Team Pack Helps Varsity Take 5th At Hinsdale Invite

The Hinsdale Hornet-Red Devil Invitational once again showcased an extremely strong field. In the varsity race the Highland Park boys were looking to get out to a fast start and compete against some of the top teams at the meet. After sitting out of the last meet due to shin pain, junior Fitz Laurie got out aggressively.  At the mile he was followed by juniors Nate Amster and Alec Glazier, freshmen Jose Reyes, then seniors Ben Bloom, Jonathan Rosenfeld, Charlie Skurie and Matthew Casey. Going through mile two, the pack started to tighten up and the 1-6 gap was just 24 seconds. Bloom and Amster were not able to stay with the pack, but both know that they need to and will be with the pack in upcoming meets.  This was Amster’s first race this season due to a lower leg injury and he battled tough despite getting a bad side stitch. The finish saw the top 6 gap close to an impressive 14 seconds!  Laurie completed his strong race and was the top HP finisher in 29th at 16:00.3. Next in was Glazier as he continued to show his reliability finishing 34th in 16:04.2. Rosenfeld had a great last mile to finish right behind Glazier in 35th (16:04.6). A few seconds behind them was Reyes running a tough race to take 40th (16:09.8).  Skurie and Casey were the next two in taking 41st and 43rd (16:14.3 and 16:14.6).

Seniors Juan Estela (16:53.2) and Hayden Schott (17:06.6) also had very good performances in the varsity race.

The team had a goal to finish in the top 5 at this invite and with the strength of the pack were able to take 5th place.  The Giants beat Palatine by just one point!  This was a nice step forward for the team, but also a realization that they must improve if they will have a chance at making it to State at the end of the season.

The Sophomore Race was not as successful for HP as the varsity race was.  Many of the sophomores are under-trained at this point due to not getting in quality training this summer. The team was led by a strong performance from newcomer Jordy Mazza as he took 61st in 18:00.1.   After that the gap was too big despite some gutsy racing by the Giants.   The sophomores need to keep working hard this season and make a decision going forward of how much work they are willing to do over the next year to help contribute to the success of the team.   We have seen that “Training Beats Talent Over Time” with this group, as they were beat by teams they were ahead of last season.  How will HP respond?

The Freshmen team is also in a situation in which they are going to need to rely on out-training their competition.  These freshmen are hard working and a great group of young men, but they are also very under-trained due to lack of running this summer.   If they make the commitment to their training over the next year, big things can be expected from this group.   The team was led by a great effort from Jake Margolick as he finished in 67th place.

In all three races we saw the GIANT toughness on the course along with quality pack running. Each level needs to work on moving their packs up into better finishing positions in the race.  The team is focused and excited to see what they can do in Peoria next week (and hopefully again in November)!