Any minute she thought. Any minute until she is called onto the field. “Lose yourself” by Eminem pounds in her ears with the sweet melody and clears the nervous thoughts swimming through her mind.

After for what seemed to be a decade, the fourteen-year-old girls are called onto the field. She packs her spikes and shoes, Gatorade Chews, masking tape and an extra shirt into her blue and black Nike bag and slowly makes her way into the entrance. She looks back one last time at her family and gives them a faint smile. She knows that the next time she will see them, she will know the fate of the results.

In fifth grade, freshmen Ella Anstoetter started high jumping. It wasn’t until the end of eighth grade when she learned about Amateur Athletic Union and decided compete in it.

“I had a physical fitness test and my coach  said I should do high jump because he thought I had a lot of potential. I enjoyed it a lot so I kept doing it,” she said. “My coach’s son had done AAU before and recommended me to try it this year because he said it would be helpful for me to compete with girls who are just as dedicated as me and for college to see me jump.”

As she enters Drake University’s stadium, Anstoetter is filled with awe. The blue oval track stretches endlessly around the field. She starts walking slowly, aware of the eyes of the spectators as she enters onto her stage, gazing only to the three high jump pits across the field.

Just when Anstoetter starts to get comfortable, the official calls her name, signaling that it is her turn to jump. The world around her becomes a blurry photo, the only object in focus is her and the path she made to the pit earlier with the masking tape. The only thought in her head is reaching the height so she can move to the next round.

Three hours earlier, her stomach started to turn. She could only eat a banana and a few nibbles of an apple for breakfast. As the nerves take over her body, Anstoetter asked her parents to see the track before she jumped later in the day. Anticipation rises during the twelve minute car ride.

Once the other competitors started to drop off the other two high jump pits, Anstoetter’s adrenaline started to pump. When the entire field was down to the last total of ten girls, Anstoetter knew she had one last chance to become an AAU nationals medalist.

As she approaches her final height, thoughts run through her head, “Did I train hard enough?” “How many people are at this meet?” “Is this track the same as CYO championships?”

Her questions were soon answered when Anstoetter made the height of 5 feet, 2 inches.

The moment didn’t didn’t feel real until the official called bib number 7539 to follow him and seven other girls. Quickly they walked the path of champions through a dark tunnel under the stadium that leads to a room separated only by a black curtain. One side is the waiting room, the other has yet to be seen.

“While sitting and waiting you could hear the crowd gathering and talking behind the curtain, but we still had to wait for about 30 minutes. I was getting jittery,” Anstoetter said.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the black curtain, a family waits to see their successful athlete. Anticipation rises as Liddy Anstoetter, Anestoetter’s sister, waits for her to hear the top eight medalists names.

“We were excited that Ella took third because we were afraid that the pressure would have gotten to her. We all got the chills when she did succeed,” sophomore Liddy Anesoetter said.

Time approaches for both Anstoetter and her family to be reunited. The eight medalists take their stand. They are lined up in number order. Anstoetter hears familiar voices screaming her name. Relief and excitement fills her body and she becomes more relaxed.

“I can’t believe that I went from jumping at CYO to the AAU Nationals,” she said. “I learned that it doesn’t always matter what place you take. As long as you do your personal best, you still did extremely well.”