Column: Aaron Worm, Behind the Mic

If you are a runner or were a runner, you understand how mentally and physically tough you have to be to succeed when it comes to competitive racing.

When it comes to high school sports memories, my fondest are of when I competed in cross country and track and field races. I bring this up because on July 8, the second annual Albert Lea High School Athletic Hall of Fame banquet will be held at Wedgewood Cove Golf Club, and I am sure many memories and stories from past games, meets and invites will be shared.

When it comes to high school athletics, my career wasn’t very good. Besides cross country and track and field, I played basketball and baseball. I never scored more than four points in a game and never picked up a hit on the diamond. I wasn’t much of a runner either, but the one thing I always enjoyed about the sports is you could never get “benched” — I always got a chance to compete.

In cross country, I never broke 19 minutes in the three-mile run, and in track and field I don’t recall exactly what my fastest time was, but it wasn’t even near the times Albert Lea sophomore Chrissy Monson recorded this year (4:59 in the 1,600-meter and 10:50 in the 3200-meter runs at the state meet). But even though my times were never great, there were memories made that I will never forget. In cross country, the time when I took a quick break during a race to sit on a bench at Baylor Park outside of Norwood. (Don’t ever do that as it is hard to get going again). And the time in St. Peter when I was accidentally tripped by a teammate at the start, stumbled and rolled, and was so upset I raced into first and led the race for probably a whole 10 seconds (I didn’t finish in the top 30).

In track and field, my best finish was sixth place in the subsection meet in the 3,200-meter run, but just like in cross country I remember mostly the blunders. There was a couple of meets when I competed in the high jump and the long jump to fill a spot. I stress the words “fill a spot” because I don’t think I ever got over the lowest set bar, and I barely made the dirt when it comes to the long jump.

So I encourage everyone to get out to the Hall of Fame banquet on July 8 to share memories from the past with friends and former teammates. It’s a chance to reminisce and honor past Tiger stars. My favorite thing about the event is money raised is used to make sure all students can afford to pay the athletic fees and go out for sports. Because of this, all students at Albert Lea High School get a chance to make their own memories.

KATE sports director Aaron Worm’s column appears each Monday in the Tribune. He can be heard from 6 to 11 a.m. weekdays on The Breeze.