Ritta Elementary students usually showcase their academic talents, but on Monday they showcased some physical talents as well.

The RES cross-country team participated in their second meet of the season and ended with 65 runners finishing the challenging race.

Ritta’s coach, Ryan Ibbotson, posted on social media:

“Proud of the 65 finishers wearing blue and green at Walters State Sevierville today in our second XC meet of the season. Our families showed up and the kids showed out! Awesome finishing times and places for the crew tonight. Cross Country is hard, y’all! These kids work and they improve and it comes with tears and struggle and a lot of ‘I can’t do this,’ but the smiles and excitement when they start shaving time and leaping in the standings … makes it so worth it!”

The cross-country team at Ritta Elementary started in 2017 as a Girl Scout project for Hannah Burkhart, then a student at West High School. Since she was a runner, her goal was to start a team at an elementary school and her brother attended Ritta.

The team started with eight runners, followed by nine in 2018 when PE teacher Ibbotson officially took it over from Hannah. In 2019 the team had grown to 14 runners and before the pandemic hit, it had reached 44 participants.

Since recovering from the pandemic, Ritta has seen the cross-country team reach 70+ runners every year!

Asked why he thought Ritta attracts so many runners, Ibbotson said, “I think the kids want to be part of something bigger – they love being part of a team! They take great pride in wearing their shirts. AND they get to go places they have maybe never been before, and see places outside Knoxville.” He added that students often don’t like the running at first, but then they see themselves improving and they start seeing success, and they fall in love with it.

Principal Shawnda Ernst added, “Mr. Ibbotson is a true champion for kids, so he is also a BIG reason our students love cross country!”

Ritta Elementary was busy last week too, hosting three days of grandparents’ lunches with almost 200 guests per day! This annual tradition coincides with the Scholastic Book Fair, which gives the grandparents another opportunity to spend more time with their students and possibly spoil them with a few goodies to take home.

Ernst said, “Many grandparents come for multiple lunch periods, so that they can visit with multiple grandkids. The fifth grade Safety Patrols help with directing guests, taking trays to the trash and taking pictures with the grandparents’ cell phones to capture the memories. Many grandparents have come for several years and look forward to this special time to spend a few minutes at their grandchild’s school.”

Everybody has a story and we want to tell yours at susan@knoxtntoday.com.