Tripp completes awesome cross country season with 31st-place finish at state meet

  Salem's resurgence in girls cross country this fall was a team-wide effort, but junior Victoria Tripp played a big role in the Rocks' most-accomplished season ever.

  Paced by Tripp's 31st-place finish, Salem placed eighth at Saturday's Division 1 state meet. Tripp was a consistent force for the Rocks, who won the KLAA championship and placed second at the Division 1 Regional race.

  Tripp took a few minutes Tuesday night to discuss the season with PlymouthCantonSports.com's Ed Wright.

ED WRIGHT: Talk about your season. Did you exceed or meet your expectations?

VICTORIA TRIPP: At the beginning of the season I didn't expect to do as well as I did. One of my goals was to break 19 minutes. I didn't do it, but I came close; hopefully, next year.

EW: Talk about the team's success. Why was it so good this year?

VT: Everybody pushes everybody else to do better. We all worked hard and our captains did a great job of keeping us focused. Once practice started, nobody goofed around.

EW: What is it you like about running?

VT: You can forget about your worries and focus on achieving goals. I love the thrill of victory, too, and meeting great friends.

EW: What will your training regimen be like now that the season is over?

VT: I'm going to take a break from running for a while. I'm not sure how long; I have to check with my track coach. I don't want to take too much time off. Last winter, I'd meet some girls after school and we'd run, no matter what the weather was like. One day we ran in snow that was about a foot deep.

EW: Was it frustrating coming so close to earning All-State honors at the state meet (Tripp finished 31; the top 30 placers are considered All-State?

VT: I was sad because I came so close, but I didn't expect to finish as low as I did, so in that way I was kind of happy. When I entered the stadium at the end of the race, somebody shouted to me that I was 36th, and I was able to pass a group ahead of me. I'm proud of the fact I didn't slow down and give up.

EW: Are you relieved the season is over or sorry it's over?

VT: Physically, I'm relieved. My knees were starting to hurt a little and I was sore all over the past few weeks. But I'm going to miss seeing all the girls every day. During the season, I'd see them more than I saw my own family, so I'll miss that.

EW: The team is only losing one runner to graduation (senior captain Jordyn Moore). What are your thoughts on next year?

VT: I'm excited, but I know it's not going to be easy. We have to keep working hard. Northville has a lot of young runners who are fast, so if we want to win the league again and continue to do well, we have to keep pushing ourselves and one another.

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