Davidson Takes 5th At First To The Finish Invite

The Highland Park High School boys cross country team took their annual overnight trip to Peoria to compete in the First To The Finish Invite on the famed Detweiller Cross Country Course.   It was a great trip as the team grew closer, became more focused, exhibited outstanding character, had fun, and competed at a high level.

The focus at this meet was for each member of the team to take a risk and get out fast in the first 400 and mile.   As a team that was accomplished.   Everyone was going through the first 400 faster than they ever have.   This allowed most of them to go through the mile fast as well.   Some of our freshmen even went through the mile with a new PR.    It was thrilling to see the Giants getting after it and taking a risk.

Senior Brett Davidson was focused on having a strong performance to show that he is one of the top runners in the state.   He did that by blazing the 3 mile course in 14:43.3 to take 5th place!   This is the fastest non-State Meet time run by a Highland Park runner on this course and is the fifth fastest time ever run by a Giant on Detweiller.   It was a perfectly executed race plan as Davidson was able to hit the splits he wanted and have a strong finish.   He was just 3 seconds out of 3rd place.

Following Davidson once again was the strong HP pack.   The pack was led by junior Jonathan Rosenfeld.  He had his best race of the season, running 15:48.3 as he continues to work hard in preparation for the breakthrough performance he knows he is capable of.   Next in was sophomore Nate Amster at 15:51.9.   This was a great race for Amster who showed that all of his hard work this summer is paying off.   Another sophomore got under 16 minutes as Alec Glazier ran 15:59.7.   He really showed outstanding poise and toughness in this race as he led the team through the mile and two mile marks of the course.   As his finish continues to improve with speed work, watch for more big performances by Glazier.  The next finisher for the Giants was freshmen Jose Reyes.   His performance was something special.   He ran a gritty race to finish in 16:02.3.  This is the fastest time ever run by a Highland Park freshmen on Detweiller (the previous best was Amster in 2015 running 16:34)!  Look for more amazing performances by the hard working and focused Reyes.   Not far behind him was junior Ben Bloom (16:07.7) racing to another strong finish.   In only a few races in this his first cross country season, he is already racing like a veteran.   He was followed closely by junior Charlie Skurie (16:09.1).  Due to the mileage he put in this summer, his time was over a minute faster than last year at this meet.  Junior Matthew Casey was next in at 16:17:4.   This was nearly a minute improvement from last year.   Senior Alejandro Gutierrez ran 16:40.9 to go sub 17 for the first time and improve by 1:15 from last year at this meet.   His performance, due to the work he put in this summer, is a  wonderful example that training does beat talent over time.   Junior Juan Estela had a solid race finishing in 17:08.4.   Look for a breakthrough race from this hard working runner as he stays healthy and continues to get in consistent training.   The team ended up in 16th place out of 47 teams.   With 12 state ranked teams at the meet, we knew it would be a challenge to place high, but it was a good measuring stick to see where we are at this point in the season.  There is still much work to be done and the team is focused on reaching their goals.   Everyone on the team must do his part to help make these goals a reality!   

In the open race, the Giants had many outstanding performances.   The team was led by senior Joe Pinsky (17:09.4) as he continues to improve on his road back from injury..   Junior Hayden Schott (17:22.8) continues to make big improvements since stepping up his training this year.  Another runner that had a huge improvement from last year at this meet was sophomore Danny Friedman (18:07.1) as he ran 1:17 faster this year.  Several of the freshmen had notable performances as well.   Richard Heller had a strong race as he finished in 18:19.2.   Jack Schulman showed huge improvement as he went through the first mile in 6:11 (well ahead of his timed mile PR) and finished with a 19:40.9.   Two other freshmen that worked very hard this summer and continue to improve are Andrew Biondi (21:16.9) and Matthew Dennison (23:13.0).   They are great examples of how much someone can improve if they are willing to make the commitment and train over the summer.   Overall this was a fantastic trip for the team and a big step forward in terms of reaching our goals!