GXC Wins Interschols with Balanced Team Race
GXC traveled to Hotchkiss to compete in the NEPSTA Division I Championship race against thirteen other teams, and after a competitive race, Andover earned a team win resulting from excellent pack running.
Amelia Alvazzi ('26) raced to the top of the pack, finishing in second place overall in a brilliant, personal best performance. Anya Budzinski ('26) was next, finishing in her strongest kick of the fall to take tenth place. Captain Emma Hagstrom ('25) and Zoe von Eckartsberg ('26) worked together for the whole race, pushing each other onward. Tara Menon ('26) was fifth for Andover as she (20th), Alvazzi (2nd), Budzinski (10th), Hagstrom (15th), and von Eckartsberg (16th) all earned all-New England honors for finishing in the top 20 overall. Chloe Song ('26) and ninth-grader Hannah Jung ('28) completed the strong seven from Andover with great finishes of their own. Moving to the top of the field in the second half of the race, GXC Varsity won, scoring 62 points.
In the JV race, nine out of the ten Andover runners made their Interschols debuts. Ninth grader Ela Budzinski ('28) took the race out and ran with a determination to win, crossing the line in first overall with a new personal best time. Tayla Stempson ('26) flew in next with a huge race, running an enormous personal best, and close behind, Emma Hong ('28) took sixth overall with a great run. Tasha Bohorad ('26), the lone Interschols veteran, was Andover's fourth, and along with the next GXC finisher, Evelyn Marshall ('28), finished inside the top 20 overall. GXC JV took second place, scoring 48 points.