Steven

I have pushed back writing this blog because I am finding myself at a loss for words, but I feel like I need to write it so this is the best I've got.

Certain events in life really open your eyes. This week I have been show just how much of a family the track and field team is and how fragile life is. Steven Archer, a transfer sophomore but an athletic freshman, lived the sport. Just two weeks ago setting a new personal best, breaking into the all time top 10 at UNCC, and placing 4th on the conference list. He was well on his way to becoming a great long jumper. Our team is all that he wanted. He loved the sport, he loved the team, he loved his life.

Monday was just like any other day for Steven. Wake up, go to class, go to practice, find some food, and hand out with friends. A schedule just like any other normal student athlete. He was at practice Monday, not ever dreaming it was his last. He went to play a game of basketball with his friends in the SAC, not knowing it would be his last act on this earth. Cardiac Arrest. Who would have thought that a 19 year old's heart would just stop? He didn't do anything wrong, he was just playing a friendly game of basketball with friends. He wasn't drinking and driving, being a dare devil, driving too fast, showing off... He was playing basketball like a million other 19 year olds in the world have done. Life is fragile.

A shock wave went through the team at the news. His best friend stood up and talked at the team meeting yesterday and not a dry eye was in the room. Coach talked about him at the meeting and on the news and had to fight back the tears, from a man you hardly ever see emotion from. A dark cloud hung over the track yesterday. When I went to practice I saw no one on the track. Gradually they came. Sprinters, distance, jumpers, throwers. You would think things had resumed as normal, but there was a place missing on the long jump team and you could see it on every face. We lost a teammate, we lost a friend, we lost a family member. The team is sticking together. I can see the support radiating from everyone on the team, especially for those who were close to Steven. (Mainly the long jump team who saw him every day.) We have a duty to Steven to win the A-10 Conference Championships in two weeks that he was so looking forward to. The track team is a family.

"We will be running with heavy hearts this season." -Ryan Jank (Senior Distance Runner)