At Yardley Hall, character is forged on the track as much as in the classroom. When Gerald Pennimore finds himself on academic probation, he faces more than just a deadline to raise his grades - he must prove himself worthy of the school colors he wears. As the track season heats up, Gerald must balance the shame of his probation with the burning desire to contribute to Yardley's championship hopes. His rivals become his teammates, his struggles become his strength, and every race becomes a test of will. This is schoolboy sports fiction at its most earnest: a world where friendship is forged through competition, where a boy's word means everything, and where the finish line represents something far greater than a time on a stopwatch. Ralph Henry Barbour captures the particular agony and ecstasy of adolescent ambition - the longing to be respected, to be part of something larger than yourself, to fail publicly and rise anyway. For readers who cherish the golden age of school stories, or anyone who remembers what it felt like to have everything to prove.
