Giants Show Big Improvements At First To The Finish Invite

After the Hinsdale Hornet-Red Devil Invite got cancelled due to thunderstorms, the Giants were supremely focused on having a strong showing at the Peoria First To The Finish Invite. With 19 team members running personal bests, it was an overall successful trip. In addition, the team grew closer and developed a stronger sense of family as a result of this overnight trip.   

The Open Race was extremely crowded with runners from 2A and 3A in the race. Senior Jack Schulman led the way with an 18:05.6. Sophomore Mason Goldstein had an incredible race finishing with a huge personal best time of 18:17.8. Sophomore Tyler Carlson was next in 18:47.2 followed by senior Ben Gordon in 18:56.8. Freshmen Hunter Kells had an outstanding race as his hard work showed finishing in 19:22.2. Sophomore Ari Kaden finished in 19:34.7 with junior John-Henry Ohlwein finishing within 10 seconds in 19:42.7. Senior Noah Canel finished with a 20:08.4 as freshmen Alejandro Seiden had a breakthrough race in 20:35.4. Newcomer, junior Kevin Cruz, had a nice first race finishing in 21:13.2. Senior Jack Casey struggled through some recent injury issues to battle to a 21:19. Senior Jack Gonzalez had a great race as he finished in 21:45.1 after running 22:41.7 last year at this meet. Freshmen Ethan Sharobeem and Nick Aguirre worked well together throughout the race and finished in 22:52.2 and 22:56. Sophomore Kevin Weinberg improved from last year as he finished in 23:55.2. Freshmen Avery Garcia and Ted Zinoz also worked well together as they completed the race in 24:29.7 and 24:32.5.

After a strong Open Race, the Varsity looked to do the same in a loaded field. Senior Jose Reyes was looking for a big breakthrough race. He got out very well going through the mile in 4:47. Once he got to the third mile, his legs were feeling heavy and he just was not able to hold on this day. Reyes still ended up finishing in a personal best 15:26.4 to take 34th place. Sophomore Jason Ploydoris had a spectacular race as he finished in 44th place with a 15:31.3! This is the second fastest time ever run by a Highland Park sophomore on the historic Detweiller course. Freshmen Alex Brown continues to impress as he had another personal best with an impressive 16:29.4. Next in for the Giants was first time cross country runner junior Corey Fairchild. He finished in a strong 16:46.4. Sophomore Erik Anderson was close behind with a 16:53.1 which was a big improvement in his time from last year at this meet. Senior Jordy Mazza struggled in this meet but still finished with a 17:12.6. Look for him to bounce back in the next meet. Sophomore Jason Werneth showed big improvement from last year as he ran two minutes faster with a 17:44.7. Sophomore Max Friedman showed how much his hard work pays off as he ran a huge personal best of 17:45.3. Junior Ryan Rosenfeld and senior Andrew Biondi each finished in personal best times (18:55.0 and 19:37.0) but know that they have much more to give and will run faster as the season progresses.

2018-2017 First To The Finish Comparisons

With 19 personal bests and 13 of 14 guys that raced last year improving their times (3 guys by 2 plus minutes), this meet was another big step forward for the team. They also know that much work still needs to be done. Each guy must do his part to help the team be successful. If the team DECIDES to strive for greatness and COMMITS to doing what it takes to be their best, then they will SUCCEED!