Deerfield Wins The Dual Meet On Both Levels

Deerfield won the annual District 113 Dual Meet on both levels. Overall Highland Park was unable to match up with a very deep and talented Deerfield team. Despite the loss, the Giants competed with heart and class.

HP Varsity Highlights:

Senior Jack Casey won the High Jump as he cleared 6’0”. He did not attempt any higher heights to keep him more fresh for other events he still had later in the meet.

Sophomore Jaden Holzman jumped 18’11” in the Long Jump! This put him just 1 inch behind 3rd place. This is a great mark and is a testament to his work ethic.

In the Pole Vault sophomore Simon Auerbach took 2nd place with a 9’8” clearance.

Sophomore Zion Griffin took 2nd place in the 50 Meter Dash (6.41) and also won the 200 Meter Dash in 24.7.

In the 1600 Meter Run, sophomore Jason Polydoris ran a great race with a personal best 4:41.9 to take 1st place.

Junior Max Marmitt ended up 2nd in the 400 Meter Dash with a :57.7. He was just .3 behind first place.

The 4X160 Meter Relay team ran well, but were unable to get the win. The team included Griffin, senior Jake French, and juniors Joe Dart and Quenterion Jones. Griffin and French got the team the lead on the first two legs. Dart ran the curves great, but got cut off and pushed coming off the last turn. After losing the lead, Jones came close, but was unable to regain the lead.

The meet ended on a high note as the 4X400 Meter Relay competitors ran with heart. Senior Jordy Mazza led off with a :58.4 and was followed by senior James Wagenblast with a :58.7. The team needed another runner for the relay and Polydoris agreed without hesitation to step up for the team. He ran the 3rd leg in 1:00.9 to keep the team close. French ran an inspired anchor leg. The team never led the race until French went by the DF runner to take the lead and hold it to the finish with a :56.6 split. The team finished with a 3:54.8.

HP Frosh-Soph Highlights:

Sophomore Riley Shallenbarger had a strong meet as he took 1st in the Long Jump with a great leap of 18’3.25”. He also finished 2nd in the Shot Put throwing 31’9”.

Sophomore Gabe Kirsch got a mark of 35’5.25” in the Triple Jump to win the event. He also finished 3rd in three other events! The Long Jump (17’6.5”), the 50 Meter High Hurdles (9.5) and the 50 Meter Low Hurdles (8.64).

Sophomore Evan Diethrich placed 2nd in both hurdle events with an 8.66 in the HH and an 8.25 in the LH.

Freshmen Alejandro Seiden ran a personal best in the 800 Meter Run to finish in 3rd place.

Freshmen Hunter Kells came in 4th place in the 1600 Meter Run running his fastest time of 5:18.4.

On both levels the team was disappointed with the overall finish. Despite the loss, the Giants were able to take several positives from the meet. The coaching staff was proud of how HP competed. They made no excuses and displayed a high level of sportsmanship showing the kind of character that Highland Park track & field athletes are all about.