Estrada Runner-Up At Hornet-Red Devil Invite

The Hornet-Red Devil Invite is always a great early test for some of the top teams and individuals in the state.  Like all teams, the Highland Park squad is trying to see what their strengths and weaknesses are at this early stage of the season. The Giants know that much improvement is needed before they can reach their end of the season goals.   Each meet the team is taking a step in the right direction.

The team was once again led by another strong performance from senior Angel Estrada.   He went into this race wanting to make his mark and show how tough of a runner he is.   As the race progressed, Estrada found himself a fairly significant distance behind the lead pack of 3 runners.    With about a half mile to go he was closing on 3rd and 2nd place as New Trier's number one runner was coming up fast behind him.   Just past 400 meters to go Estrada begin to pick off runners as he was in 5th place.   He flew by 2 runners as he went around the turn to head down the home stretch.   At that point he had the New Trier runner (who passed him with about 600 to go) in his sight and took off after him.   He came up behind him with about 150 meters to go and waited to make one final burst to the finish.   With that final sprint, he finished in second place with an outstanding early season time of 15:03.18!   The winner from Hinsdale Central ran 14:50.5.

Highland Park's second finisher in the meet was junior Ben Casey.  He finished in 17th place with a time of 15:49.3.   This was another solid performance by this very talented runner.  Now he must focus on staying healthy and stepping up his training as he tries to close the gap on Estrada.

Senior Jeremy Bloom has been off to a great start this season.   He was once again the team's third finisher as he ran another PR for three miles finishing in 52nd place with a time of 16:34.38.   He pulled out another blazing finish as he passed about a dozen runners down the final stretch.   Bloom has worked harder this summer and at the start of the season then he ever has and it is showing in his performances.   He knows that he needs more teammates up by him and that they all have to close the gap on Casey.   One runner who did join him this meet was sophomore Brett Davidson (65th, 16:48.08).   He had a big step forward from his last meet as he continues to improve after being injured late in the summer.   The team's fifth man was junior Andrew Huddleston (75th, 16:54.66) who continues to be consistent, but is still looking for that breakthrough race.    The varsity ended up 7th place as a team.  They all know with our strong 1-2 punch and a pack that will move up more throughout the season, the goals they have set are attainable.   The team must stay focused, work hard, and take care of ALL of the details!

The Giants had two other medalists at the meet.   In the freshmen race (1.93 miles), Jonathan Rosenfeld (14th, 10:51.36) and Josh Drummond (16th, 10:52.21) had really strong races.   It is quite an accomplishment to earn a medal in any race at this Invite.   Once all of the freshmen are healthy and racing together, it will be fun to see what they can do as a team.