Things are looking up for Vallivue High School’s cross country team this year. As one of the many fall sports teams at this school, cross country has always been a difficult and rewarding activity for students to participate in. This year, the team has already been built up to a full JV and Varsity team for both boys and girls. In interviews with the coaches and the athletes, everyone expressed their excitement for a successful season.
Head coach Robert Thomas believes that the team’s biggest strength lies in how close they are as a group. Thomas stated, “From our first runner to our fifth, sixth, and seventh runners… it’s going to be less of a time interval.” Assistant coaches Leslie Babbel and Andrea Ritthaler expressed that the team is full of friendships that hold everyone together and push them all farther. To prove this, Ritthaler stated, “When one goes out a little bit harder they try to stick together.” All three of the coaches felt that this year’s team is of average size when compared to previous years. Assistant coaches Ritthaler and Babbel are both waiting as the season progresses to see improvement from the athletes and see all their hard work pay off. Thomas believes this work will be shown at the end of the season when both teams reach their goal of making it to the state championship meet.
Ritthaler left the Vallivue school district at the end of the 2022 school year. She taught and coached in the West Ada school district for two years before returning to the Vallivue school district for this upcoming school year. When asked why she returned to Vallivue High School to coach she had a touching response. Ritthaler stated, “I do enjoy working with Robert and being able to coach the seniors, because I coached them as freshmen, and now seeing them as seniors is really fun.” She also said, “I consider Vallivue home, so it’s nice to be home and be back where it feels comfortable.”
Liliana Valdez, a senior on the girls’ cross country team has been running for Vallivue High School for four years on top of her experience running cross country for Vallivue Middle School. She is an incredibly dedicated athlete, and because of this, her coaches expressed how proud they were of her. In an interview with Valdez, she communicated her hope that the girls team will make it to state this year because they missed the opportunity by one point during districts last year. She said that this year it is likely that they will make it because many of the girls on the team should have good state qualification times. She also discussed that over the past four years, her team has gotten closer, becoming better friends and more like a family. She said that this year, however, there are a lot more seniors and upperclassmen than there are freshman, which has made it so that there is a “distinct separation between the two groups, so it’s not as tight-knit as it has been in the past.” Valdez expressed her excitement that Vallivue is hosting two cross country meets this year. She described racing and going on long runs as her favorite part of the sport, and noted that she has been so lucky to get to see all of her cross country friends again this year and run with them.
Ethan Willamson is a freshman now on Vallivue’s cross country team. Despite running cross country in middle school, he discussed the fact that high school cross country is different in many ways, as they are allowed to run off campus more often and also run more miles. Williamson said that so far, cross country has been fun, especially because of the community and how it has improved his health. As the season progresses, he hopes to achieve a sub 18 minute 5k, which is approximately 3.11 miles. Williamson expressed his fear of getting injured during the season, which is an issue that many cross country athletes have dealt with in previous years. He joined cross country because, as he stated, “My brothers both did cross country and I wanted to join cross country and try it out and see how it was.” He has been enjoying the sport so far and believes that he will continue to run.
Tucker DeFord, a senior and three year member of Vallivue’s cross country team, emphasized the fact that because it is his last year in cross country, the season will be especially rewarding for him. He said, “My favorite part of cross country would probably be the inside jokes, the friendships and relationships that are built.” These relationships, according to DeFord, will continue to grow this year. The team, he emphasized, has matured over the years, to the point where the competition is not about them individually but is instead about helping and encouraging each other. He stated that “We’re going to work on this together, run together, focus on this together. Not individually.” This year, with the majority of the team being seniors, DeFord believes that the team will be more lighthearted and focused on enjoying the season and continuing to build their relationships rather than competing and going to state. The team will get to accomplish great things, but what DeFord is most looking forward to is getting his senior basket, a basket full of gifts that are given to every senior at the end of the season. His goal for this year is to break 18 minutes for his 5K, the same goal that Williamson discussed.
Overall, Vallivue High School’s cross country team should be very successful this year, giving the athletes a valuable opportunity to excel in their sport and build relationships to last a lifetime. The team’s first cross country race of the year was on Saturday, August 24 at Bishop Kelly High School, where the team held their ground and had a successful first race.
