Competition & Connection: Boy's Cross Country Builds Momentum in a Year of Growth

This fall, the Tabor boy's varsity cross country team demonstrated what a young but determined squad can achieve when fueled by culture, camaraderie, and steady development. The 2025 team held its competitive ground and excelled to finish with an impressive third at the NEPSTA Division 2 Championship at Williston Northampton.

For Head Coach David Friedman, the foundation of that success lies in cultivating a team atmosphere where athletes want to show up, improve, and enjoy the people around them. “For Cross Country, a strong team needs a culture that builds on excitement about developing into better runners and a desire to be around your teammates,” he explains. “Running itself isn’t often very fun, especially when you’re starting out, so having a team of individuals who want to go out and run is important.”

One of Coach Friedman’s most effective traditions is ending practices with short competitive sprints in pairs. These bursts of friendly rivalry offer runners a chance to push themselves while strengthening bonds. “It’s meant to be a competitive outlet for them,” Friedman says, “while still being friends as soon as the sprint ends.”

This blend of competition and connection helped the group rise quickly. With seniors graduating in large numbers after last season, Tabor entered the fall with a noticeably younger roster. Yet the team delivered standout performances with Aidan Pearsall ’26, Amaro Castillo ’28, and Charlie Jackivicz ’26, each earning both All-ISL and All-New England honors, and Seif El Gazzar ’27 receiving Honorable Mention All-New England. Their successes reflect a roster with growing confidence and rapidly improving talent.

Friedman sees the momentum continuing and notes, “Our current sophomores and juniors have gotten a lot better over the fall and are ready to fill the shoes of the departing seniors.”

Captains Charlie Jackivicz ’26 and Merrick Brannigan ’26 both finished their final fall season with deep pride in what the team accomplished.

Jackivicz reflects on the emotional weight of the season’s finish saying, “Four years of hard work was sent off with a plaque and a round of applause, and I could not be prouder of the team for giving that to us.” He credits the coaching staff for laying the groundwork for success. “A strong, rigorous training schedule from Coach Friedman and Coach Madden contributed most to our success, and drills like tempo repeats and extra core built up each runner well.”

Looking ahead, he hopes next year’s squad keeps a resilient mindset. “When you don’t make the time you want or the place you want, don’t let it detract from your sense of self. When you get knocked down, get back up again.”

Brannigan echoes the power of collaboration. “Cross country can easily be considered an individual sport, but instead, the team trained together and, as a result, improved together,” he says. Despite a wide range of abilities on the roster, the group’s collective momentum propelled their results.

He also highlights a key strategic decision from the coaching staff: training through regular-season meets. “We would typically be going into those meets a bit tired and never at 100% strength,” Brannigan explains. “Though this may seem counterintuitive, this strategy saved our strength for the races that really mattered."

The payoff came when it mattered most. “It was rewarding to end the season with a 3rd place finish at NEPSACs, when all our runners were finally racing at full strength.”

As he prepares to graduate, Brannigan offers advice for those who will carry the torch next year. “Seek the joy in running, because success in cross country isn’t just about speed. It’s about finding a community on the team, building endurance, overcoming hardship, maintaining well-being and mental health, and enjoying every run.”