Success in terms of strength and stamina

The pretty, dark-haired freshman had pushed herself almost beyond her personal limits and was nearing the finish line when she collapsed onto the course. Her fingertips tingled, her heart raced and her breath came in quick, shallow spurts.
Her senses were in a cognitive cloud, but she remained conscious and capable of rational thought—rational enough, at least, to determine that she would cross that line, regardless of how she had to do it.
So she literally crawled the last few feet and completed the course, finishing in sixth place in her class, an envious position, and qualifying for All-State honors in high school cross-country.
“My mom was freakin’ out,” Maci Rich, now a junior at Marlow High School, recalled last week, reflecting on the frightening experience. She was taken to the emergency room at the hospital in Shawnee, where she was assessed and rehydrated through IVs before returning home to Marlow.
Since then, Maci has undergone a number of tests to see if her collapse was caused by a problem with her heart. All of the test results, the most recent only last month, have indicated that her heart is sound. The doctors have concluded that the principal underlying cause is what they call “performance anxiety.”
This condition, in Maci’s case, is the result of the physical demands of a competitive two-mile race combined with a fierce desire to do her best.
Lovely blue-eyed Maci is a perfect candidate for such a diagnosis.
“I want to be the best at everything,” she said. Well, not exactly everything—only those things she engages in. Things like cross-country, of course, but also track, basketball and academics.
In other words, she’s an overachiever.
Maci approaches athletics, scholastics and life in general with a seriousness quite uncommon in one so young.
True to form, she didn’t let a little thing like having to crawl across the finish line deter her from participating in cross-country the following year. In fact, as a sophomore, she finished the race in the conventional manner—on her feet—and moved up a notch, to fifth place, in Class 3A and once more achieved All-State.
In October of this year, Maci finished in 13th place in Class 3A after once more crumpling onto the course at the last minute.
Again, she was temporarily unable to make her body move. Her legs were unsteady, and her movements erratic. Although she ultimately stumbled across the finish line, a number of other runners had been able to overtake her in the last 100 yards of the race.
“I was in great shape; it was nothing like that (not being physically fit enough),” she explained. “My body was ready to run, but it was like my mind was taking over.”
This time, she was placed on a gurney near the course and care was administered there.
Her ranking didn’t allow her to lay claim to All-State honors for a third consecutive year, but she did receive honorable mention.
And there’s always next season. . . .
Maci started running while in middle school, when Coach Wortham allowed promising sixth-graders to compete in a single junior high track meet. In her first race, she placed third against older girls.
This sweet taste of victory led her to participate in the summer track program that year.
She began cross-country that fall and in this sport, she’s been making medal-heavy music ever since.
In track, Maci competes in the 800-meter and 1600-meter dashes and the mile relay.
Even as a freshman, Maci advanced to state by winning in the 800-meter and placing second in the 1600-meter at regionals. Then at state, she placed third in the 1600 with a time of five minutes, 23 seconds, and fourth in the 800 with a time of two minutes, 21 seconds.
“It takes a lot of work. I was real strict about my diet,” she noted. “You have to be mentally strong, too, not just physically.”
Last spring, she was unable to participate in track because of a stress fracture in her right foot sustained during basketball season.
Maci’s performance level this coming spring is still an unknown equation, but she hopes—no, plans—to bring home a few more medals to expand the impressive collection already on display in her bedroom.
In addition to the spring track season, she normally participates in summer track, she said. In order to remain in top physical form, she runs every day and follows a stricter diet regimen during the track and c/c seasons. Furthermore, she is currently in her second year of weight-lifting.
Maci began honing her skills on the court through the Upward program at Marlow’s First Baptist Church and league play at the Simmons Center.
She started interscholastic basketball in seventh grade and is now in her fifth year with the program. She usually plays guard but has filled a point position the last couple of months as a replacement for an injured teammate.
Of the three athletic pursuits, Maci indicated that she most enjoys cross-country.
Two words—“Be Strong”—are stenciled on a wall in Maci’s bedroom as a reminder of one of the principles by which the Rich family lives.
She carries this precept with her, not only onto fields of play, but also into the classroom. The appearance of her name on the honor roll every semester attests to this fact. Math is her best subject, but she isn’t afraid to tackle more challenging courses. In fact, her AP classes thus far have been in English, government and history.
“I know there are bigger goals later on that I need to work for now,” she observed.
The Rich family is a close-knit one. Jon and Paula welcomed their first child on Jan. 27, 1995, and named her Maci Jo. Younger daughter Rylee is an eighth-grader and quite an athlete in her own right, and 8-year-old Case is a second-grader at Marlow elementary.
Jon works for National Livestock at the OKC stockyards, and Paula is an occupational therapist for Duncan Regional. Maci’s grandparents are Art and Sue Wheeler of Duncan, Jim and Peggy Barton of  Marlow, and Bill and DeAnn Pollard of Norman.
Maci’s extracurricular activities include Student Council and Random Acts of Kindness.
Her involvement in sports leaves little time for leisure pursuits. However, like most teenagers, she does enjoy texting, spending time with her friends, watching movies and listening to all kinds of music.
The Riches attend Chisholm Trail Church of Christ, where Maci is active in the youth group. The past two summers, she has taken part in the church’s mission outreach program for teens, which has centered on conducting Vacation Bible Schools in inner-city areas of Houston.
After finishing her studies at Marlow High in 2013, Maci plans to continue her education, preferably at Oklahoma Christian University in Oklahoma City. She is hoping for an athletic scholarship in at least one of her chosen sports and is considering a career in dental hygiene or another field of medicine so she can serve others.
And eventually, she plans to marry and have a family.
Her deep sense of commitment should guarantee Maci a future filled with success, no matter what path she chooses to follow.