The journey back to New Balance Nationals was a challenging one for Phillips Academy star Tam Gavenas of Andover.
For one of the top distance runners in the United States, when he left the track, the work had just begun.
“I worked really hard —literally—to get to Nationals,” said Gavenas. “The kind of traveling that’s expected of nationally competitive track athletes is financially prohibitive for a lot of families. I was cleaning dorms for two weeks to earn the money to go there. So, while I might not have been well-rested, I was highly motivated to see all that sweeping and scrubbing pay off.”
Despite a winter and spring plagued by injuries, and the challenging work leading up to his final high school meet — which also includes working alumni events and giving tours — the Harvard track recruit delivered once again.
Gavenas took home All-American honors over the weekend when he placed second in the 2-mile in a personal record 8:53.71.
That shattered his previous Eagle-Tribune area record in the event (8:54.75). The five-time Eagle-Tribune track All-Star finishes his tremendous career in the top-3 in our area history in three events — the other two the 800 (1:53.25) and mile (4:08.62).
But that was a positive end to a challenging year for the 2024 Gatorade Massachusetts Track Athlete of the Year.
His senior campaign started with a bang, taking first place at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in San Diego and repeating as Eagle-Tribune MVP.
But during the fall, Gavenas began battling plantar fasciitis. And that proved to be the start of his struggles.
“I was injured during cross country, and that was really tough,” he said. “Then I had a medical issue right after. I badly wanted to compete in indoor, but I would go out on the track and feel terrible. Finally, my doctors pulled me out for the rest of the season. I tried going back at the end of March, and it was still too early.”
He was finally able to regain some form to compete in the Bay State Running Elite Scholastic Mile, but disaster once again struck.
“I went to the BSR Mile and another runner spiked me in the Achilles tendon during the race,” he said. “I got up and finished the race with one shoe and blood oozing out, but then I couldn’t walk off the field. Trying to finish that race was instinct — but not the wisest choice.”
After more than a month working to regain his strength, Gavenas finally delivered the way he knew he could at the New England Prep School Track Association (NEPSTA) Division I Championships in May — winning the 1,500-meter (PR 3:50.20) and 3,000-meter (8:36.45).
“That was really my favorite accomplishment of my senior track year,” he said. “It was my first real meet of the season. It felt great to have two easy wins, help the team, run with my friend (fellow Phillips star) Arashi Hunter, and feel like I was getting back in the game after so many months of injuries and medical issues.”
With his high school career now done, Gavenas will turn his attention to Division 1 college track at Harvard.
“I can’t wait to join my friends on the Harvard team,” he said. “It’s a little scary because I haven’t done that kind of training before—but it’s scary in a good way. Within 24 hours of me crossing the finish line in my Nationals race, the college coach had given me a training plan for the next four weeks.
“Right now, I’m taking lots of active rest and not running, which I kind of miss because it’s big part of who I am.”
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