Jr. Olympic Track & Field National Meet

Hi, My name is Kaylee Merritt.
When I was in the 6th grade, I wasn't too sure about running, but by the summer before 7th grade(2012) I decided that I should try it-so I joined our school cross country team. I made it all the way to districts and placed top 15. Scott Slamp came to our school not that long before this race and asked me, and many others, to join Evergreen Storm. I decided to give it a try. 

Our first meet I wasn't too sure how things would go, but with the help of great coaches I had an idea of what to do. Our race was a 3K. I qualified for Regionals individually and our team got 1st in the State.
At Regionals, our team got 2nd place, qualifying our top 8 on the team to Nationals-and I was one of them. 
Nationals was a great experience. It was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico-over 5,000 feet in elevation. This experience was very different than any other race. There were so many people in one race, it was unbelievable. It was a hard race, but our team ended up placing 10th in the nation! By this time, I figured out that I was really starting to like running. So I decided to join track.

For school track I started with a 6:10 mile time, and ended it with around a 5:48 placing 6th at disticts.
Again, I came out for Evergeen track. At State I placed 15th in the 1500(almost a mile) with 5:26(about a 5:46 mile) , 8th in the 3000(almost two miles) with 11:43, and Our 4x800m relay team placed 2nd. I only made it to regionals for the relay, but we did well there. We placed 2nd again, making it to Nationals, but we dicided it was best not to go.

8th grade cross country is when I really got a passion for running. At districts I tied for 4th in the 1.5 mile race with 9:17.
Evergreen cross country in this year was the most fun, and the best experience. Our race was a 4K. At state I placed 15th-qualifying to Regionals individually, with our team placing 2nd.
Regionals was a great race for many. I got 28th qualifying for Nationals individually, and our team got 2nd again-also making our top 8 to Nationals. 
Nationals was in San Antonio, Texas and was by far the best experience and race to have. In my race, there were about 400 girls. It was crazy on the starting line. The race went by fast, exept the crazy stretch to the finish. Out of 400 girls, i got 97th place, and our team got 6th place. The feeling I had after that was great. 

School track was great, but the whole school season I was just looking forward to Evergreen Track. I started off this season with a 5:46 mile, and ended it with a 5:31. I placed 2nd for the mile at districts and 4th for the 800. 
Evergreen grew this track season, which is great. At state our whole team did amazing. It was the top 8 people in every event that made it to regionals. My first event was the 1500m, which I placed 5th in with 5:08. The next event was the 4x800m relay which placed 2nd behind our A relay team(I would later be moved up to the A relay team). My final event was the 3000m, which i placed 3rd in with 11:06. 
Regionals was definitely a hard meet. The top 5 for every event qualified for Nationals, and I was pretty nervous about my races. In the 1500m I placed 5th with 5:03(about a 5:23 mile). For the 4x800m relay I got moved up to the A team, and we placed 1st in the region. The 3000 is always a hard race, but I enjoy it. I placed 2nd with 11:16, not my best time, but I plan to do better at Nationals.

Going to Nationals in Houston, Texas would be amazing. The meet it held July 21-27 and I would love to take this step to help me get better and get more experience. I hope to go far in life with running, and these are the steps I must take to do so. 

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this-I am sorry it was so long!
My parents and I would greatly appreciate it if you would take the time to donate to us to help make this amazing experience easier for us. Every little bit helps.
Thank you so much again!