CHICAGO MARIST TRACK AND FIELD

 On Friday, April 25, 2014, the Northside Varsity Men Track & Field Team traveled to Highland Park High School in Highland Park, Illinois for the Highland Park Twilight Invitational.

 Prior to the meet, Northside promoted several Sophomore and Freshman sprinters to the Varsity, and they had an immediate impact for the Varsity TEAM. 

 The meet featured Larkin, Taft, Mundelein, Grayslake North, Northside College Prep, New Trier, and host Highland Park High School. 

 Prior to 2014, the highest a Northside Varsity Team had finished at the Highland Park Twilight Invitational was fifth place. That changed dramatically on Friday.

 Northside finished in SECOND place with 98.50 points, and posted victories over: 3. Elgin Larkin (66 points), 4. Mundelein (59 points), 5. Grayslake North (52 points), 6. New Trier (45 points), and 7. Taft (39.50 points). Northside had a record of 5-1 on the day!  

 The first Track event of the day, was the 4x800m Relay. It was important for the relay to get the Mustangs off to a good start in the meet, and set the tone for the night.

 Among others, the field featured Junior Bryce Richards as anchor for Mundelein. Bryce Richards had recently competed in the Arcadia Invitational in California, and also finished ninth in the 800m run at the Class 3A Illinois Prep Top Times Championship (Indoor State). The field also featured New Trier. New Trier has a long history of strong 4x800m Relay Teams. A year ago (2013), the New Trier Sophomore 4x800m Relay Team had pushed Northside to the meet record in a toe to toe battle.

 Northside Captain Malcolm Grba ran his fastest opening 400m in an 800m this season, on the first leg of 4x800m Relay with an impressive 400m split of 58 seconds. Junior Malcolm Grba then ran the final 400m in 64 seconds to give the Mustangs a commanding lead with a 2:02.93 800m split, and then made a perfect exchange to Simon Kafka. 

 Senior Simon Kafka opened up the lead by running the first 400m in 61 seconds. Simon Kafka was too strong for the field, and no one challenged his position during the second leg of the 4x800m Relay. Kafka ran the final 400m in 63 seconds for an 800m split of 2:04.02, and then made a perfect exchange to Matthew Gomez.

 Sophomore Matthew Gomez protected the large lead by running the first 400m in 61 seconds, and then ran the final 400m in 70 seconds for an 800m split of 2:11.18, and then made a nice exchange to Danny Rosen.

 Sophomore Danny Rosen ran the first 400m in 60 seconds, and then cruised to the finish line during the final 400m with a split of 67 seconds to secure the victory with an 800m split of 2:07.27 for an outstanding time of 8:25.90.

 Mundelein finished in second place with an official time of 8:38.41. Highland Park finished in third place with an official time of 8:53.33. New Trier finished in fourth place with an official time of 9:02.94. Taft finished in fifth place with an official time of 9:03.79.

 Malcolm Grba, Simon Kafka, Matthew Gomez, and Danny Rosen were awarded MEDALS for winning the 4x800m Relay.