HP Dominates Varsity Quad Meet With 14 in the Top 20; Madden Cohen Wins the Frosh-Soph Race

The second CSL Quad meet took place at Niles West High School. The team looked to get some strong efforts before another block of training.

The freshmen competed in the frosh-soph race and did very well. They were led by Madden Cohen. He got out well and started to pull away from the competition by mid-race. His lead diminished as he came down the final stretch and even got passed for just a moment. He then responded with a burst of speed and was able to hold off the sophomore runner from Niles North for the victory. Cohen won the 2 mile race in a solid 11:44.0. 

The pack of Gabriel Jackson, Makena Duggan, and Nate Goldberg worked extremely well together. After a fast first mile (6:18-6:19), they stayed close throughout the remainder of the race. Jackson ran 12:48.0 for 14th place. Duggan held off a fast closing Goldberg to run 12:52.2 in 16th place. Goldberg crossed the line right behind Duggan in 12:53.6 to take 17th place. These 3 HP runners all broke 13 minutes for 2 miles for the first time.   

Joaquin Martinez ran a strong second mile to finish in 13:45.3 for 22nd place. Benny Obradovic got out fast as he went through the mile in 6:33. His timed mile in August was 6:55!. He hung on to break 14 minutes for the first time, running 13:51.0 for 2 miles. Karl Bankson raced in his first meet of the season and ran a solid 13:57.6. He averaged better than his timed mile (7:08) for 2 miles in this race. Joaquin Rivera crushed his timed mile in the first mile of the race. He went out in a 7:04 compared to his timed mile of 8:25! His second mile was also sub 8 minutes as he completed the 2 mile race in an impressive 14:55.2. Rivera ran 14:55 for his last 2 mile race!

The freshmen continue to impress with strong racing and tremendous improvement since the start of the season. More to come from this freshmen crew this season and hopefully in years to come.   WE > ME

In the varsity race, Niles North’s Evan Parker took off early in the 3 mile race and HP’s top 3 were unable to respond. Senior Nate Wehner led the way for the Giants in 2nd place with a time of 15:31.3. Senior Barak Goldstein was next in 15:51.4 while junior Brian Hatoum crossed the line in 15:58.7. These 3 will look to have much better races at the next meet. 

Junior Dylan Dominguez and senior Robert Oboza continued their impressive teamwork this season. They raced together nearly the entire race and finished in 5th and 6th places with times of 16:03.0 and 16:07.5. 

Sophomore Henry Gamson had another strong race as he pulled away from the team’s large pack to take 8th place in 16:35.3. The next pack included seniors Eli Neiman (16:51.6), Lukaas Nales (16:56.3), and Zach Coren (16:56.7), along with sophomore Lucas Hoobler (16:58.1). They placed 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th. 

The next HP pack was led by sophomore Josh Brown. He ran 17:19.0 for 17th place. Junior Usiel Rodriguez battled through a rough race to run 17:21.6 for 18th place. Senior Nolan Schott was next in with a 17:24.9 to take 19th place. Behind him was sophomore Logan Liu in 20th place with a time of 17:30.8. Senior Yonatan Garfinkel was the next HP finisher in 17:38.4 for 22nd place. Sophomore Truman Evans and senior Connor Edelstein raced to the line in 17:58.3 and 17:59.2 for the 3 mile race. 

The Giant’s next pack got out well together in the first mile but split up as they moved through the race. Sophomore Daniel Doyle led this pack with the only sub 19 minute race of the group. He ran 18:41.6 for 3 miles. Sophomore Lowell Redmond was next as he just missed breaking 19, running 19:02.9. Senior Oliver Baterdene equaled his time from Peoria with a 19:18.6 finish time. Junior Quentin Kelley was a few seconds back with a time of 19:23.1. Sophomore David Miller was the next HP finisher running the race in 19:42.7.

Sophomore Gal Raviv had a solid race with a time of 20:15.8. The next HP finisher was sophomore Spencer Pedraza running 20:48.6 for the 3 mile race. Senior Ben Kerch ran a big personal best for 3 miles as he crossed the line in 21:04.8. Sophomore Joey Naftzger had another big personal best performance as he ran 21:31.7 for the race. Senior Tyler Rosenthal had a strong sprint finish to beat a Niles West runner to the finish in 22:25.5.

The varsity won against the other competing schools (Niles West, Niles North, and Maine East). The team had 14 of the top 20 places in the race. This was the last meet before Flight Night and the Championship Phase of the season. The team is continuing to focus on executing their best race plans both individually and collectively. The team will need to be focused on all the details for the remainder of the season so that they can be successful and reach their goals. Great things still to come for the Giants!  WE > ME