This Week in Sports - Week #31

Dave Levy, Athletic Director
You might recall the howling winds and bitter cold on December 4th. Most folks arrived at school in heavy coats, gloves, scarves and hats - and shivered when it was time to go outside to get to their next class. Only four degrees, it was not a day that the average athlete was outside training...despite the weather, the lobby of the field house was buzzing with bundled up Tandem runners - and then off they went in large groups into the dreary, cold Charlottesville darkness. Cross Country ended in early November - but our athletes are so committed to their craft that they kept showing up. Our distance runners logged heavy mileage, while the sprinters worked on technique and power. By the time the first official practice came around, our athletes were in midseason form - they have been locked in to their training - and it paid off at Woodberry on Friday afternoon!
 
The 25-26 Tandem Track and Field team has excellent leadership - seniors who have been on the team for many years and lots of athletes that are brand new to the sport. Ana is one of many athletes taking on Track and Field for the first time. For the past month, she has been learning throwing technique, working on her strength and speed while also perfecting her release. With confidence, she stepped into the Woodberry throwing circle, took a deep breath, and pulled the discus behind her. Rearing back, she let the discus fly - high and far into the distance. Ana's throw traveled 37'7" - a new personal record for her and also a Tandem School Record! Congratulations, Ana - way to hit the ground running!  
 
It was quite a day for the Badger throwers! Toby increased his Shot Put PR by over three feet - his new mark of 25'11.5" is a tribute to his work ethic! Levie (25'8"), Henry (25'1.25"), Ian (23'7.75") and Alex (21'3.5") all established new PR's as well!
Back on the track, defending Cross Country state champion Hayes toed the line with intensity and purpose when the 3200 meter race began. He worked closely with Jack B, and as the race went on, they put considerable distance between themselves and their nearest competitor - a runner from Veritas. Seems an awful lot like that wonderful day at Panorama Farms! Hayes won the race in an impressive time of 10:06, while Jack B took a massive thirty two seconds off his time from 2024! Brendan was hot on their tails, his time of 12:09 is a new PR as well - he is poised for a true breakout season! On the girls side, Lucy and Claire (who have logged an enormous number of miles this offseason) each met the state standard in their first race! Lucy (13:53) and Claire (13:59) placed third and fourth respectively!
 
Leading the warmup exercises everyday, Owen has been a strong vocal leader for our speed/power athletes already this season. On the track - he led by example - establishing new PR's in both the 100 (12.46) and the 200 (25.4). Owen has already dropped a full second off his 2024 times (that's big time in the sprints!) and set the stage for a competitive group of sprinters! Nari came through the finish in a lightning quick time of 12.2, while Ian (12.9) and Nico (15.7) made their debuts in the event. On the girls side, Maeve's Saturday workouts paid off: she crushed the 100 meters (16.5) and the 400 (1:24)! Ana ran a speedy 25.9 in the 200, while Victoria's 400 debut of 1:41 set her up for success this season! School record holder Gabriel was in midseason form - running a 58.6 second 400, and Alexander logged a speedy 1:03! Daniel (1:18) and Grayson (1:23) each took the track for the first time in the challenging quarter mile race!
 
The meet kicked off with some exciting jumps and relays! The team of Jack, Van, John and Alexander ran a 10:39 4x800 meters, each leg well under 3:00, positioning the team very close to the VISAA State qualifying mark. Over in the Long Jump pit, Asher soared through the air, establishing his steps and picking up speed on the runway! Asher's 15'2.5" and Peter's 13'7.5" are both new PR's - an excellent way to start the season!
 
In the middle distances, Miles ran 5:00 in the mile and made it look easy. "I could've run much faster," he told me, so we'll all have to stay tuned for that. He was focused on that very specific time, and he'll drop well under it in the coming weeks!  Jack J (5:23), Peter (5:27), John (5:54) picked up where they left off in XC, each running strong times to start the season! On the girls side, Eloise ran a strong 7:04 - breaking away from her pack! Julia and Laurel (7:45 and 7:50) worked together - and each earned a PR! The 800 meters featured Malena's Track and Field debut - and she did not disappoint! Malena, coming off an 8th Grade XC season where she qualified for the GPAC Championships, ran 3:17 - she has been training with Dhruvi who came through in 3:37! On the boys side, Bela (2:31), Van (2:41) and Kai (2:49) all established PR's in the event!
 
The meet concluded with an exciting 4x400 meter relay! Despite having very little rest after their 1600 and 3200 meter races, the team of Eloise, Julia, Claire and Lucy were hot on the heels of a strong team from Fredericksburg Christian - running 5:14! 
 
Congratulations to all of our Track and Field Badgers - what a way to start the season! We'll see you for Gus Lacy at Louisa County High School on April 12!
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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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