. They're cool people, count it.

Friday we got there and people were talking about my alleged "Bahamas" shirt, which was really a regular shirt. We went to Carnegie Mellon to shake out and stayed there for the banquet, which was later on. Unfortunately, we were just waiting for an hour for it to start, and no other teams had arrived quite yet. They wouldn't let us eat, which sucked for the people who really like to put it away (Esther, Heiber, Esther, Heiber).

When everybody got there, they said "Let's eat," so when we got up, they told us to sit back down so they could do it in an orderly fashion. It was messed up; we got up anyway because we were hungry! They played a presentation that showcased the seven teams (except Rochester). I was in two pictures, which made me grin a little.

After the banquet, I had to go to the potty, along with Emily and Esther (from the girls' squad). That marked the beginning of a chain of events that ended with us getting left behind by the bus. When we came out, the buses were driving off without us, so we had to wait until the coaches were done with their meeting, which took all of two hours. But, in the end, it was all good.

The next day, we got in the zone, ready to compete. I have to say it was a very good day for a lot of people; athletes were recording personal records (PRs) left and right, which annoyed me. I wanted Emory to get all those PRs and not other teams, but that's life, and you got to deal with it.

Both the girls and guys did well that day, so afterwards we went to an Italian resaturant, Tambellini's, to eat...chicken parmesan (we all affectionately know it as 'chicken paaam'). We only eat it everywhere we go. Future Emory stars, I hope y'all have a taste for it; you'll learn to love it anyway.

After eating, we were free to do whatever, so some friends and I walked around Pittsburgh to a place called "The Strip." It was supposed to be the hangout in the area, but in reality it was not. I think they called it that because the place was stripped...of all life. The only thing "jumpin'" was this place called "The Zoo," and it was an under-21 dancing club. Somebody say "lame..."

We hung out in a gift shop because it was the only thing open in Pittsburgh. There was a Kwik-e-Mart (like on "The Simpsons") across the street, but it was forever closed. We walked around our team's hotel floor to see what our teammates were doing. That's the kind of fun y'all can look forward to having!

Something particularly funny was that you had to put your hotel room key in a slot in the room for power to run. No, this was not common knowledge, so here we are calling front desk and complaining about how there's no light or AC. Pretty interesting.

Sunday was the beginning of a 40-day, 40-night rainstorm that made the last day of UAAs particularly grimy. It's not fun to run in the rain...unless you're on the winning team. Otherwise you just do it for nothing. We won, so it was okay.

We won the whole thing and my nemesis (not really because we're like brothers) TJ Jennings won just about every event he did, scoring enough points to be a one-man team. After the winning, we showered and of course my friends and I almost got left behind again. At least the bus waited on us this time. At the airport we saw the Washington and Chicago teams. We were all starving. But we got to eat at TGI Friday's, so it was all good!

We made it back and everything was peachy. But being done really meant that we were, you know, DONE. That's it for me because I'm a senior. It's been a hard, long, fun time here at Emory and I wouldn't trade it in for the world.

Like Chris Nehls (a track demigod) said, "There is a special bond made amongst people who train together. Once you have suffered through a workout with someone, they will always be your friend."
It's nothing but true. I've made so many lifelong friends doing track that I can't imagine my life without them. I'll really miss everybody I'm leaving behind, but I know that they'll keep the winning tradition going.

There are more than 10 of us seniors who are graduating, and we all want the best for the team. We can't have that unless y'all join a legacy of good times, good people and winning streaks. I look forward to meeting y'all in the future. It's been real, folks. Peace and chicken grease!

Wesley Thomas is a senior from Dallas, Texas. He would love to answer e-mail questions from Emory recruits and fans.