Libertyville Invite

The Libertyville Invite at Adler Park presented the most challenging course the team races on this season. Despite a smaller line-up, those that competed had some success.

In the varsity 3 mile race, Usiel Rodriguez (Sr.), Daniel Doyle (Jr.), Truman Evans (Jr.) and Josh Brown (Jr.) got out in a pack through the mile. Rodriguez started to pull away on the second mile while freshman Theo Soifer moved up with the rest of the pack. Rodriguez ended up finishing strong to earn a medal for 15th place in 17:50.1. Sofier and Doyle kicked hard down the final stretch with Soifer taking 22nd (18:15.8) and Doyle 23rd (18:16.0). Their finishes earned them both varsity medals at the meet. Evans was the next HP finisher with a time of 18:33.2 to take 29th place. Brown hung on to finish in 33rd place with an 18:59.1. 

The remainder of the HP competitors in the varsity race formed a fairly tight pack, especially through 2 miles. Spencer Pedraza (Jr.) led this pack to finish in 19:30.8. Lowell Redmond (Jr.) was the next Giant to cross the line with a 19:37.3. Gabriel Jackson (So.) kicked to a 19:40.5 finishing time while Quentin Kelley (Sr.) was a few seconds behind him in 19:43.2. Logan Liu (Jr.) had an off day, but still finished in 19:49.1 while Makena Duggan battled to a 19:53.40 finish on the hilly course.

The varsity ended up taking 4th place despite missing their top 4 runners. Their were some solid efforts and the team displayed quality pack running at this meet.  

 In the frosh-soph race, Tristan Perkes (Fr.) and Joaquin Martinez (So.) got out very fast. They stayed fairly close throughout the race. Perkes ended up earning a ribbon by finishing in 20th place at 19:18.2. Martinez also earned a ribbon as he took 24th in a personal best 19:27.5 for 3 miles. The duo had the 7th and 8th fastest times for the team at this meet on this day. 

Shea Jackson (Fr.) had a strong race as well. He finished in 32nd place with a personal best time of 20:03.7. Giancarlo Aguirre (Fr.) had a good race and finished in 21:41.2. 

Vasco Leite (So.) returned from illness to run 22:30.0 for the 3 mile course. Chase Temple (Fr.) was the next HP finisher just 10 seconds back with a time of 22:40.0. Manuel Jauregui (Fr.) got through the course in a time of 23:10.0 while Liam Hsu (Fr.) raced to a personal best 25:56.1. 

HP also finished 4th place as a team in the frosh-soph race. There were some bright spots, but this crew was also short-handed. 

The team will need to focus on getting healthy (from illness and injury) to make sure they are ready for the final phase of the season. It will take fierce focus and fierce effort for the Giants to reach the level of success they are striving for.