Like last year, Daniel and David were able to compete in a cross country racing series conducted at Bellarmine High School in Tacoma.  On three consecutive Sundays, they raced against boys in private schools (the series is put on by CYO and includes all private schools in the area).  David ran against kids in third- through fifth grades; the course was a little over a mile.  Daniel competed with boys in grades six through eight on a course a bit over a mile and a half.  In the third race, David considered running with the older kids on the longer course, but he was suffering with a head cold and decided to stick with the shorter course.

David came away with three first-place finishes and plenty of good experiences.  Other strong runners congratulated him and he thoroughly enjoyed it.  Daniel also enjoyed it, but the competition was much tougher at that level.  He had some truly exciting races.  In the first race, he finished third and gained some good experience about racing on a tight course.  For the second race, he came out with a plan to stay in second for most of the race and then take over first at some point after half-way through.  This strategy worked well and he finished first against a very tough competitor.  The third race was also exciting, with Daniel using the same strategy.  This time, however, the other top runner had a bit more in the tank.  Although Daniel did take the lead, he was not able to hold it.  He finished in second.  After the race, he congratulated the other runner and they got to know each other and show mutual respect.  It was a great experience to be part of this competition.

Click the picture above to see more pictures from all three races (all in amazing weather).

The first video is a compilation from David’s races.

The next is from Daniel’s races. It’s a bit long because the entire third race is shown. It’s so exciting that we just couldn’t cut anything out.

The boys both played in soccer tournaments this summer.  In fact, David was able to play on Daniel’s select team for a tournament in Vancouver, Washington.  They played very well against great competition.  A couple times, the team played up a year in age.  They had a great time, scored some goals, and generally improved their soccer skills.  We put together a quick montage of video highlights, and we picked a few pictures for you.  You might get a bit confused as to which tall Ethiopian is which… Daniel wears either white of black and is number 7.  When David plays on Daniel’s team he is not wearing a number; on his team, he’s wearing either bright green or black and is number 22.

Always up for a new challenge, the boys took on indoor rock climbing.  As with just about everything they’ve tried in the US, they loved it!  Sary-Jo took a few pictures and some video.  Enjoy.

This year, David was able to participate in the Hershey Track and Field competition (Daniel had his band concert and was unable to compete).  In the local meet, David took first place in both the 400 meter run and the softball throw!  It’s always so awesome to watch these kids compete.  Below is the video from his 400 meter at the local meet.  Watch carefully as David and another runner start down the home stretch – it was going to be a very tight race but, unfortunately, a non-competitor walked onto the track and bumped into the other runner.  Since this was the local meet, the organization did the only thing they could do: they sent both runners on to state and declared this race a tie.  It was a bit disappointing to those of us who wanted to find out which boy would win the race, but at least nobody was hurt.

Winning in the local meet qualified him for the state meet at Mount Tahoma High School.  Although he had the beginning of a sinus infection, he ran well and finished second.  He also finished second in the softball throw.  Click the photo below to see more photos from the state competition.

David & Daniel after the race

The boys both ran in the Youth 5K (18 years old and younger) race as part of the Sound to Narrows event.  It was Daniel’s second 5K race and David’s first.  It’s also a fairly difficult course because the first half is downhill and the second half is uphill, and it’s a noticeable hill.  We’re learning that these events have a social aspect to them as we ran into many friends and acquaintances there.  It was a lot of fun.  The weather was just right for running – a little on the cool side for spectators.  The boys both got off to a good start and ran great races.  David finished in 20:42 and he was 15th overall (out of 199)!  Daniel beat his personal best by over a minute, finishing in 18:39 and in third place.  These guys continue to amaze us.

One more thing… we went from the race to soccer, where they played for about an hour and a half solid.

We have pictures and video for your enjoyment.