HP WINS CSL NORTH VARSITY OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIP!

Last year, the Giants finished 2nd place on varsity at the CSL North Conference Outdoor Track & Field Meet. This year, the team looked to improve on that finish and win the conference title for the first time since 2014. On paper it looked like it would be a close meet with Highland Park having a slight edge. This year the meet would be hosted by Highland Park at Wolters. Winning on the home track would make it a truly special moment for the team.  

 Field Event Highlights:

The Giants were confident they had the best team on the track. That being said, they knew they needed to score significant points in the field events to make winning the championship a reality.

In the discus, HP delivered on the varsity level. Senior Caden Hellrung threw a personal best 121’4” to take 3rd place. This was a huge performance by Hellrung. Junior Dmitry Derbedyenyev also had a big day to take 4th place just behind Hellrung. Derbedyenyev threw 119’6”. This 3-4 performance helped get the momentum going for the Giants. On frosh-soph, sophomore Max Sukenik finished in 5th place. He threw 95’9”. 

The shot put did not produce as many points, but HP did get a 5th place from junior Larry Jenkins on varsity. He threw 42’7”. Derbedyenyev just missed scoring. He took 7th place with a 40’11” throw. Sophomore Braxton Peterson got 6th place on frosh-soph with a toss of 34’6.25”. Sukenik finished in 8th by throwing 33’6.5”.

HP triple jumpers came up big on both the varsity and frosh-soph levels. For varsity, senior DJ Robinson took 3rd place with a jump of 39’1”. This was impressive considering it was his first meet back from a hamstring injury. Sophomore Quentin Kelley also earned key points for the team as he jumped 37’9.5” to take 5th place. Frosh-soph finishes were even more impressive with HP going 1-2! Sophomores Eli Perkins and Charlie Ludington both jumped personal bests. Perkins took 1st at 37’10” and Ludington got 2nd with a mark of 37’5.25”. 

In the long jump, junior Hugh Crawford stepped up with a big time performance. He jumped a personal best 19’0.75” to take 4th place. This was his first time over 19 feet! Robinson just missed scoring as he took 7th place with a 17’11” jump. On frosh-soph, Perkins placed 2nd with a 17’5.25” jump. Ludington was 7th with a personal best 16’7.25”.

Juniors Russell Czerwinski and Nolan Schott both placed for points in the varsity high jump. Czerwinski ended up in a tie for 2nd place clearing 5’8”. Schott finished in 5th place getting over 5’4.25”.

In the pole vault, sophomore Gavin Flory and senior Enrique Lipezker both cleared 10’5.5”. Based on misses, Flory tied for 4th place and Lipezker took 6th to both get points for the team. On frosh-soph, freshman Fin Nunez cleared 7’5.75” to take 3rd place. Freshman teammate Lucas Hoobler got over 6’6” to finish in 5th place. 

Highland Park earned significant points in the field events to set them up well for the track events and a shot at winning the conference championship. 

Track Event Highlights:

The 4X800 meter relay was the first event on the track and HP did well on both levels. The varsity team got out well with junior Robert Oboza running a personal best 2:03.7 split. Junior Zach Coren also ran a personal best with 2:05.2 to keep the team in good position. Sophomore Usiel Rodriguez ran a solid 2:08.6 split as he handed off the baton in 2nd place. Senior Alex Bradshaw ran a 2:06.8 anchor to give the Giants a 2nd place finish in 8:24.67. All 4 HP runners on the frosh-soph relay team ran personal best splits! The team consisted of 4 freshmen. They included Henry Gamson (2:12), Truman Evans (2:15), Gal Raviv (2:17), and Daniel Doyle (2:14). This group of young distance runners came in 2nd place by less than one second with a 9:00.64. 

The varsity 4X100 meter relay team (juniors Asher Stern and Eddy Picazo along with seniors Christian Billetdeaux and Paul Eam) ran a season best time of :45.45. This was enough to earn the team a 4th place finish. The frosh-soph quartet (sophomores Tyler DePaolo, Eric Rojas, Alejandro Jauregui, and Julian Chroman) also ran a frosh-soph season best of :49.34. This earned them 5th place in the event.

In the 3200 meter run, HP was looking for a varsity 1-2 finish. After a conservative start, junior Nate Wehner and sophomore Brian Hatoum got the job done with the 1-2 finish. Wehner ran 9:35.70 for the win and Hatoum crossed the line in 9:44.92 for 2nd. They will look to come back for more points in the 1600 later in the meet. On frosh-soph, freshman Josh Brown got 2nd place by .1 seconds in 10:51.18. Freshman Lowell Redmond ran a personal best 12:08.93 to take 6th place and earn a point for the team. 

In the 110 meter high hurdles, junior Oliver Baterdene ran an impressive personal best time of 18.15. He was able to earn 6th place with his performance. Czerwinski ran 19.32 in the event. On frosh-soph, sophomore Lachlan Knapp broke 19 for the first time. He ran an 18.73 to finish in 3rd place. Sophomore Mateo Diaz also ran a personal best as he crossed the line in 20.10 for 8th place.

Despite being a 400/200 specialist, junior Doug Anderson was entered in the 100 meter dash for the conference meet. The coaches believed he could score significant points for the team in the event. That is just what he did as he ran an 11.15 to take 1st place! He won by just .01 over a talented young sprinter from Maine West. Paul Eam also got key points for the team as he placed 4th with a time of 11.48. He was given the same time as the 3rd place finisher. Both HP frosh-soph sprinters ran personal bests. DePaolo ran 12.61 and Chroman finished in 12.82. 

