HP Competes at CSL North Quad

Highland Park ran in the first of two CSL North Quad Meets. This one took place at Maine West. The Giants looked to focus on running as a pack and having strong finishes. 

The first race was the boys frosh-soph 2 mile race. HP only ran their freshmen in this race. Theo Soifer and Tristan Perkes were up at the front of the race right from the beginning. Soifer and a runner from Maine West pulled away in a two man battle for the win. With 400 meters to go, Soifer was 5 seconds back from the leader but refused to give up. He had a strong kick to come back and pass the Maine West runner at the line for the victory in 12:10. Perkes raced well and held on to take 3rd place overall in 12:39. Shea Jackson also raced tough for the Giants. He took 7th place with a time of 13:04 for the 2 mile course. 

Giancarlo Aguirre has been racing well this season and that continued at this meet. He raced to a 14:08 finish to take 18th place. At the mile he was with a pack that included Charlie Szot and Theo Hanold. Szot went on to finish with a 14:26 while Hanold held on for a 14:38. The duo finished in 20th and 21st places. 

Jace Bennett and Manuel Jauregui worked very well together throughout the race. Bennett outkicked his teammate to finish in 14:57. Jauregui finished just behind in 14:58. 

Chase Temple had a solid race to finish in a time of 15:24 while Danylo Mykolyshyn also ran well and crossed the line in 15:44. Liam Hsu had a strong second mile to finish the race in a total time of 17:31 for 2 miles.

The HP freshmen are developing into a quality team with some depth. If they continue to make the commitment to being the best distance runners they can be, the team's success will follow. 

In the varsity 3 mile race, HP focused on running with their packs with the top guys using this more as a workout. A runner from Maine East took it out hard and began to build up a significant lead. Dylan Dominguez (Sr.), Lucas Hoobler (Jr.), and Henry Gamson (Jr.) were the next 3 and stayed together for a majority of the race. In the final 400 meters, Dominguez made a big move to catch the leader and did so in style. He closed in a 1:03 to take the victory by 4 seconds despite being behind by 7 seconds at 400 to go. Dominguez ran 16:34 to take the victory. Hoobler came in 2nd place running 16:50 with Gamson right behind him in 16:51. 

The big gap to the team’s next runner was still present at this meet. Usiel Rodriguez (Sr.) was once again the team’s 4th runner. He ran 18:17 and finished in 7th place. Logan Liu (Jr.) and a strong showing as he was 2 places back of  Rodriguez in 18:18. Truman Evans (Jr.), Josh Brown (Jr.), and Spencer Pedraza (Jr.) were the next three finishers for HP at 18:33, 18:45, and 18:49 to round out the team’s top 8 runners.

The next HP pack all running in the 19s included Gabriel Jackson (So.), Luke Byrnes (Sr.), Joaquin Martinez (So.), and Lowell Redmond (Jr.). Jackson led the way with his typical strong finish in 19:33. Byrnes was next across the line in 19:36. He was followed by Martinez in 19:40 for 3 miles. 9 seconds back was Redmond with a 19:49 finishing time. Quentin Kelley (Sr.) was with Redmond until the final mile and ran a 20:05. Joey Naftzger (Jr.) ran 20:17 to be the next HP finisher. Dylan Stiller (Jr.) raced the course in 20:50 while Nate Goldberg (So.) crossed the finish line in 21:57. 

The team got done what was needed at this meet and looked to move on to the next one. The focus will need to be more fierce as the season creeps towards the championship phase. The coaches are looking for runners to start to have those needed breakthrough races that are a result of the intense workouts and needed recovery. Big things still to come for the Giants!