Cross country is not for the faint of heart. It requires intense and consistent training to increase endurance, speed and strength; it is not enough to have one quality alone. In a similar fashion, success in the sport itself requires a combination of each team member’s efforts and different skill sets. For Peddie’s Varsity Cross Country members, this means viewing every practice, workout, run and race as an opportunity to continue to not only improve one’s personal abilities but also grow together as a team. 

Practices consist of a wide variety of exercise forms, including both long and short runs, team lifts and cross-training swimming sessions. The practice schedule spaces these out to ensure healthy and safe training, with more intense workouts such as 6-11 mile distances or hill distances being interspersed with easier runs. Sometimes, faster workouts are completed on the track. Long runs are made interesting and even more valuable by the changing of location, which gives runners different environments to experience and prepares them for the assorted courses they encounter throughout the season. Meets are usually 5K races, with the top 5-7 finishing runners’ placement numbers being added together for a full team score. The lowest team score wins. 

Guiding their team members through every race and practice are varsity co-captains Sophie Winn ՚26, Matilda Khardashi ՚25, Baker Pott ՚25 and Matt Luo ՚25; and head coaches Mr. Edwards and Ms. Facey. When asked how he felt stepping into such a big leadership position, Baker Pott ՚25 replied, “Being a captain on this team has always felt like something I was supposed to do.” Pott recalled how he had looked up to his captains during his freshman year at Peddie, and remarked, “I think that having mentors like this when you first step onto campus really shapes the type of person you become at Peddie. During my junior year, I realized that it was my responsibility to lead and guide the younger members of the team.” 

Regardless of whether they possess the title of coach/captain or not, all of the members of the varsity team learn to take initiative and be leaders, which starts with trust and support for one another in all aspects of the sport. As with all sports, the main focus for cross country is fostering a good team dynamic. This is especially important for cross country, which has such a large team (a full varsity roster may be found at the bottom of this article). For example, during preseason, the athletes participated in a variety of team bonding activities, including a beach trip, playing mini golf and having a team dinner. During the official fall season, however, the team keeps their spirits high and good feelings plentiful through smaller but no less meaningful actions, such as playing music and games during long bus rides to away meets or having a Halloween costume contest. For cross country, it’s the little things that matter.

Like every sport, cross country also comes with its fair share of challenges and ups and downs throughout the season, but the team makes sure each member continues to feel included and supported. When asked what her favorite part of the 2024 season has been, varsity runner Charis Chien ՚27 said, “Although I was out of the season for most of this fall, there would be times that I was able to run again with the team. And I remember one time I came on the bus everybody started cheering for me because I was cleared to run again with them after a long time. I think XC [has] a really special team dynamic, and of course, Matt Luo breaking us down as PXC is always so wholesome.” 

For Varsity Cross Country, although they are always striving for a team win, it isn’t the outcome that matters. Adopting a growth mindset and continuing to improve with each other is most important. Head coach Mr. Edwards felt that this attitude towards reaching success was the best part of being a team runner, saying, “I love that someone can join the group without any experience and having only a desire to improve. I love to see folks start with our novice group, get a taste of success (whatever that looks like for them), and then decide that they want to push themselves to get better even more. […] I love that we have a group of coaches who care deeply about the runners and that we have runners who enjoy spending time together. All of that makes being a part of this team so enjoyable and rewarding.”

Fall 2024 Varsity Cross Country Roster

Courtney Cane ’25

Charis Chien ’27

James Hamnett ’25

Ananya Hari ’25

Landen Jefferson ’25

Matilda Kardhashi ’25

Eliza Lamar ’25

Yucheng Li ’26

Carolina Lopez-Watt ’25

Matthew Luo ’25

Molly Olds ’25

Dylan Patel ’25

Baker Pott ’25

James Radigan ’25

Theo Salapatas ’27

Ethan Sbarro ’26

Arnav Shankar ’28

Jack Stewart ’25

Rishi Swaminathan ’25

Olivia Timmerman ’27

Annie Wang ’27

Sophie Winn ’26