For those of us into running, the other fall sport is nearing the end of the season. Of course, that sport is cross country. California has always been a hot bed for high school cross country. I think part of that is the great running weather in most of the state... not too hot, not too cold... not too humid... attracts good athletes to running. Another reason is probably just the numbers of high school runners... lots of them are bound to be good. Anyway, lots of colleges recruit runners from California just as they do football and basketball players. There are some good high school runners in our area, and they're fun to watch... especially since I'm not able to see my nephew's races.
Ryan is a senior at David Lipscomb High School and is a top runner in Tennessee... one of the very best in the small school division. In fact, he won the mile at the state meet last spring. Here's a shot of him in this year's state cross country meet last weekend.
He had been pretty sick during the week but had recovered well enough to run well. My brother told me he was in 4th or 5th with about 400 meters to go and has a good enough kick he probably would have gotten third. He collapsed just before the finish line and had to crawl across to finish. Here's the amazing thing... even crawling, he finished 13th which was good enough to make the all-state team (top 14 finishers). Apparently it was something left over from being sick. He's fine now and will finish his season at the Footlocker South meet in Charlotte, NC the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I think another nephew, Tim Johnston, may fly out and run it with him. I hope they both do well... there'll be plenty of competition. 
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