Big Blue Runs to Win at Black Bear Invitational

The Andover boys continued their invitational success by claiming a team win at the Black Bear Invitational hosted by Coe-Brown Northwood Academy. Coe-Brown's challenging course and the excellent competition made it a perfect cross country fall Saturday, and the PAXC runners rose to the occasion.

JV took the course first, and despite running with a depleted group, they set the tone for the races to come with focused, sharp running. Luke Francis ('25) was first in for Andover, kicking past fellow runners on the track finish to secure fifth place overall. Following him, first-year Charlie Gillick ('27) made his 5K debut with a strong race, and his classmate, Henry Zimmerman ('27), also made his PAXC 5K debut in come-from-behind fashion, climbing up the ranks of the race impressively in the second and third miles. Elliot Weir ('26) upped his racing this weekend as PA's fourth finisher, and with memorable kicks, Yifan Kang ('24), Henry Ty ('24), and Jack Gonzalez ('27) rounded out Andover's top seven (with Ty gaining a huge PR in the process). The JV boys took third as a team.

Lining up for the last race of the day, the Varsity boys looked to improve on their strong racing from last weekend's Manchester Invitational by staying competitive throughout the 3.1-mile course. PAXC was paced as usual by incredible racing up front. Tam Gavenas ('25) continued his brilliant running, taking second in a photo finish. Max Huang ('24) continued his hot streak as well with a controlled, assured race to take fourth place overall. Next in for Andover, Robert Budzinski ('26) toughed out a gutsy finish in the last 100m of the race to capture a few more points for the team, and he was followed closely by teammates Jakob Kuelps ('25) and Luke Williamson ('25), both of whom dug deep in the last straightaway. Arun Kapoor ('25) took sixth for Andover in a strong race, and Vance Fabrizio ('24), called into the Varsity group on race day, held his own in the talented field. The Varsity boys took first as a team.

You can find full results here.

PAXC was thrilled to join the Black Bear Invitational this fall and are grateful to the meet directors for running an excellent meet. Next week, Andover will return to action on their home course in a dual meet against Choate.