Garippo prepared for memorable senior year at Eastern

Kaitlin Cordes, Cross-Country Reporter

 

This cross-country season has already shaped up to be a memorable one for senior Ruth Garippo.

Garippo said she came into the 2016 season in the best shape of her life. She worked all summer to maintain the fitness level needed to compete during the school year.

“I worked really hard this summer to stay in shape and become the runner I know I can be, and it has being paying off a lot so far this season,” Garippo said.

Garippo has been one of Eastern’s top five finishers in all three of the team’s meets so far this season. She posted her fastest time of the three competitions at Notre Dame, finishing in 17 minutes, 56.1 seconds.

Garippo said one of the biggest challenges of her senior season has been realizing her true capabilities.

Every morning, she reminds herself to run and do everything with a purpose, just as coach Erin Howarth has taught her to do.

Garippo said she is the one person who can control her determination and avoid negative thoughts.

“I have high expectations for myself this season and this year, and I have to remind myself that I can only be as great as I let myself be,” Garippo said. “Therefore, I can’t let mental distractions get in the way.”

Garippo does not want these distractions or doubts to get in the way of the goals she’s set for herself this season either. She said she would like to win the conference championships in both cross-country and track, personally win the steeplechase in the conference meet for another year in a row and break the school record in the steeplechase.

Achieving these goals may be a little easier for Garippo with her sister Rachel running by her side.

“Running with Rachel has helped me so much, especially this past year,” Garippo said. “I always have someone to run with when she’s around, and we have the same capabilities, so we can go the same pace…”

The two have been running together for Eastern all four years in both track and cross-country, but they will be separated come spring. Rachel will graduate in December and will not participate in track.

Garippo admitted that she will feel somewhat lost without her sister as a teammate this coming spring.

The Garippos are often mistaken for twins, but Garippo said they are actually part of a triplet set. Their sister Hannah runs for Northern Illinois University.

Garippo’s running career began while she was a sophomore at Lake Park High School in Roselle, Illinois. She started running to stay in shape for basketball, which was the sport she wanted to continue well beyond high school.

However, Garippo soon realized she enjoyed running much more than playing basketball and there was more of a future for her in running in college than playing basketball.

Balancing school and sports has become second nature for Garippo. She keeps a strict routine when it comes to waking up and going to bed.

She said she keeps herself organized by working on assignments ahead of time and writing out checklists everyday to ensure the most important tasks get done.

Garippo is an Accounting major and will be graduating in May 2017.

After graduation, Garippo will join the Financial Services Tax group for Ernst and Young, a job she lined up after interning for the company in the summer of 2016.

Kaitlin Cordes can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]