-Nick Bartlett
Saturday, August 6, the Ripon High cross country team woke up at the crack of dawn to make the 2 hour drive to Vacaville, Ca to race the infamous Lagoon Valley classic.  This meet is an annual race that Ripon attends.  It is home to two hills, that are famous in the cross country world for how tall and steep they are, a runners true enemy.  However, coach Calkins likes to challenge his runners and enjoys being the only TVL team to attend.

While visiting this meet and racing alongside much larger, higher division schools, Ripon XC does not attend for a PR or a team win, but a stamina building workout for runners to push themselves.  Some runners from ripon DID push hard though, winning a nice medal to wear home. Senior Alex Norling placed 3rd overall racing against some top runners, and Junior Ellie Waters and freshman Kayla Thompson placed within the top 40 for varsity girls and also earned a medal.

All runners ran a hard race, and survived another meet, making the league course seem like a breeze, increasing chances of running harder, and hopefully, working for state.