Running for glory, not love: The Ring by Spring Race

Faith Hergenrather of the red team runs toward the Alpha Bell during the annual Ring by Spring Race for the Joust.
(Photo Credit: Anna Buckner)

By Lukas Nier

Traditions can be strange. Grace College has a strange engagement tradition. When a male student gets engaged, his friends take him down to Winona Lake and toss him in. Afterwards, the student must run up the hill and through campus to reach the bell outside of Alpha Hall. His fiancée waits at the bell, and he then rings the bell to announce their engagement.

This tradition is incorporated into the Joust. Every year, the Joust features a Ring by Spring Race. In the race, the competitors jump into Winona Lake and then run to Alpha and ring the bell. This year, the race happened on the night of Thursday, April 18. Andrew Cupp of the red team won for the men, and Josie Guza of the blue team won for the women.