Antioch Invite

The Antioch Invitational was a good test for the HPHS track & field team. It was a chance to highlight some of the events the team is strong in. It also showed where the most improvement is needed in order to be able to compete for a conference championship.

The field events had several strong performances, including a few by freshmen.

Senior Zach Auerbach took 7th in the Shot Put with a season best 43’6”, almost two feet beyond what he threw at this meet last year. Sophomore Charlie Kleiman had a nice throw with a 32’0”, while freshmen Chris Lee got over 30’ for the first time this season with a 30’8” toss.

The long jumpers earned three new personal bests led by junior Ben Kirsch. He had a big jump with an 18’10” mark. Freshmen Giovanni Volpentesta and sophomore Joe Dart both got over 17’ for the first time (17’2.75” and 17’2”).

Freshmen Zion Griffin and Gabe Kirsch were the lone triple jumpers for HP. They both got over 30’ as Griffin got 36’8” and Kirsch got 30’11”.

In the High Jump, freshmen Riley Shallenbarger cleared 4’10” in his first meet of the season.

The Pole Vault had Ben Kirsch clearing 11’6” (despite getting a nice bump on his forehead and scratch on his face), and Ben Zavell over 11’0”.

On the track the Giants had some impressive races by numerous athletes.

In the 1600 Meter Run, senior Fitz Laurie ran with great confidence and toughness as he finished in 2nd place with a 4:29.99. This time puts him 8th on the HPHS All-Time Indoor List in this event! Freshmen Jason Polydoris ran a 4:49.02 in his heat to finish just a few seconds off the freshmen record despite a miscalculation on his laps.

The 55 Meter Dash had four HP athletes within .1 of each other. Senior Michael Menaker ran 6.99, Volpentesta was 7.02, senior Sedric Gonzalez had a 7.06, and Griffin was 7.09. These are all very good early season times for this event and rank among some of the best at HP!  

Junior Joseph Beaudet and sophomore Eduardo Monk both improved their times in the 55 Meter High Hurdles from last year. This year they ran 9.33 and 9.77.

Seniors Alec Glazier (10:06.71) and Nate Amster (10:10.55) finished 3rd and 4th in the 3200 Meter Run. Neither runner was thrilled with their time, but both know they will run faster times as the season progresses. They took risks and pushed themselves.  On this day, they were not able to run the times they wanted to and are capable of.

The freshmen continue to be impressive in the 800s and 400s. In the 4X800s, Tyler Carlson ran 2:19.5 for a big personal best. The team had 5 other freshmen under 2:30: Erik Anderson (2:21.62 in the open 800, Jason Werneth (2:25.3 4X800), Levi Pasikov (2:26.9 4X800), Nathan Kornberg (2:26.9 4X800), and Ari Kaden (2:28.6 4X800).  The fastest 800 times of the day were by senior Sebastian Arias as he ran 2:19.4 in the 4X800 and 2:19.62 in the open 800.

The 400’s started to show some improvement. Werneth ran 1:00.31 in the 400 Meter Dash. The 4X400s saw some solid splits for the Giants. Laurie led the way with a strong 55.8 lead-off leg. Junior Jack Casey ran a 57.9. Carlson and Monk also broke 60 (59.1 and 59.8). A few other splits were close to the sub 60 mark as Kaden was 1:00.7, Polydoris 1:00.5, and Kornberg 1:01.7.

The team must continue to learn from their mistakes, put in the work to improve, and take care of themselves so that they can get and remain healthy. With trust in the coaches and a willingness to make the commitment necessary to be the best track & field athletes possible, this team can do great things this season!