Week #9 - Record Setting Day for Tandem VarsityCross Country at the Ragged Mountain Cup (and for MS Cross Country - winning at Grymes!)

On the same day where the Middle School Cross Country team WON THE GRYMES INVITATIONAL with Clyde finishing 2nd and Fletcher taking 3rd, the Varsity Cross Country teams set several all-time Badger bests! The magic included a 40:41 for the Varsity Boys (an average two mile time of 10:28) - which shattered our 2024 time of 42:43 by TWO MINUTES! The team set a school record time, had our best ever overall team finish (4th - only CHS, AHS and WAHS placed higher) and had the highest individual finisher in school history - Hayes - who earned 3rd place overall (and it was tight - though none of the top 3 ran the same relay leg) in a decorated field! With all of the Central Virginia Cross Country powers gathered on a world-class course, the Badgers toed the line for the 2025 Ragged Mountain Cup. The only relay race of the season, each athlete runs two miles, and their teammate takes off as they cross the historic Panorama Farms finish line!
When the race began, Hayes got out like a cheetah chasing down prey. Shooting into position at breakneck speed and leaving nothing to chance, he took a massive lead. Hayes knocked out the opening mile in 4:51.  Then, running all alone, he crushed the hill back to tent-city, dazzling the Tandem crowd, before flying down the home stretch. Hayes crossed the line in 9:48 - 13 seconds faster than 2024 - and gave his team a massive lead. Running leg two, Peter took the baton ready to fly. For the first 400 meters of his leg, Peter was all alone. He took the head start and extended the lead, crushing the first mile, truly giving it all he had. Peter (11:21 - five seconds faster than last year) left the car on empty, and gave it one final sprint before setting up Miles for the third leg.  
 
Miles is having a breakout season - and an epic month of October. He ran 16:30 at the Albemarle Invitational just four days ago - and absolutely crushed his leg of the relay this afternoon. His time of 10:12 (36 seconds faster than 2024) earned him top ten among a group of elite runners - and a cool shirt to boot. He followed it all up with a casual back flip. Most importantly, Miles kept the team in the top 5 - battling with Albemarle and Western to keep Tandem in an incredibly competitive position. Such grit and toughness for a runner with 5:02/5:10 mile splits! Sheesh!
 
Jack B did the rest. He moved from 4th to 5th in an instant, tracking down his opponent in the first 400 meters. Jack finished in 10:25 (11 seconds faster than last year), and earned himself a top 25 finisher and a shirt to match with Hayes and Miles, giving Tandem three runners on the podium. Congratulations to this extraordinary relay team! At the beginning of the season, Tandem set a goal to be top 5 in this meet - and the Badgers finished 4th overall - competing against and beating massive public schools with enrollments that are twenty times the size of our upper school! To be 4th overall with 3 in the Top 25, is an incredible accomplishment for our program. Congratulations to Hayes, Peter, Miles and Jack B!
 
Lucy ran 14:18 - with DEAD EVEN SPLITS - (7:14, 7:14) and got her team off to a great start. Lucy ran with conviction, moving up constantly, running from one pack to the next. She finished strong - setting up Maeve in an excellent position. Maeve took that baton and nearly matched Lucy's time. Running 14:21, Maeve's Ragged Mountain Cup debut was worth the wait! Competing strategically, Maeve passed six runners in the last half mile, pushing herself to brand new limits! She is so ready for an epic post-season! Running third, Avery (15:35) continued to build on her tremendous senior season! Avery's PR pace is 8:08, and today she challenged herself, running 8:06 for the first mile and 7:29 for the second! It's hard to negative split this course, and it shows just how much power Avery has in her legs! 
 
"I chose you to be the anchor because you are calm in any situation," Jason told Claire as she waited for the baton. It's tricky to warm up for a race, get mentally prepared, and then stand around as your three teammates run their relay legs - approximately 45 minutes of waiting. Focused and unbothered, Claire's time of 14:46 nearly matched her 2024 performance. The queen of hills, Claire shortened her stride and increased her turnover on the way up - and lengthened her approach as she sped on the way down! Congratulations to this incredible relay team - 59:03 is the second best time in Tandem History!
 
Gabriel paced our second boys relay team, showing off both his speed and endurance. His time of 11:00 is a PR of OVER A MINUTE! Gabriel told me right away "I will NOT run the 3200 in the spring," but if he did, he'd be pretty darn good at it! (He holds the 400 meter school record - and you can't miss that speed in the home stretch!) Brendan took the baton next, making his debut in the Ragged Mountain Cup, and pushing the pace. Brendan passed over ten runners during the race, dominated the downhills, and finished in an impressive time of 11:44! Picking up where they left off on Saturday, both Jack J and Will ran 12:03 - for Will that is a FIFTY ONE SECOND PR! The Tandem B Boys relay beat 22 teams! What extraordinary depth for the Badgers!
 
The Ragged Mountain Cup is an incredible event, and a perfect tune-up for the postseason. The Badgers host GPAC Championships on October 29 at 4:00 - and this historic team will be ready. Finishing in the Top 5 at the Ragged Mountain Cup is an extraordinary feat - and I could not be more proud of this hard-working, talented team of amazing runners.
 
Congratulations to Tandem XC on a day of school and personal records, top individual finishes, an amazing team performance, a ton of joy - and an eye on the future: we'll be back at Panorama Farms for states.
Back
Tandem Friends School is a co-ed Quaker day school for grades 5-12 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
 
Copyright 2016 Tandem Friends School