On Friday, September 7, 2018, the Ridgeline Cross Country Team competed at Murray Invitational, a race held at Murray Park. The course is challenging, full of hills and different kinds of terrain, but is actually some of the runners’ favorite courses! One of the team’s newer additions, Andrew Hunting, said “Murray is a cool course, like Johnny said, ‘anything you’ll experience in Cross Country you’ll experience in Murray’, that’s how varied it is.” Andrew recently moved here from West Lake High School, and is having a great time with his new team.

There were over 35 teams racing in the open girl’s and boy’s races that day, so many that the two races had to be split into four. This would normally give Ridgeline ample time to prepare, since they were in the 2nd heat both times, but one of the buses actually broke down on the way out of the valley! However, the team kept a good attitude the entire time, even as their warmup got cut short.

As the boy’s races started, the excitement was palpable, the boys sprinting out to thunderous cheering at the sound of the gun. They continue through the course, and though it’s very tiring, everyone hangs in there. You see, the first 25 boys to cross the finish line from Ridgeline qualifies for the Bob Firman Invitational, referred to as Boise by most of the team. Boise is one of the biggest races the team is competing in this year.

As the boys near the finish line, the team is ecstatic to learn that Quinn Wright, a junior on the boy’s team, is wrestling for first place with another runner. They go back and forth for a bit, until Quinn finally breaks away and crosses the finish line in first place, followed a few places later by the Boy’s Team Captain, Duncan Hickman.

When asked what his favorite part of XC was, Duncan replied, “I love going to meets, and going and having fun with the team.”

And certainly, the team has fun. Before the girl’s race begins, they gather around and yell cheers, like ‘Trouble with a capital T’ and ‘Yo Baby Yo’, and standing there in the midst of it, you can hardly hear anything else. The girls’ cheering and joking keep the pre-race anxiety down, even if just a bit. They fall to whispers of encouragement as the teams line to begin, and at the sound of the gun, they’re off.

As each girl finishes her race, she’s hugged by her equally exhausted teammates and guided towards a water station. There are hugs all around, and it creates a fantastic atmosphere. The whole team is pleased, as one Connor Hansen, a senior in XC says, “[Murray] went really good. A lot of people loved it, had really, really good times.”

And yes, the team had great times. A lot of people PR’d (personal record); and overall, the boy’s team got third place, and the girl’s team got fourth!

Congratulations, Cross Country!