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Volume 5 Issue 7 • June 2022
www.ScrippsRanchNews.com
This is what it takes to produce
Fourth of July
THE SCRIPPS RANCH
OLD PROS
RUN & RIDE
Volunteers
20
6 events
Port-a-potties
SRHS top scholars By Ashley Shah
K
The Scripps Ranch Old Pros are magicians when it comes to pulling off the traditional Fourth of July Run & Ride. They will launch six large running and cycling events involving around 4,000 participants in about 1½ hours early on the morning of July 4. The coordination for this achievement is nothing short of incredible. The six events will conclude in about four hours at Hoyt Park with a large celebration. This year’s events include a 10K run, 2-mile fun run, 50-mile bike ride, 28mile bike ride, 28 mile gravel ride and 12 mile bike ride.
300
50
Walkie talkies
50
4K
Wood barriers
in 4 hours participants
Celebration in Hoyt Park
2
13
Inflatable slides
100 Kegs
Booths
in beer garden
Run & Ride is back, live and in-person By John Gregory
P
articipants in the Scripps Ranch Old Pros 4th of July Run & Ride will once again spill into local streets early on Independence Day as one of the most popular community spectacles returns in full force following two years of adjusted participation due to COVID-19 restrictions. Overall, the Scripps Ranch Old Pros athletic club will hold two running events and four cycling events – all on the morning of July 4. Everything culminates with a celebratory festival in Hoyt Park. The Run & Ride includes a 10k NEWS, Pages 2-3
run, a 2-mile fun run; a 12-mile bike ride, a 28-mile bike ride, a new 28-mile trail bike ride (gravel), and a 50-mile bike ride. Members of the Old Pros will launch all these events in about 1.5 hours. How do they do it? “Years and years of trial and error – 300 members (volunteers), communication as well as coordination with the City of San Diego,” said Anthony Gonzalez, Old Pros 2022 Run & Ride Czar. The two running events begin on Red Cedar Drive in the street beside Miramar Ranch Elementary school. The street is always packed with thousands of parti•
LIFE, Pages 4-8
•
Vanessa Zhou
Kayla Xu
cipants, and the stream of runners seems to go on forever. The cycling events begin on Hibert Street at the intersection with Scripps Ranch Boulevard. The 10k run begins at 7 a.m.; the fun run starts at about 7:15 a.m.; the 50-mile bike ride starts at 7 a.m.; the gravel ride will begin at 7:15 a.m.; the 28-mile ride starts at 7:30 a.m.; and the fun ride launches at 8:30 a.m. All events end at Hoyt Park in the morning. The celebration in Hoyt Park is open to the general public and will include inflatable slides for children, concessions and venSee RUN & RIDE, Page 18
LEISURE, Pages 10-14
•
SCHOOLS, Pages 15-16
ayla Xu and Vanessa Zhou, seniors at Scripps Ranch High School (SRHS), have the highest grade point average (GPA) among all students in their 2022 senior class. These seniors shared their tips, advice and experiences in maintaining their high scholarly status:
Kayla Xu: Valedictorian 4.79 grade point average
Xu shared her experience in keeping up her high grades despite having some of her years in high school online, and some in-person. “When school was online, it was a lot harder to concentrate because there were so many distractions. However, at the same time, because we only had three classes, I was able to get a lot of work done for school and my extracurriculars,” Xu said. “Transitioning back to in-person was definitely difficult, especially since we had six classes. It was a little hard to manage all of my activities.” She conveyed her advice in keeping up with schoolwork and extracurriculars. “Don’t let things build up, stay on top of assignments as best as you can. Try to understand things when you first learn it rather than letting it accumulate,” she said. “It is also very important to understand your own limits and how much you can balance.” In her time at SRHS, Xu was involved in many clubs and sports. She was a part of Youth Care Club (YCC), a club that provides volunteering opportunities. She served as the president of the club for three years. Xu was involved in Academic Bowl for four years. She participated in Science Olympiad for four years, and was a coach for the Marshall Middle School Science Olympiad team for three years as well. “I learned that success requires every member of a team to put in their best effort,” Xu explained regarding her experience in clubs. Xu was on the tennis team for four years. She was also on the badminton team for four years, and was captain of the varsity team. Outside of SRHS, she pursued her interest in singing and music. “I founded an organization called the Young Vocal Artists’ Association,’ which provided free vocal lessons to kids in the community,” Xu said. She was also a part of the Guardian Angel Program in which she provided music therapy for patients dealing with dementia at Active Care 4S. See TOP SCHOLARS, Page 15 •
SPORTS, Pages 17-19