Sledd 3rd and Hanig 8th at State Meet!

Highland Park High School left the 2013 IHSA 3A State Track & Field Meet with two state medalists racing to school records in the shortest and the longest races on the track.    The meet saw some of the coolest conditions ever for an Illinois State Track & Field Meet.   It also included rain on Saturday that caused meet officials to speed up the meet time schedule causing athletes to have to make adjustments.   Friday began the semifinals, and the Giants that made it to State were ready to go.

First up was senior Andrew Sledd in the 100 Meter Dash.   To advance to the finals in this event you must be a heat winner or one of the next 6 fastest times.  Sledd was in Heat 1 and his coaches told him to go out there and win your heat.   Sledd did just that.    He blasted out of the blocks and built an early lead and was able to hold everyone off to advance to the finals on Saturday running a new school record of 10.92.

After Sledd’s outstanding performance HP was hoping to get another runner through to Saturday with junior Angel Estrada running the 1600 Meter Run.   He was also in Heat 1.   The plan was to try to run close to 4:16, which should make it to the finals.   Estrada got out well and went through the 800 in good position with a 2:08.5.   At that point the pace of the leaders continued to move quickly and he could not hang on and faded running a 4:24.86 to finish 8^th in his heat.   Heat 1 ended up being the fastest of the 3 heats with the leader going 4:11.99.   It was a good effort by Estrada and great experience for him to get to the State Meet as a junior.   Look for him to be in that 1600 Meter final next year!

On Saturday, the rain started falling and the meet officials made the announcement that they will be moving the schedule faster due to the weather.    Senior Jonah Hanig had no problem with the change and was ready to go for the 3200 Meter Run (which is run as a final only on Saturday).   Early in the race a tight pack formed and athletes were jostling for position.   Hanig was able to eventually work his way into good position behind the leaders as the pack strung out a little bit.    Hoping for a fast pace, it was disappointing to see that the lead group went through the mile only around 4:39.  At that point, the race really got going.   A runner from O’Fallon took off at the start of lap 5.   Hanig was able to respond and ran that lap in 1:05.42.   After that blazing lap, several runners fell off the pack.   Hanig found himself hanging on in 9^th place after another solid lap, but then had trouble in lap 7.   He started to fade and looked like he was not going to be able to have a strong finish.   As he came to the final lap, he gutted it out and knew he had a chance to be All-State and to run a fast time.   He closed in a 1:04.92 as he went by a runner from Downers Grove North in the final 50 meters to finish in 8^th place and run 9:10.34!    This beat his own school record of 9:19.72 set at the conference meet two weeks earlier.   This was an awesome race in which he showed a great deal of toughness and poise.  What a career for this determined and dedicated young man.   Jonah has competed in 4 State Meets (2 cross country and 2 track & field) and has earned two All-State Medals.   We will be sure to follow his career as it continues at Columbia University in New York. 

Next up was Sledd in the 100 Meter Dash Final in which he had the 9^th fastest qualifying time from the semifinals.   Once again, the coaches were counting on his fantastic start to put the pressure on his competitors.   As the gun went off, Sledd had another incredible start, but more impressive was that he was able to finish better then he ever has.   It was something special to watch as he blazed through the rain to a 3^rd place finish in another school record time of 10.87!  This was an amazing finish to Andrew’s high school career after not getting to compete at Sectionals last season due to a hamstring injury.   He came into the State Meet with the 16^th fastest time and went into the finals with the 9^th fastest time.   Each race from Sectionals to his 3^rd place finish in the finals has been a new school record.    It will be a thrill to follow his career as he will continue it at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.