Announcement
Northside WINS Indoor City Title! 4x800m Relay WINS! 4x400m Relay WINS! Malcolm Grba WINS 800m! Danny Rosen breaks school record to WIN 1600m!!
On Sunday, March 23, 2014, the Northside Varsity Mens Varsity Track & Field Team traveled to Proviso West High School in Hillside, Illinois for the 2014 Indoor City Championships.
For the past three years (2011-2013), Northside finished in second place in the Varsity Chicago Public League Indoor Championships.
To win the 2014 Varsity Indoor City Championships, it would require Northside to have some of the most incredible performances in the history of the program.
The "A" division of the 2014 Varsity Indoor City Championships featured a very impressive field. Among others, Dunbar scored the most points for the Chicago Public League at the Class 3A IHSA State Track & Field Championships in 2013 and 2012 (4th in State as a Team). Chicago Whitney Young finished second at the 2013 Varsity Outdoor City Championships, and scored the second most points for the Chicago Public League at the 2013 Class 3A IHSA State Track & Field Championships. North Lawndale recently finished second to Oswego East at the Gene Armer Invitational in Champaign, Illinois. Perspectives Charter won the indoor city title in 2013. Simeon had also won the indoor Title as recently as 2011. Morgan Park, Mather, and Wendell Phillips also have outstanding Teams. It was an incredible field, and a very special meet.
The 2014 Varsity Indoor City Championships featured non-stop action and intense competition in every event. Team scores were so tight, that it came down to the final event of the meet, the 4x400m relay to decide the 2014 Varsity Indoor City Champion.
Prior to Sunday, the fastest Northside 4x400m Relay of the season was a 3:49.40 at the Maine East Blue Demon Invitational. Northside would need to break 3:40 to have a chance at winning the 4x400m Relay and go home with the Team title.
The four men chosen by the Northside Coaching Staff for the 4x400m Relay were Malcolm Grba, Simon Kafka, Danny Rosen, and Tom Frejowski. All four athletes had already competed in prior events. Junior Malcolm Grba ran an incredible race to win the 800m run by .01 of a second for the Indoor City 800m Title. Senior Simon Kafka anchored Northside to the 4x800m Relay Indoor City Title. Sophomore Danny Rosen broke the Northside school record to win the 1600m run with a 4:33.37. It was also the second fastest time in the State of Illinois by a Sophomore this season. Junior Tom Frejowski had also secured vital points for the mustangs by earning All City Honors in the 400m Dash with an impressive 53.57.
Every seat in the Proviso West Indoor Track & Field stadium was filled. People were standing along the fence to get a glimpse of the 4x400m Relay.
The respective Teams and Athletes toed the line for the 4x400m Relay, and the gun was fired!
On the first leg of the 4x400m Relay, Northside Captain Malcolm Grba ran the first 200m in 26 seconds, and then ran the final 200m in 27.91 seconds for a personal best 400m split of 53.91, and then made a perfect exchange to Simon Kafka. Northside Senior Simon Kafka ran the first 200m in 27 seconds, and then ran the final 200m in 28.46 seconds for an impressive 400m split of 55.46, and then made a nice exchange to Danny Rosen. Northside Sophomore Danny Rosen ran the first 200m in 27 seconds, and then ran the final 200m in 27.73 seconds for a personal best 400m split of 54.73, and then made a perfect exchange to Tom Frejowski. Northside Captain Tom Frejowski ran the first 200m in 27 seconds. Whitney Young anchor Kevin Ma made an impressive attempt to try and catch Frejowski during the first 200m, and closed the gap. Northside Captain Tom Frejowski was incredible, and ran the final 200m in 27.04 seconds to anchor the Mustangs to VICTORY with an impressive 54.07 400m split for an official time of 3:38.79. Northside dropped 11 seconds (3:49.40) to WIN the 4x400m Relay!
Northside College Prep WON the 2014 Varsity Indoor City Title with 67 points and posted victories over: 2. Whitney Young (61 points), 3. Dunbar (52 points), 4. Morgan Park (50 points), 5. Mather (43 points), 6. Wendell Phillips (32 Points), 7. Simeon (30 Points), 8. Lincoln Park (27 Points), 9. Kenwood Academy (25 points), 10. North Lawndale (20 points), 11. Brooks (18 Points), and 12. Perspectives (9 Points).
Athletes will be awarded TEAM trophies for WINNING the 2014 Varsity Indoor City Title at the June 6, 2014 Track & Field Banquet.
Individual events and relays were scored on the following point scale: 10-8-6-4-2-1.
