Painful past pushes Elijah Qualls forward 
January, 3, 2013
Jan 3
3:19
PM PT
By
Mason Kelley | ESPN.com
PETALUMA, Calif. -- Students spill out of classrooms across the Petaluma (Calif.) Casa Grande campus. They head toward parking lots, trying to avoid puddles created by the December rain in Northern California.
Faces are filled with looks of relief. The teenagers are one day closer to finishing finals and starting winter break.
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Mason Kelley
Mason Kelley joined ESPN.com in 2012 and covers Washington recruiting. Kelley came to ESPN after spending three years as the high school sports coordinator at The Seattle Times. He has written about high school, college and professional sports since 2004, working for newspapers in Florida, California, Idaho and Washington. He currently lives in Seattle and can be reached at masonkelleyESPN@gmail.com.