Ripley’s high school and junior high cross country teams competed at the 2015 Dragon Run meet hosted by West Union High School last week and one team walked away with a title.
The boys’ junior high squad earned the victory with a score of 38 points, besting runner-up Hillsboro by nine to take home the 3200 meter team championship.
Tristen Fisher paced the Jays, finishing sixth overall and clocking a time of 14:03, less than 45 seconds off the pace of race winner Dalton Williams of Manchester.
Clinton Bartley and Nigel Royal also crossed the line in the top 10 for Ripley, finishing 15 and 16 seconds, respectively, behind Fisher. Taylor McGuffey would cross the line in 11th place to round out the top five finishers for the Jays.
On the girls’ side, Kate Dagen crossed the line first for the Lady Jays, finishing in sixth out of 16 runners and posting a time of 16:20.00. Elizabeth Cox finished 15th for Ripley, nearly eight minutes behind her teammate.
In varsity action, Josh Deaton led the Jays to a third-place finish behind Hillsboro and Manchester. Deaton clocked a 19:04 in the event, leaving him just 16 seconds shy of Manchester’s Ethan Pennywitt, the race winner.
Chris Reuss finished 13th for the Jays, with teammate Carey Wright crossing the line 18th. The Jays were three points shy of Hillsboro for second place.
Junior Kristen Abbott finished 13th in the girls’ 5000 meter event, the highest-placing Lady Jay. Fellow junior Madison Plum finished 17th, a minute and a half after Abbott.