It has been an eventful final week of high school for now-graduates Kaiya Kroutil and Clara Schoolland.
On Wednesday, the two Ripon High track and field standouts had a special signing ceremony held in their honor at the school’s North Gym, where they were joined by friends, family, teammates, coaches and administrators. Kroutil inked with Fresno State, and Schoolland is headed to Concordia University in Irvine.
Graduation was on Friday, and today, they’ll compete in the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Finals with a chance to qualify for the California Interscholastic Federation State Championships.
Schoolland made the state meet her sophomore year in the high jump, and while she has also played soccer for Ripon, she has known the past few years that track would be her best bet for a college scholarship.
Different story for Kroutil, a lifelong soccer player with dreams of playing the sport at higher levels. That changed after three total surgeries on ACL tears on both knees. She was encouraged by best friend Starla Skiles — a state finalist in the 100-meter hurdles now at Cal State Fullerton — to give track a try. Kroutil will soon be joining her in the NCAA Division I ranks.
“I went out and broke the school record (in the 400) in like my third race,” Kroutil said.
She hasn’t slowed down since.
Kroutil made it to the 400-meter Masters Finals at the end of her junior year. This season, she her times continued to improve. She set a personal-best 57.33-second time in the 400 during the Stanford Invitational and won the Trans Valley League and Sac-Joaquin Section Division V titles in the event. Kroutil was also third in the 200 with a personal-best time of 26.01 at the Division V finals.
She’ll be a hybrid sprinter for Fresno State, adding the 400 hurdles and 800 to her repertoire. Kroutil is proud to follow her mom’s footsteps in going to Fresno State, adding that she had always planned on committing to the Bulldogs if they were to offer her a scholarship.
“I’m so grateful, I can cry right now,” Kroutil said. “I have worked so hard, and coming back from those injuries was not easy. Getting this opportunity in a different sport was like God’s way of saying, ‘This is for you.’”
Schoolland had her ‘This is for you’ moment two years ago in Clovis, where she set the Ripon girls high jump record at 5 feet, 5 inches while placing sixth in the state.
“I was like, ‘Wow, this could actually lead somewhere,’” Schoolland said. “Before, it was kind of just a fun sport.”
And why not have fun near the Southern California coastline? Schoolland researched several schools in that area before landing on Concordia. She made multiple visits before committing last month.
Schoolland set the TVL meet record in the girls high jump at 5-5 earlier this month and won the Division V title in the event for the second time.
She showed her versatility this year, which could lead to a future as a heptathlon with the Division II Golden Eagles.
Schoolland also won the 100 during the TVL Finals and the SJS Division V title in the 100 hurdles with a personal record 15.55-second time. She also competed in the 300 hurdles, triple jump and 4x400 relay.
“I’m really excited to get to know all my new teammates,” Schoolland said. “When I visited, everyone was so welcoming, and I just wanted to be a part of it.”
