Week #7 - Middle School Cross Country Dominates 2nd Annual Monticello Mountain Meet!

Dave Levy, Athletic Director
Middle School Cross Country - As they rounded the final curve, Rowan and an opposing runner were separated by no more than an inch. With a mile and half behind them, Rowan's intensity was clear: she put in a big spurt as the two runners took on the final incline, and the last quarter mile was all downhill. The Peabody runner made a corresponding move, and he took the lead for just an instant, before Rowan found another gear with an unbelievable effort! As she broke the tape, Rowan narrowly edged out her competition, earning a course PR of 16:10 - blazing fast for a two mile race on a challenging course!
 
Only moments earlier, the two athletes introduced themselves and shook hands. Prior to the start of the race, Coach Julia gathered the runners from both teams - the Badgers and Panthers - or "Banthers" if you will - and after a moment of silence, she encouraged them to introduce themselves to one another. After all, camaraderie and competition go hand in hand, especially in the running community, and it was wonderful to see the two teams come together. The first Monticello Mountain Meet was held last September, designed to give our Tandem Middle School Badgers an opportunity to test out what it is like to compete. Julia traveled over to the Monticello trails and designed a fun and challenging two mile course for the team to traverse! We had such a successful experience last season that we invited another team to the mix, our South Charlottesville neighbors, and it was a lot of fun as Tandem and Peabody went head to head for the 2nd Annual Monticello Mountain Meet.
The Badgers placed five of the top seven runners, resulting in an impressive score of 21 (low scores are better in Cross Country) and earned a decisive victory. Like a gazelle, Robert took gold this afternoon, crossing the line in a time of 14:46! In addition to being the first finisher, Robert also dropped a FULL MINUTE off his time from 2025 on the same course! Clyde, finishing second, also showed incredible growth - Clyde's time of 15:48 is FORTY FIVE SECONDS faster than his time from last season! What an effort from our lead runners!
 
It is easiest to compete in a pack, and Fletcher (15:40), James (15:43) and April (15:44) worked together throughout the challenging two mile course. Taking on the hills with absolutely no fear, this pack increased their turnover on the way up and opened up their strides on the way down! The result was a massive improvement - Fletcher dropped A MINUTE AND A HALF while James knocked off TWO MINUTES! For April, her debut on the course was pretty special - she has quite the cross country career ahead of her!
 
Focused and determined, Eleanor negative split the race this afternoon, meaning she ran the second half faster than the first! When Eleanor hit the second lap of the big field, she found another gear entirely, pushing herself to a new course PR of 17:20 - ONE MINUTE AND A HALF faster than she ran in 2025! She worked closely with Daniel, a strong and consistent runner, who completed the race under twenty minutes! Daniel's time of 19:48 is an incredible performance for only his second Cross Country race - and first on a two mile course!
 
The pack of Willow (24:50), Emma (25:01) and Anya (26:25) continues to impress. They have worked incredibly hard in practice - whether they are doing intervals on the field or long runs off campus, this trio has continued to improve. Emma, one of our 8th Grade leaders, led the team warmup and provided some key advice prior to the race. Alden ran with this crew as well, running a lap of the course in 18:40! 
 
Congratulations to our Middle School Cross Country Badgers - the team ran hard, showed great sportsmanship and an enormous amount of improvement. An enormous thank you to Coach Julia - thanks for such an amazing course design and for your ambassadorship to the world!  Thanks also to Coach Butch and to all of the families for their help and support serving as course marshals today!
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Tandem Friends School is a co-ed Quaker day school for grades 5-12 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
 
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