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. Loomis was just too strong for us as they placed the top 4 runners to guarantee their victory. For the second week in a row, Taft’s formidable middler Tate Celebi led the team — this time with an effort of 17:37. Taft’s next four runners included 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). Putting an exclamation point on this great effort were senior captain Jude Celebi and middler Malin Adams, who pushed each other to the line in 18:17. Loomis was also too strong for our JV contingent, led by upper middler Trevor Stellmach in a time of 19:45. 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.