Week #9 - Tandem Depth Leads the Way at RMA (and shout out to MS Volleyball - they beat STAB on the road!)

Varsity Cross Country - Calm and efficient, Eve used even, smooth strides as she made her way up the hill towards the mile mark. Positioned in 18th place, she kept her eyes up on the competition.  As Eve approached the first downhill, she increased her pace, moving up three places. After a hairpin turn, Eve used short quick strides to move from 15th place into 12th on a tough uphill. Over the course of the second mile, Eve gained confidence - and ran faster - not showing any fatigue. She is in amazing shape!  In the final mile, she moved into 9th - her first time running in the top ten this season! Eve ran negative splits (the second half faster than the first) and earned a new PR - 27:41 - her best time of the season by 37 seconds! This performance positions her to have even more success at Darden Towe in a few weeks when Tandem hosts the GPAC Championships! Eve has grown as a runner throughout the season and is now a force to be reckoned with - passing ten athletes during the race!
As Tyler rounded the final curve and made his way toward the finish, his stride and cadence changed. With his eyes on the clock, Tyler was determined to reap the benefits of all the hard work he has put in this season - and he delivered a performance to remember! Tyler's time of 30:15 is a forty three second PR - and TWO MINUTES faster than he ran at GPAC #3 last season! Tyler does every workout with a positive attitude, always cheers on his teammates and has earned this moment! Congratulations to Tyler - breaking 31:00 for the first time - and doing it in style! We are proud of you!
 
While many of our runners were preparing for the Ragged Mountain Cup tomorrow, Tandem held their own at RMA. Asher (20:24), Ethan (20:40) and Peter (21:31) all made podium appearances for the first time this season - finishing 4th, 5th and 10th respectively! All three of them are new to the team (and Ethan is only in 8th grade) - the future is incredibly bright!
 
Closing out the top 5, Alexander (13th) and Zeke (14th) each outperformed their 2024 times! Alexander ran 22:22 (22:58 last season) while Zeke finished in 22:37! Both athletes pushed themselves on all of the rolling hills (and there were many) truly competing as they passed their competition. On one occasion, I mentioned to Alexander that the runner 20 meters in front of him was running the same pace - and he put in a spurt to join him. Alexander beat that runner by a minute!  Daniel also had a stellar race, building off of his performance on Saturday. Flying through in 27:00, he ran a full minute faster than his 2024 time at GPAC 3! 
 
Eve and Sadie led the girls' squad today, and they both did it with negative splits. As previously referenced, Eve had a new PR, and Sadie (27:19) ran faster than her 2024 time - one of her best and most competitive races of the season!
 
The girls have improved dramatically since October 14, 2024. The 2025 version of Dhruvi is THREE MINUTES faster than she was last year, finishing today in 27:48. Alice broke 30 for the fourth time this season (29:20) and Annie dropped TWO MINUTES off her 2024 time, flying through the chute in 30:14, and working closely with Laurel, who moved up throughout the race! Laurel's time of 30:18 is a 21 second improvement on her time from this meet last season!
 
Cheers to Hattie, who continues to show an enormous amount of talent and potential. Hattie (28:33) is already finishing in the top 20 of the GPAC, and she's only a 9th Grader. Victoria churned out her second awesome race in four days (33:10) - proving, yet again, that she is a real runner now. Congratulations on a historic season, Victoria! Ana nearly matched her PR, finishing in a time of 40:00 even.
 
Absent eight boys and four girls, the Tandem boys finished second and the girls third at GPAC #3 at RMA, defeating Quantico, Foxcroft and Highland. An impressive showing for our team as we move towards the postseason. Tomorrow, the other running Badgers are off to the Ragged Mountain Cup at Panorama Farms. See you then!
 
Special shoutout to Middle School Volleyball, defeating STAB in straight sets!  Varsity Basketball, Middle School Soccer and Middle School Volleyball have all beaten STAB in the last two weeks!
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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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