Week #4: Badgers Place Two Runners In the Top Ten Among Seventy Teams at Pole Green Classic!

Dave Levy, Athletic Director
2024 was an excellent Cross Country season for Dhruvi, but she's a different runner this season. She's 2025 Dhruvi, and she has bigger goals for this season. "I want to break 30:00 and qualify for GPAC Championships," she mentioned on a run last week, a share goal with her Co-Captain, Avery. Dhruvi has been working closely with Avery, whose work ethic is only matched by her leadership ability. For this duo to run under 30:00, they would need run around 9:45 per mile. Last week, at the Tandem Two Mile, Dhruvi ran 18:34 - 9:17 per mile.  Avery ran 16:40 - 8:20 per mile. Today, at the Pole Green Invitational, running among seventy other teams, Dhruvi and Avery each ran an even faster pace than last week - despite running a longer distance on a far more difficult course. Dhruvi's time of 28:20 (a GPAC Qualifier!) comes out 9:08 per mile - nine seconds faster than her two mile pace from a week ago! Additionally, Dhruvi dropped over TWO MINUTES off of her PR from 2024! Avery ran 25:58 - almost identical to her pace from the Tandem Two Mile - shattering her old PR of 29:29 by FOUR AND A HALF MINUTES and qualifying her for the GPAC Championships! (They're at Darden Towe on October 29. Don't miss it.)
Dhruvi and Avery are also a big part of the Tandem Girls Cross Country team goal - to win the GPAC. Today, among the seventy teams on the course, the Badgers defeated defending conference champion Fredericksburg Academy - and did so by 114 points! That's some kind of start to the season, and statement, a heck of a way for the girls team to make their invitational debut!
 
The team was led by the performance of Lucy, who moved from pack to pack throughout the race. Lucy was determined to compete - and she truly did - flying off the line and into position in the first mile. She passed well over a dozen runners during the race, finishing 32nd overall in a time of 23:41. Making her 5K debut, Maeve ran the same way she does everyday: with confidence. Trying on racing spikes for the first time, Maeve paced herself to an incredible performance - her time of 24:40 is an even faster pace than her Tandem Two Mile pace! The sky is the limit for Maeve, who led a speedy pack: Claire (25:44), Ruthie, and the aforementioned Avery (25:58). Claire and Ruthie went for it today - competing on a hilly, challenging course! Just wait until you meet the October Claire and Ruthie! Sadie (29:15) also qualified for GPAC Championships, rounding out an exceptional day for the Tandem Girls Cross Country team!
 
Coming through the mile marker in a blazing 4:40, Hayes put all of Virginia on notice. Racing the entire Pole Green Classic in the lead pack - regardless of moves and counter moves - or heat and hills - Hayes earned a new PR by SEVEN SECONDS, finishing 4th overall (with well over 200 runners in the field) in a new school record time of 15:40! Seven seconds may not sound like much, but when you're running that fast, this is a magnificent accomplishment. Oh, and Hayes did this on a challenging course in the first race of the season in hot conditions. He's ready for a breakout season - something you don't usually say about the defending state champion. Jack Blemker, his training partner, went to multiple running camps this summer - and it shows. Jack also finished in the top ten and a medal around his neck. Jack's time of 16:09 is a TWENTY FOUR SECOND PR! That and his eighth place finish in a meet of this magnitude are a tribute to all of the work he has put in!
 
Miles (17:17), Peter W (19:30), Gabriel (19:35) and Asher (19:36) closed out the Tandem Varsity Top 7 - with Asher having an incredible debut and breaking 20:00 in his first ever 5K! Brendan put everything together today. He had a breakout track season, a huge PR last week in the Tandem Two Mile, and today he did it again (get used to it!) with a massive PR of 19:58 - his first time under 20:00 - and a PR of ONE MINUTE AND FORTY SECONDS!  
 
Will also enjoyed a huge PR today, his time of 20:06 broke his previous best by 18 seconds. Will was patient and steady today - moving up throughout the race and out kicking his competition at the line! Congratulations also to Jack J (20:45), Jude (22:24), John (23:12) and Peter D (23:30). This group has been pushing it in practice - always running an extra interval - and for Peter D, this was his first ever 5K...heck of a a way to jump out of the gate!
 
What an incredible showing for the Cross Country Badgers - two in the top ten at a massive meet with seventy teams, incredible debuts for our new athletes (go Maeve, Ruthie, Asher and Peter W!) and some enormous PR's! I know I speak for the entire coaching staff when I say how incredibly proud I am of this team - what a truly hard working, motivated and team of wonderful, fun people who are moving even closer to our lofty goals. Hey, when you're the defending state champions, aim for the moon, right?
 
The team has a little break next week with Experience Days - but will return to competition on Tuesday, September 16 at 4:00 for GPAC #1 at Fredericksburg Academy. All team members will run at this meet!
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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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