Hanig and Davidson Continue To Run Fast Times
Sunday, June 9 2013 - Midwest Distance Festival
Despite the Illinois State Track & Field Meet being over, many Illinois athletes continue to compete in high level meets to go for another personal best. This past week, two Highland Park athletes were able to do just that.
Senior Jonah Hanig continued his outstanding racing in two meets. He ran the full mile on Wednesday, June 5th at the Wisco Mile. He had a strong race and finished in 5th place, running 4:21.08 (4:19.6 for 1600 Meters which is the third fastest 1600 ever run by a Highland Park Athlete).
Then, on Saturday, June 8th, Jonah went to the Midwest Distance Festival to run another full mile and take one more shot at trying to break the school record. In his heat he was seeded 3rd and was seeded 16th overall. At the start of the race, he got out aggressive and in great position for the first lap. He lost a few spots on the next lap, but still came through the half mile around 2:07. As they came into the final lap Jonah made a big move to push the pace and take the lead. He was not able to hold the lead as he got passed in the final strides of the race but held on for an outstanding time of 4:16.49 to finish 9th overall! That time for a full mile converts to a 4:15.0 for 1600 Meters which is the second fastest 1600 time by only 5 tenths of a second! Jonah continues to show that he is one of the best distance runners in Illinois and is the greatest distance runner ever at Highland Park High School!
Midwest Distance Festival Video
Freshmen Brett Davidson has had the best season for a freshmen distance runner ever at Highland Park High School. He has broken the Indoor 3200 Meter Run Freshmen Record (10:19.7), the Outdoor 3200 Meter Run Freshmen Record (10:08.46, run at the Open Races Under The Lights at the State Meet), and was now attempting to break the Outdoor 1600 Meter Run Freshmen Record at two meets. He first raced at the Wisco Mile in the freshmen race. He took a hard fall at the start of the race and they had to call it back. The second start was clean and he ran a strong race finishing the full mile in 6th place with a time of 4:47.47 (4:45.8 for 1600 Meters which is a few seconds shy of the record).
Brett also went to the Midwest Distance Festival in which he had qualified to run the Freshmen Mile. The race went out solid and Brett was able to get into decent position behind the lead pack by the time they were coming into the half-mile. As they came around the first curve of the third lap, Brett put on a big move to push this tough lap. Despite falling back a few positions after leading for half a lap, he was able to have an awesome race. The pushing of the pace on that third lap put him in position to finish with his best time and a new Highland Park High School Freshmen Record. He ran 4:43.5 for the full mile, which converts to a 4:41.9 1600 Meter Run. That breaks a record that Jonah had tied as a freshmen (4:44.5) and junior Angel Estrada set his freshmen year (4:42.75). The future looks very bright for Brett! He is a tough runner that is hard working and goal oriented. It will be fun to watch his high school career progress. Jonah has set the standard that Brett will be chasing and trying to surpass.