Smoliak and Davidson Qualify For IHSA 3A State Track & Field Meet

This year Highland Park High School had two athletes qualify for the 2015 IHSA 3A State Track & Field Meet.

Senior Eddie Smoliak took first place in the Pole Vault to qualify for the state meet for the second straight year. He cleared 14'10” to finish over a foot higher then second place. Smoliak will be looking to earn his second all-state medal down in Charleston.

Junior Brett Davidson went into the 3200 hoping to have help running a fast time from a strong field. He did not get any help early on as it went out too slow and he had to take the lead. As they went through the mile the pace was slower then what was planned. At that point Davidson knew he had to push himself like never before to hit the state qualifying time. He battled to a 5^th place finish and a state qualifying time of 9:28.19.

Other events:

Junior Ryan Kriozere had run the qualifying times in the 110HH and 300IH in the past two meets. After making it to the finals in the 110HH Kriozere hit an early hurdle and flipped over and landed hard on his back. He sadly was unable to finish the race and had to scratch from the 300IH. This was heart breaking for Kriozere and the team. He had worked very hard to become one of the top hurdlers in the area. He is a determined young man that will bounce back and come back next year stronger and more determined to get to and medal at the state meet.

In the Discus, HP took 6^th and 8^th. Senior Doug Kirsch threw 142'2” while junior Tucker Thompson 139'5”.

The 4X800 for the Giants consisted of all frosh-soph runners. The team took 6^th place in 8:26.34 (sophomore Ben Bloom, freshmen Damian Campos, sophomore Alex Abreu, and sophomore Jonathan Rosenfeld).

Senior Ben Casey has had a successful running career at HPHS. He was a state qualifier this fall in cross country and was hoping to do the same in track for the 1600 Meter Run. Casey got out to a great start and controlled the race going into the last lap. Coming down the final stretch he just did not have it on this day to close with the speed necessary to hit the qualifying time as he missed by just over 1 second. He finished with a 4:23.42 to take 6^th place. The coaches are very proud of the career Casey has had. They are also confident that his college career will be even more successful if he stays focused and committed to working hard.

It will be exciting to see what the guys coming back can do next year.....are they willing to make the commitment to do what it takes to be the best possible athletes they can be?????? We will find out in the off-season!