2019 Track & Field Season Begins At GBN

The first meet of the season for the Giants included some good performances as the team looks to build on those performances throughout the season.

The Field Events are an area in which the team is looking for more consistency and depth this season. In the Shot Put, HP had 3 throwers over 35’. Junior Charlie Kleiman led the way with a near personal best 39’6” mark. Sophomore football players Chris Lee and Jaden Holzman followed with a 36’10” and a 35’10”. Also, sophomore Zach Hopmayer had a huge PR with a 29’11” throw.

The HP long jumpers have shown some great potential to start the season. The team had 4 jumpers at 17’ or better. Senior Ben Kirsch led the way with a 17’11.25” mark. Junior newcomer Quenterion Jones had a nice jump of 17’6.75”. Sophomore Gabe Kirsch had a personal best 17’2” and Holzman leaped 17’0”. Gabe Kirsch also had a big PR in the Triple Jump with a 34’11” best. In the horizontal jumps at this meet the team had only one scratch! That is the type of consistency the coaches are looking for. The distances will continue to improve throughout the season.

Ben Kirsch was making adjustments with different poles in the Pole Vault and finished with an 11’6” clearance. Junior Jacob Souvannavong cleared a PR of 9’0”.

On the track, the GIANTS also showed potential for a successful season. In the 50 Meter Dash, the team had 7 guys under 7 seconds. They were led by sophomore Zion Griffin in 6.2. Ben Kirsch was next in 6.4 followed by senior Jake French and Holzman, both at 6.5. Juniors Joe Dart, Emre Gulpinar, and Max Marmitt all ran 6.8. Gulpinar, Griffin, and Dart all ran under 27 in the 200 Meter Dash later in the night.

Junior Max Kaplan and Gabe Kirsch had a good day in the hurdles as they each ran PRs in both races. Kaplan ran 8.7 and 8.8 in the highs and lows while Kirsch ran 10.4 and 9.9 in the two hurdle races.

The team did not have many distance runners racing with the 24 Hour Run happening the next day. Sophomore Jason Ploydoris ran a solid 2:11.4 in the 800. Freshmen RJ Guhl ran a gutsy race in the second heat to finish in 2:39.5. In the 1600, two freshmen ran for HP and both had strong races. Hunter Kells finished in 5:23.1 and Alejandro Sieden completed the race in 5:37.5.

The 4X400 Meter Relay included a hard fought lead off leg by Marmitt (59.1) and also included French running 57.1. The team will need more of those kind of efforts to finish meets off with a strong and competitive 4X400.

As you can see by the results, the team has numerous young talents and juniors to support the seniors in their final season as a GIANT. There is a tremendous amount of work to be done this season, but the coaches are excited to see who will step up to the challenge. No excuses. Just put in the work and the results will follow. Much more of the team’s talent will be showcased at the Antioch Invite on 2/22/19!