Week #10 - Badgers Bring Home Hardware Against the Best in the United States

Tandem dominated Veritas by over 150 points, finishing 13th out of 40 teams - and that was without Hayes, who ran in the Showcase Division. Running nearly dead even splits and moving up 28 places from the 1K mark to the end of the race, Jack earned a special performance today. Finishing under the elite threshold of 18:30, he ran 18:28 - a tribute to the way he has been smashing workouts the last few weeks. Sheesh Jack, 18:28 is serious business!

 

While most of their peers were fast asleep, last Saturday at 7:30 in the morning, Jack and Jude ran side by side on the track at CHS - knocking out ten 300-meter intervals - consistent as can be. 60. 60. 60. 60 - just book it on your watch. Showing a new level of focus, Jude has been pushing his pace in practice, including the aforementioned optional Saturday workouts, and the proof is in the pudding. Jude passed SIXTY SIX RUNNERS today and he earned a FULL MINUTE PR this afternoon, running 20:00 - his first time under 21:00! Congratulations, Jude - 20:00 is a different level of Cross Country running altogether! He is just getting started - wait until you meet November Jude!

 

As Hayes stood on the sideline, the announcer introduced the field for the Showcase Division. His competition included two of the three best runners in the United States, from Washington and Oregon respectively, who have each run 14:20 twice. Like Hayes, both of those athletes were undefeated coming into this race. Racing alongside fifteen athletes who have already run under 15:00, Hayes settled right into the moment. He ran a super smart first 1000 meters, positioned himself in the top 30, and only got faster from there. The conditions were challenging - the course was slippery, it rained the whole time, and it was cold!

 

As a result, those top athletes were nowhere near their PR's - only two of them were able to get under 15:00.  Hayes took advantage, settling into a highly manageable first mile of 4:55. He hung around in the chase pack, and then, recognizing that he had some extra reserves, passed 11 runners in the final 1000 meters! Hayes finished in the top 20 in one of the most decorated fields in the country. His time of 15:28 is only eight seconds over his PR despite the rainy conditions, and his performance placed him within the top 5 of Christ School, meaning that he is just as good as the best team in the nation. Hayes ran six hours ahead of everybody else, and could have gone home and dried off, but he is just as exceptional a teammate as he is a runner, and that is not his style.

 

That epic class of 2027 kept coming. Miles' time of 17:15 earned him 22nd in the Varsity Division and a huge Virginia Showcase medal. MILES IS BACK! Meanwhile Peter W dominated the home stretch to earn a new PR of 17:42! Additionally, Alexander (21:01) and Zeke (21:03) both ran a full minute faster than their times at Pole Green in September!

 

Running without Hayes, the boys still earned 13th place out of 46 teams in the Varsity Division, easily defeating STAB and Blue Ridge. The future is bright: Peter D's incredible 17:59 was a massive part of our success - he broke 18:00 for the second meet in a row! In the JV Division, Ryan looked super fast - and he dropped a FULL MINUTE off his previous PR, running 21:14 and breaking 22:00 for the first time! Only an 8th Grader, Ryan is poised for an excellent career! Nico's 21:02 was a TWENTY ONE SECOND PR, while Daniel (24:23) nearly matched his time from Pole Green in September. 

 

Holden has been coming all season. He made his 5K debut at the VTCA Invitational a few weeks back, and completed the 5K course in under 30:00. It was not easy, as Holden pushed himself to his limits - that is - his limits back then. Obviously, Holden is capable of so much more now after a month of strong training! Today, he made his first appearance at Pole Green Park, and sloshed through the mud in spikes for the first time! Looking stronger and more confident than ever before, Holden hit the mile mark at 8:30, and just kept cruising. He ran this race with purpose, and pride, the result of months of hard work. His time of 25:38 is a FOUR MINUTE PR - a memorable performance!

 

Congratulations to our Varsity Boys Cross Country team on a tremendous day at one of the largest meets in the country. Tandem is elite - earning a top 20 performance in the Showcase Division, and another top 25 in the Varsity Division. Additionally, the PR's the Badgers saw today are going to be critical for their confidence and position as we move forward. Well done, Tandem Boys XC! We'll see you on Tuesday for Senior Day at Darden Towe Park at 4:30!

 

Varsity Girls Cross Country - Victoria came into the season with lofty goals and has stopped at nothing to achieve them. Progress in Cross Country is not linear and as Victoria has gotten stronger, it has become more challenging for her to pace herself. After all, she has all of this new-found speed! After each race, she has taken some time to reflect. A few weeks back, at Panorama Farms, she made a point of running a conservative first mile - part of the reason she looked so strong in the third mile -and ran a big PR! Today, Victoria did something super challenging: she ran nearly even 1000 meter splits (1K: 4:58. 2K 5:00. 3K: 5:04. 4K: 5:02. 5K: 5:05)! As a result, Victoria put together her best race ever - her time of 25:09 is a PR of ONE MINUTE FORTY FIVE SECONDS - something that even Victoria agrees is worthy of celebration! Congratulations!

 

The Varsity Girls Badgers ran late in the day - on a course that was essentially a muddy blanket - and still had strong performances across the board! Lucy, nearly matching her Pole Green time, led the way for the team in a time of 23:33. Her final stretch was super exciting - Lucy narrowly dusted the competition out-kicking an opposing runner by .1 seconds!  

 

Dhruvi, Laurel and Alice smashed their Pole Green times from September - by ONE AND TWO MINUTES respectively. For Dhruvi, her time of 25:35 is a minute faster than she ran in September, and nearly matches her PR, run in November of last season (and November is coming)! Laurel's 30:35 is  a FULL MINUTE faster than her time from September as she continues to improve - making that 30:00 range look easy! Alice dropped the most time - TWO MINUTES off of her September time, running 26:11! Steady and strong, Alice moved up ten places over the course of the race! November Alice is going to be remarkable - stay tuned!

 

Congratulations to all of our Varsity Girls Cross Country Badgers - you rose to the occasion on a muddy course and achieved at a high level. The team will be back in action on Tuesday at 5pm for our home invite at Darden Towe - and the Senior Day ceremony to follow. See you there!