Middle School Track Badgers Break the Tape at the Ragged Mountain Championships!
It's been eight weeks since he took the line for the first time in the 400 meters, and throughout the duration in between, Grayson has worked diligently on his knee drive, efficiency and stride turnover. This afternoon, Grayson took on the toughest competition Central Virginia has to offer. The meet featured nearly thirty teams and a large crowd at a big time venue - the University of Virginia. When the gun sounded, Grayson's reaction time was elite - he immediately began to cut in towards lane one. Once he settled into position, there were 15 athletes chasing him down - and only one ahead of him. As he made his way around the 200 meter mark, Grayson's stride length increased as he made an aggressive move - blitzing around his last remaining opponent and taking the lead. With a chorus of Tandem families and friends cheering his name, Grayson broke the tape - taking home victory in his heat of the 400 meters - and a three second Personal Record!
The Tandem 8th Graders have had the luxury of training with, and competing against, more experienced athletes. They have pushed themselves for three months - finding another gear during interval workouts, long runs, or core body strengthening. Today, for the first time this season, they got to take on their age group peers - and proved to be up to the task - dashing past middle school competition from all over Central Virginia.
This wonderful group of 8th Graders has established great routines - ranging from their sing-alongs on the bus ride (and they were HOT-TO-GO on the track today) to their focus during the warm up. As a result, when the meet began, our Badgers were locked in, focused and ready - a balance of nervous and confident - and it was impressive to watch!