This Week in Sports #3 - XC Two Miler

The Badgers logged an enormous number of miles this summer - together at the Monticello Trail, at running camps, or on their own flying around Charlottesville. Everybody loves a good underdog story - but the defending state champions are far from that: this team is led by seasoned veterans who understand what it takes to be great. This afternoon, on their home course in front of an incredible crowd, the 2025 Badgers took on both STAB and Monticello, setting the tone for what is going to be an incredible season.

Victoria was among the runners enduring the hot and steamy weather in early July, and she pushed herself to climb all the way to the top of the hill and peer into the windows of Jefferson's home. After making her debut as a 400 meter runner in the spring, Victoria made a wonderful proclamation: "I am going to join the Tandem Cross Country team!" Today, after months of grueling training, Victoria showed off exceptional determination, completing the two-mile course in a new Personal Record (PR) of 23:37.  With her arms pumping and a consistent stride, Victoria did not even consider stopping for one single moment - instead, she ran the whole entire race with patience and confidence - inspiring her teammates with a race to remember.

 

We spent Wednesday's practice focusing on pack running. Cross Country is a difficult sport, and the girls have lofty goals for this season, which can only be accomplished if they work together as a team. While Monticello currently enrolls approximately 1,000 more students than Tandem Friends, the Badgers showed off incredible teamwork enroute to an exciting victory over their much larger neighbor... Tandem had four finishers in the top ten! 

 

Lucy returns as one of the top runners in the area and she set the tone for her teammates today. She was constantly in a battle for position with the top runners from STAB and Monticello, but she remained calm, weaved her way around them, and got stronger as the race went on.  Lucy (7th) finished in a strong opening season time of 15:24. Senior Co-Captain Claire, Lucy's training partner, never takes any shortcuts. No matter what, she runs hard in every workout - and today she took on every challenge that came her way. An opponent who passed her on the hill? Claire then flew by on the way down, leaving them in the dust. A pack surrounded her? Claire (8th) found some space and opened her stride, finishing in an impressive time of 16:23. Making her cross country debut this season, Maeve (9th) did not miss a single optional summer workout or preseason run, and she has put together quite an endurance base! Today she went out hard, with a smile and no idea what she is capable of. Maeve got stronger as the race went on and it was truly hard to believe it was only her first race! Maeve (16:40) finished right with Senior Co-Captain Avery (10th, 16:40) as the Badgers showed off exceptional depth! Cheers to Avery who has put in consistent, strong work over the summer - she dropped over THREE MINUTES off of her time from 2024, she is in fantastic shape and is ready for a true breakout season! Additionally, she is a tremendous leader!

 

Closing the door on Monticello, Ruthie (17th) finished as Tandem's final scoring runner. Making her Cross Country debut, Ruthie has impressed from the very beginning - completing every workout with grit and toughness and always surprising herself! Today, she navigated the perils of being a rookie - pacing, hills, race strategy... and finished in a new PR of 17:40! What an incredible first race for such a special athlete!

 

Our next Badger pack featured Sadie (18:06) and Dhruvi (18:34.) Dhruvi truly pushed herself today and dropped over FOUR MINUTES off her time from 2024. As I often tell her, she's not the 2024 version of herself anymore... and wait until you meet September Dhruvi - she is going to be incredible! Alice (20:08) also had a consistent and strong first race, working closely with Annie (20:30), Eve (20:33), Laurel (20:50) and Malena (21:09) and Ana (25:55). .Annie dropped twenty seconds off her time from 2024, while Alice, Eve and Ana established new PR's! Laurel and Ana had a beautiful moment at the end of Laurel's final lap, holding hands and working together as Laurel finished and Ana went on to establish a new PR. Love the teamwork! Welcome to Cross Country!  

 

Congratulations to the Tandem Girls Cross Country team on a great start to the season - they are locked in, working exceptionally hard. There is no doubt that this is going to be one of the best girls teams in Tandem history - and I can't wait to train with them and see what they accomplish!

 

Regardless of the caliber of the competition, Hayes, Jack Blemker and Miles are three of the best runners in Virginia. This afternoon, against two much larger schools, their inner light shined bright. While it is true that this trio has considerable talent, their success is primarily based on the incredible amount of work they put in this summer - often running twice a day. Just last week, in the final stretch of their twelve mile long run, they decided to pick up the pace - dropping to a 5:30 pace for their last few miles. They have taken on leadership roles, vocally and by example, and dominated the field this afternoon. 

 

Defending his Tandem Two Mile individual title, Hayes blasted through the line in a lightning quick time of 10:34. Jack, his training partner, was second in 10:47 - a full FORTY seconds faster than his time from a season ago. Miles finished third - his time of 11:17 is TWENTY FIVE seconds faster than his 2024 time, and have you ever seen a smoother stride? 

 

While Monticello snuck in the next few runners, between Tandem's aforementioned lead pack and our exceptional pack 4-7 runners, the Badgers won the meet for the second year in a row. Peter W (12:22) looked incredibly strong, dropping FIFTY SECONDS off his previous best. Gabriel (12:34), Brendan (12:35) and Asher (12:35) were hot on his tail - and the Badger's entire team of scorers and displacers were already through the chute! Gabriel's time is a FORTY second improvement while Brendan dropped TWO MINUTES off his 2024 time. Brendan is an entirely different runner - he put in significant training during the winter, had a great track season in the spring, logged serious mileage of the summer - and he is ready to take on the world. For Asher, this was his first meet ever, and he is a huge asset to the team and is going to be an amazing runner! 

 

Outstanding teamwork was the theme of the day: our next pack of Jack Johnson (13:13), Will (13:34), John B (13:43), Peter D (13:56) and Jude (14:00) have been training hard on the Monticello trails, Biscuit run, and of course the "Big Mac" loop, which encapsulates our home course. Jack dropped TWENTY SECONDS off his 2024 time, Jude took off a FULL MINUTE and Peter D put on an incredible performance for his first race of his career!

 

With his time of 14:27, Ethan is now an official member of the Tandem Varsity Cross Country team! Congratulations and welcome, Ethan! Ethan has been training hard this summer, and the last few weeks with the Middle School team, and today he showed he has what it takes to run at the highest level! He ran hard with Alexander (14:43) and Zeke (14:44) who are looking strong and are in for a great season!   

 

Massively improved from his 8th Grade season, Nico had one of the largest PR's of all. In 2024, Nico ran 19:37. Today, he ran 15:05 - A FOUR AND A HALF MINUTE improvement! Nico has been putting in the work - running hard in practice with Daniel (16:40), and today it paid off! Tyler (19:39) dropped THREE MINUTES off his Tandem Two Mile time from a season ago, running under ten minute pace and passing lots of runners throughout the race.

 

The Tandem Boys defeated Monticello (did I mention the enrollment difference?) by 11 points and STAB by 61! The Badgers defended their Tandem Two Mile title - the first step in the exciting road that is going to be a historical season! Congratulations to all of the Tandem boys on their victory full of strong performances, great pack running and lots of PR's!

 

 

I could not be prouder of the efforts of our exceptional, hard-working cross country runners - today and every day. And wouldn't you believe it, this is just the beginning... The high volume Badgers return to action next Saturday at the Pole Green Classic. There's nowhere I'd rather be.