In the 800 meter run, junior Barak Goldstein did what it took to pull away at the end for the win in 1:58.38. Senior Noah Jackson fought back down the final stretch to cross the line in a season best 2:01.57. This was good enough for 4th place, just .6 out of 3rd place. On frosh-soph, Evans and Doyle came back from their strong 4X800 performances to finish 5th and 7th. Evans ran 2:16.71 and Doyle finished in 2:17.51. 

Once again, both sprint relays ran season best times. The varsity 4X200 team of senior Diego Alvarez, Stern, Picazo, and Billetdeaux ran a 1:35.84. This earned them another 4th place finish. The frosh-soph team consisted of DePaolo, Rojas, Jauregui, and Perkins. They finished in 3rd place and ran 1:41.75.

The 400 meter dash was the next event on the track and HP looked for another 1-2 finish. Anderson and fellow junior Lukaas Nales ran away from the rest of the field to take a dominant 1st and 2nd. They ran :49.81 and :50.29 to earn 18 points. Ludington took 5th on frosh-soph as he ran 1:00.17. Nunez just missed scoring as he took 7th in 1:01.19. 

The 300 meter intermediate hurdles were the only event that HP did not score in on either level. Despite the hurdlers making great progress this season, they were not able to run the times needed at the conference meet to score points. They are all hungry to come back next year and push each other to get better. At the meet, they got 7th and 8th on both levels. On varsity, Oboza ran :44.29 and Baterdene ran a personal best :45.06. In the frosh-soph competition, Knapp ran :48.79 and Diaz ran his personal best of :49.71. 

Hatoum and Wehner were back on the track for the 1600 meter run looking for another 1-2 finish. This time, Hatoum led the way winning in 4:25.98 with Wehner right behind in 4:26.98. They were the only runners in the race under 4:30. Freshman Logan Liu was on the track for the first time at this meet and made the most of his opportunity. He came from behind in the final lap to squeeze by a Deerfield runner to take 1st place. He even got an elbow from his competitor as he passed by on the inside at the line in a personal best 4:56.11. He won by .3! Gamson had another strong race as he took 5th place, also in a personal best. His time was 5:03.20 which was just over a 3 second improvement. 

Anderson was on the track for his 3rd event and once again made the most of it. He got his third victory of the meet as he won the 200 meter dash in a personal best and new track record :22.16. This is #2 all-time at HPHS. Eam also ran a personal best to take 6th place in :23.40. Both frosh-soph 200 runners got their best times as well. They were also both competing in their 4th events of the meet. DePaolo got 6th with a time of :25.70 to go under 26 for the first time. Perkins also went under 26 for the first time as he ran :25.96 to finish in 7th place. 

In the 4X400 meter relay, Oboza led off the varsity with a :54.3 split. Goldstein followed up his 800 victory with a :52.4 split. Jackson ran a :53.9 split and handed off to Nales with a significant gap to the leader. Nales made the chase to run down the Vernon Hills anchor leg, but fell short by .71 despite a :49.0 split. The Giants took 2nd in 3:29.95. The frosh-soph quartet took 4th place in 3:55.84. The team consisted of Evans (:57.9), Raviv (:58.8), Brown (1:01.1), and Ludington (:57.9). 

Overall, it was a tremendous TEAM performance by the Giants. So many athletes stepped up in big ways! The individual efforts together earned the team the CSL North Outdoor Varsity Conference Championship! The final score was HP 155, VH 117, DF 96, NN 83, ME 67, and MW 34. It was a truly special moment for the team to win for the first time since 2014 and to do so on their home track at Wolters. It took everyone on the team working hard, pushing each other to be better, and supporting each along the way. The coaches and athletes believed in what was possible. The hope is that the examples of excellence set this year will carry over for years and years to come. It is never easy to win championships, but it is always worth it. 

The frosh-soph, despite several of their top sophomores being pulled up to varsity, finished in 4th place and were just 11 points behind 3rd place DF. The future looks bright for HP track & field if team members are willing to make the commitment necessary to be their best individually as well as collectively. 

The journey is not over as the varsity team prepares for the State Series. Big things still to come for the Giants this season!

The nominations for Giant of the Meet included:

Varsity:

Doug Anderson - 1st place in 3 events. 100 at 11.15, 400 at :49.81, and 200 at :22.16 (new Wolters record). 

Hugh Crawford - 4th place in the LJ with big PR of 19’.75” after coming off of a hamstring injury.

Caden Hellrung - Huge 3rd place finish in Discus with a PR of 121’4”.

Oliver Baterdene - PRs in both hurdle races, getting a 6th in the 110 HH at 18.15 and 8th in 300IH at :45.06.

Frosh-Soph:

Henry Gamson - Lead off leg for 2nd place 4X800 with huge PR of 2:12, PR in the 1600 of 5:03.20 to take 5th.

Julian Chroman - First time sub 13 in 100 at 12.82 and great anchor leg for 5th place 4X100.

Tyler DePaolo - 4 events and 4 PRs, 100 12.61, 200 :25.70, 4X100, and 4X200.

Mateo Diaz - PRs in both the 110 HH (:20.10) and the 300IH (:49.71)

Eli Perkins - 4 events, 1st in TJ w/PR of 37’10”, 3rd in LJ, 7th in 200 w/PR of :25.96, and 3rd in 4X200.

Giant of the Meets:

Varsity - Caden Hellrung

Frosh-Soph - Henry Gamson