On a perfect day for racing, Taft went 1-2 against three of New England’s perennial powerhouse teams: Northfield Mount Hermon and Founders League compatriots Loomis Chaffee and Hotchkiss. For the second week in a row, Taft’s formidable middler Tate Celebi led the team — this time with an effort of 17:37. Just one Hotchkiss runner separated Tate from Taft’s next four runners: first Rory McNamara (17:57), who held on after a blistering, team-leading first mile of 5:20; then in rapid succession Ali Griswold (18:04), Augi Booth (18:06), and Huck Griswold (18:08). These five runners secured Taft’s victory over arch-rival Hotchkiss, last year’s Founders League champions, in a final team score of 24-37. Putting an exclamation point on this victory were senior captain Jude Celebi and middler Malin Adams, who pushed each other to the line in 18:17, three seconds ahead of Hotchkiss’s third runner. Not to be outdone, Taft’s JV contingent, led by upper middler Trevor Stellmach in a time of 19:45, also notched a victory over Hotchkiss (26 to 29). Following Trevor across the line were Aarav Dhodia in a PR of 21:23, Jed Spencer in 21:43, Eli Arroyo in a season debut of 22:41, Tonchok Dhanasarnslip in a PR of 23:16, Michael Ren in a PR of 24:40, and Edward Tse in a PR of 25:08. Also earning PRs were Taft’s last four finishers of the day: Sean Liao, Christian Yeung, Gavin Poon, and Steven Zhang.