Diary

Wesley
Thomas

Past Entries

May 31, 2004

If y'all thought that you could get rid of me that easily, think again! I know I said I was gone for good after UAA's, but I lied. It was a variation of a white lie that I like to call "lying through my teeth." The point is, I'm back again, for the last time, that is!

I know what y'all are thinking. You're thinking, "what's a irresistibly handsome fella who's graduated from Emory with a degree in psychology and plans to teach in Japan for a year still doing here writing a diary entry?" I've heard it all before. I'm here, though, to tell y'all about something bigger than me, you, President Wagner, President Bush, and the whole world. I'm talkin' 'bout nationals.

Y'all don't know this yet, but in college, when you do really well (like I know y'all will when you get to Emory), you get to go to a lovely end of the year meet called the NCAA Division III Nationals, where only the best athletes go to compete for the ultimate prize, bragging rights and getting to be called All-American. You get your picture on the walls of the WoodPEC, which is great because who's gonna take it down?

As far as what happened on the trip, there was never a dull day! It was a Wednesday through Saturday thing, so there was plenty of time for crap to happen. First of all, we were on a 50-passenger airplane, which scared the heck out of me because I can't stand planes. They take me out of my comfort zone.

Anyway, Coach Curtin and I were in the very first row. I mean, I could've reached up and steered the plane, we were so close. He went right to sleep and I tried to do the same, but when I woke up, we were STILL in Atlanta! Turns out we were like the millionth in line to take off. Curtin was like, "at least we're in first class." I told him we were ALL in first class!

The meet was in Decatur, Illinois, but we opted to be the odd people out and flew to St. Louis, Missouri, instead. We drove for days until we finally got to where we were gonna stay. It was a nice area, with a Target AND a Wal-Mart! I was in heaven! There were also a whole bunch of restaurants and stuff, all within walking distance. It was great.

What was really great, though, was that because this was my last time gracing these people with my presence, I was gonna go out with a bang. Every meal I ate cost at least $20, which is unheard of on a track trip. We're usually stopping at Wendy's or Subway, which I haven't had to suffer through since I was in college. Anyway, I ate really well, but there was a time when I thought I'd have a gall bladder attack for overeating. I put it away, all of it, and it was great. Nobody knew I had it in me.

Besides the good food, the hotel was pretty nice, even though it was a week's hike from the actual meet. The meet was in Decatur, but we stayed in Springfield. Which one? Not the one where the Simpsons live (they're in Kentucky). I was in a room with none other than that almighty, thrice-time All-American TJ Jennings. He even blessed me with a haircut that I call "The Franchise." It was great. I love TJ, in a strictly masculine sense, of course.

I felt so official at the meet. Everybody and their mama was there. We even had to wear these passes around our necks that said "Participant" so we could enter. It was great. I took a lot of pictures that I'll always look at when I need to reminisce. There were only 10 of us there: Coaches Curtin and Goss (who looked like father and son), our 4x100 brothers, and the 4x400 sisters. It was a surreal experience that I won't spoil for y'all; it's something you will have to go through yourselves.

As I sit here typing this, I'm crying. To close such a great chapter in the book of My Life is a really hard thing to do, especially for an overly emotional person like me. I think back to three years ago when I first started running from Oxford College with Euler Bropleh and Adam Brunfeldt. I think about how much I sucked…and got better over the years, about how much more coveted I became, about how I earned my place on the team.

I look back on all the good times I had with the track team, how they welcomed me. I'll never forget the very first practice I went to. I was completely out of shape and that day happened to be the hardest workout ever, four 500m runs at a moderately fast pace. I threw up after the first one and had vertigo and all that good stuff. This guy, Chunky (Alan Cheng), kept asking me if I was gonna do another and I distinctly remember shouting "NO!"

Then I fast forward to when I made some of my best friends on the team. Theta Gamma Chi till the day I die! I think about how we won UAAs and how I stuck around after I graduated to run for nationals. About staying in Andrew Kitchings' (they call him Duck) apartment with Euler to train. About doing handoffs with Blake Staub, Chris Nehls, and TJ.

About getting to know these other few people a lot better. About running my butt off at nationals and becoming an All-American. That's what running track is about. It's about going from shouting "NO!" to Chunky to standing on the awards stand thing, holding a trophy that says "you stuck it out and this is your reward…you're an All-American." I'm crying now.

I hope that this diary isn't painfully long, but in case it is, I'm not done yet. I just want to thank the coaches for putting up with the best and the worst of me all these years. I'm not always the easiest person to get along with. I can't thank y'all enough.

I wanna thank Emily Watts, Esther Choi, and AJ Saint-Jacques, who proved to be my best friends through all of this madness. TGC for life! I'd like to thank all the athletes on the track team who talked to me, who let me into their lives, who agreed to be a part of my life. I don't think I could forget any of y'all even if I tried.

In particular, I'd like to thank Blake, TJ, and Chris for helping me get to experience the best part of running track. We'll always be a team, and wherever I see y'all, know that there nothing but love for y'all.

Euler, we've been through it all, from Oxford to Duck's apartment. John "JAWOL" Pitts, what can I say, we're a team! Andrew Seidenberg, thanx for being a great friend. Meghan Callier, Christine Shin, Janina Kreider, and Jane Ukandu, I'm proud of y'all for making it as far as y'all did. There's nothing but good times waiting for y'all in the coming years.

Kile Krol, I just wanted to put his name here; it seemed appropriate. I also want to thank all the parents who gave their time and energy to be there and cheer us on. It was great! I can't name everybody, but to those who I didn't specifically mention, I'm thankful to y'all for giving me so much to talk about in these diaries.

Now I'm drowning in my own tears, so I'll end this. It's been a great three years for me (four for other seniors) and I'll cherish these times always. This was probably the best thing that happened to me at Emory.

To my friends at Emory and y'all future recruits, I'm warning y'all that four years can go by quicker than, well, something that goes by really quickly. So take advantage of it. Take a risk and join the track team! Who knows, you might just like it and end up like me!

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