On Tuesday, August 27, 2024, CSD’s varsity cross-country team lined up along cafeteria tables instead of starting lines to decorate cakes for donation to Davidson College’s Freshman Cake Race.
High school runners worked in randomly selected teams of two (one member was a freshman or new runner and the other was a returning runner) with a team building purpose in mind. The hope was both to help teammates connect with each other and talk to people they normally wouldn’t plus encourage each pair to work together and team build.
“My favorite aspect of the cake decorating tradition is the connection we gain as a team,” said girls cross-country runner and one of the competition winners, Annie Morell (‘28). “We connect when we put our heads together to find the perfect design for our cake and when we work as a team to make that design come to life. It is a great opportunity to bond outside of our training which could eventually lead to the best of teammates as well as friendships.”
This activity was also somewhat competitive as all the cakes became eligible to win prizes. Teams had 45 minutes to fully decorate their cakes then, while the team went out on a run, teachers and staff judged and voted on the winning cakes.
At the end of the practice, the team with the second highest number of votes was Chloe Cordero (‘26) and Annie Morell (‘28).
(Callie Hobbs)
The winning pair with the highest number of votes was William Skaggs (‘26) and Arthur Tarleton (‘28).
(Callie Hobbs)
“To me, my favorite part was pretty much just decorating the cake and knowing that someone else will enjoy what I made along with my partner William,” said boys cross-country runner and one of the competition winners, Arthur Tarleton (‘28).
Although this race began as a small way for Davidson College to recruit runners for its D1 track and cross country teams, the local community has embraced it, and the tradition has changed purpose. Now it is a fun part of freshman orientation in the first week of classes.
For CSD, being able to connect to the bigger community is notable, too.
CSD’s varsity cross-country coach, Sarah Hofmeister-Cline, who was a D1 cross-country runner at Davidson College before becoming a coach at CSD, had the idea of involving CSD when she thought about how it impacted her college experience and helped build community spirit. When she was a freshman, Hofmeister-Cline participated in this cake race and came in first place.
Her efforts to continue to support and be involved with this collegiate tradition even after graduation also created a new high school tradition.
In addition to team building and tradition on the CSD high school team, this activity also supported the college’s Freshman Cake Race which was run on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, on the college campus.
