Most athletes have to wait until the end of the season to determine whether they will make it state or not, for senior Alex Elliott the decision came much earlier.

Elliott is a fourth year member on the track team as well as a committed attendee to not only Young Life club each week, but also the Young Life summer camp. After several years of being involved in Young Life, she wants to take the next step in her involvement. That means attending camp not as a camper but as a member of work crew. However, her time on work crew conflicts with the culminating event of the track season; the state meet. She was faced with a choice; work crew or state. I talked with Elliott about her motivation to join work crew and the difficult decision she had to make.

“I’ve been to Young Life camp twice as a camper and ever since [then] I’ve wanted to go back on work crew. I’ve had a few friends do it and tell me how amazing of a month it was,” Elliott said. “It was a really hard choice to make and my YL leader tried to find a different spot for me but this one is the only one that was working. I’ve been trying for a spot for two years now and state isn’t a 100% guarantee so I just had to decide which would be better for me in the long run and that’s when I chose work crew.” Elliott said.

Elliott also had to talk with Coach Onnen, her head coach on track, about her decision. I sat down down with Onnen to discuss Alex’s role on the team as well as the impact of her decision.

“She is definitely a big leader. Not only by example, but since her freshman year I’ve noticed how people are just drawn to her by her personality,” Onnen said. “It’s tough to say whether she will make it to state or not with the distance talent there is in our area. We have to wait and see how the region is broken down and what her strong events will be. A spot at state is never guaranteed.”

“She is committed to working hard for herself and the team, doing what it takes in meets and practice to be competitive at the end of the year. The good thing is that if she qualifies for state at regionals she will have taken a state spot away from the competition, which benefits the team greatly,” Onnen told me.

Elliott hopes work crew will be a life-changing experience where she learns to selflessly serve others. As much as she will be missed at state, the Young Life campers will enjoy her high spirits and positive attitude just as much. We wish her the best as she takes on this adventure.