CSL North Champions!

Highland Park High School came into the CSL Invite with a target on their back as the varsity defeated the rest of the CSL North schools in both of the quad meets this season and the freshmen were the favorites to win their race.   The Giants responded to this pressure like champions!   

The first boys race of the day was the freshmen 2 mile.   The Highland Park freshmen were racing without their usual number one runner Jonathan Rosenfeld as he was pulled up to varsity after an outstanding race at the Wheeling Invite.   The freshmen knew they had to get out fast and try to pack it up....and that is what they did.   With Josh Drummond and Matthew Drummond leading the team out fast, they were able to get into excellent position early.  The team continued to move well throughout the race and have strong finishes.   M. Drummond finished in 3rd place in 11:19.99 just 4.99 seconds behind the CSL North Freshmen Champion from Niles North.  J. Drummond was not far behind in 4th place running 11:23.18.  After having a big breakthrough race at the Wheeling Invite last week, Juan Estela had another superb race finishing in 6th place for the North Division in 11:39.83.  Highland Park's next 3 runners finished within 7 seconds of each other.  David Heller got out really strong and kept himself in range of Estela until the final 400 meters and was still able to finish in 9th place (11:55.02).   Matthew Casey had his best race including a very fast final 400 to almost catch Heller and a Deerfield runner to finish in 11th place (11:56.16).   Not far behind Casey was Ian Goldberg who finished in 13th place and just missed breaking 12 minutes as he ran 12:01.99.  Three more HP runners finished in the top 20:  Harrison Freeman (18th, 12:28.42), Hayden Schott (19th, 12:33.24), and Jack Ross (20th, 12:34.76).   The rest of the freshmen ran great as well.   Check out the results!   The freshmen won the CSL North Division with 33 points.   The next two teams were DF (44 points) and GBN (71 points).  The HP freshmen have the potential to have amazing success over the next few years...but are they willing to work hard and make the commitment needed to reach their potential?   It will be exciting to watch and find out.

The next race was the varsity race and the Giants showed that they were ready to go.   After the mile senior Angel Estrada and a group of runners from the CSL South Division pulled away and began to do battle.   In the final 1/2 mile of the race Maine South's top runner put on a big move that Estrada could not respond to as he finished in 2nd overall and 1st for the CSL North Division in 15:10.42.  Sophomore Brett Davidson had an outstanding race and finished in 4th place for the North Division in 15:52.78.   Junior Ben Casey struggled on this day, but was able to get 6th place in 16:03.71.   Casey knows his races will be better the rest of the season as his training continues to go well and he bounces back from an off race.  We knew that our number 4-5 runners would be crucial to the team's success this season.   At the CSL Invite they responded with their best races of the season.    Senior Griffin Bojan got out wonderfully for the first mile as he was just four seconds behind Davidson.   Bojan was able to hold on throughout the race and finish strong getting 13th place in 16:19.58.   Senior Jeremy Bloom did not get out quite as well as Bojan but he was able to move up and in the final 400 meters he saw that their were two DF runners and one from Niles North not too far in front of him.  At that point he turned on the speed and closed in 1:07.1 to pass the three opponents and take the final All-Conference spot finishing in 14th place (16:23.14).   After that, freshmen Rosenfeld finished in 23rd place for the North Division (17:06.07) in his first varsity race.   Junior Dylan Kahn was 29th (17:15.65) as he had trouble having the strong finish he needed.   The team finished with 38 points to earn the CSL North Conference Championship ahead of NN (54 points), DF (67 points), and GBN (69 points).     What a wonderful feeling when things come together at a conference championship meet!   The team had 5 All-Conference runners (the most for an HP team since 2004). 

The sophomore race only had three entries from Highland Park.   The Giants top finisher was Daniel Arias.   He ran a strong race to finish in 3rd place for the North Division in a time of 17:45.52.

The final race of the day was the JV race.   This race included several runners trying to earn a top 7 spot for next weeks Regional race.   Senior James Rector was focused and determined to bounce back after he really struggled at the Wheeling Invite last week.   He got out well for the first mile, faded a bit in the middle mile, and then came back strong in the final mile with a strong final 400.   Rector finished in first for the North Division and earned a spot back in the top 7.   It was a great site to see someone that lives and breathes distance running to be able to step up under pressure and reach his goal in his final CSL Invite!   Junior Andrew Huddleston also had a good race and was able to break into the top 7 for Regionals.   Huddleston finished in 3rd for the North Division with a time of 17:03.26 (about 3 seconds ahead of Rosenfeld's time for the 7th spot).  Other top twenty finishers in the JV race included juniors Brady McDougall (6th, 17:22.55), Evan Lissoos (7th, 17:30.30), and Zack Goldberg (19th, 18:09.28).   The Giants won the JV race with 36 points ahead of NN (52 points), GBN (64 points), and DF (76 points).   

What a meet for Highland Park!   The varsity still has quite a challenge ahead of them as they try to get back to the State Meet.   Their focus must not waiver, all of the little things must be taken care of, and the team must execute their race plans each of the next 3 weekends! 

"Don't let winning make you soft. Don't let losing make you quit. Don't let your teammates down in any situation." -Larry Bird