IHSA 3A Libertyville Regional

Highland Park went into the 2016 IHSA Libertyville Regional with hopes of repeating as champions. The team knew they would have to beat a very young and talented Mundelein team. HP did not get out to a good start and were way behind in the team score early in the race. The team began to move up and started to close the gap on Mundelein around the mile, but were still 36 points behind! By the 2 mile the GIANTS were within 9 points. Throughout the race each member of the team was looking ahead to try and catch the next runner or the next pack. As the runners were coming to the finish the battle for the team title was tight. Mundelein’s top three ran great with HP’s top three not far off. Senior Jonathan Rosenfeld came from way back to finish with a tremendous burst to pass the number three Mundelein runner and finish less than a second behind their number two runner. Rosenfeld took 8th place in 15:58.6. Just behind them, sophomore Jose Reyes battled tough but could not break up the Mundelein pack as he placed 10th in 16:00.21. After having an off race at the CSL Invite, junior Nate Amster came back strong with a super race to take 11th just behind Reyes in 16:01.83. Junior Alec Glazier had a solid race as he too battled tough to give the team a chance to win and came across the line in 15th place with a time of 16:13.24. Glazier continues to be one of the most consistent runners on the team and knows that he is due for a breakthrough race. The next finisher for the GIANTS was senior Matthew Casey. He moved up very well throughout the race to finish just a few seconds behind Mundelein’s fourth runner in 18th place with a 16:20.65. Senior Charlie Skurie also moved up well and passed their fifth runner as he took 20th place in 16:23.15. He has also been consistent, but has not yet had the big race he knows he is capable of having. Junior Fitz Laurie had an off race but never gave up and finished with a 16:48.44 for 34th place. He will bounce back with a great race at Sectionals.

So, the final team score ended up being 62 for HP and 58 for Mundelein. Despite taking 2nd place by just 4 points, the coaching staff was extremely proud of how the team battled after a poor start. They never gave up and each young man battled all the way to the finish line. The team now moves on to Sectionals where they are looking to put together their best TEAM race of the season!

“Believe, Believe, Believe!” -Billy Mills