JV cross country has had an amazing start to this year, and the team plans on finishing strong on Blair Day. Many freshmen have joined the team and are making significant contributions, but the veterans have really been leading the way. The first race of the season was the 11th annual Jerry Hart Invitational hosted by Peddie. Although the blistering heat initially caught them off guard, the JV runners worked together and pushed each other toward the finish line.
During the next meet at The Hill School, the runners realized they needed to adapt to Hill’s fittingly hilly course. It was difficult to pace themselves running up so many hills and through so many valleys, but all Falcons finished strong and improved immensely from Jerry Hart. The next race would be on home turf.
Peddie’s duel against Lawrenceville brought amazing results. The fastest JV time of the day was an astonishing 20:37 by Leo Pan-Wang ’26, a new PR (personal record). In fact, more than half the runners ran PRs that day, demonstrating significant growth and improvement. The final race before Blair Day was hosted at Robbinsville High School.
The breezy autumn day and the flat Robbinsville course provided ideal conditions for the Falcons to run their very best. Every ninth-grade girl medaled at the MCTA Freshman XC Championships, a significant achievement for them all. Justin Zhang ’28 matched his time from the dual race at Lawrenceville, recording the Falcons’ fastest time of the day. However, the freshmen were not the only ones putting on a show. During the JV XC Championships later that same day, most Falcons finished with other Falcons right beside them. The four fastest Falcons in the JV race all finished within 30 seconds of each other.
The JV cross country team is having a remarkable season, and the annual Blair Day race is clearly in great hands. Rohan B. ’28 remarked that it was his teammates running alongside him who pushed him to run faster. Although cross country involves individual competition, the season has taught the runners the importance of team spirit and lifting others up, which yields collective success. GO PEDDIE BEAT BLAIR!!!
