CHICAGO MARIST TRACK AND FIELD

 On Saturday, March 4, 2017, the Northside Varsity Men traveled to Maine East High School for the 51st Annual Blue Demon Invitational. It was the Mustangs fourth appearance in Northside history at the Blue Demon Invitational.

 Maine East has a long history of hosting the best Track meets in the Central Suburban league. The competition is always outstanding. They have also hosted Indoor Pentathlons at the start of every indoor track season. The Track is 160m and allows athletes to use 1/8 Pyramid spikes.

 Maine East also features upper deck stadium seating. Maine East Alumni include Hillary Clinton, and Stanton Cook (former Chairman of the Chicago Cubs).

 The 51st Annual Blue Demon Invitational featured 11 schools, including: Deerfield, Glenbard East, Leyden, Maine West, New Trier, Northside, Schaumburg, Northridge, Vernon Hills, Wheeling, and host Maine East.

 Entries were limited to two athletes per event in the Varsity division. The meet featured four Sophomore-Freshman events, the Shot Put, 4x800m Relay, 4x160m Relay, and 4x400m Relay.

 Medals were awarded to the top six athletes or Relays in each event. Individual events and relays were scored on the following point scale: 10-8-6-4-2-1. Sophomore Events count in the Varsity Team scores.

 In 2014, as High School Freshman, Brian McManus, Christian Thorsberg, Kyle Friedler, and Alex Ortiz finished in sixth place in the Sophomore 3200m Relay with an official time of 9:59.02 at the Maine East Invitational.

 In 2017, Northside Senior Kyle Friedler ran a 9:44.90 to WIN the 3200m run! Kyle Friedler ran 160m splits of 27, 30, 29, 28, 30 (2:24 800m), 30, 29, 29, 29, 28 (4:49 1600m), 31, 29, 30, 29, 30 (7:18 2400m), 30, 30, 29, 30, and then ran the final 160m in a NEGATIVE split of 27.90 seconds for an outstanding time of 9:44.90. Kyle Friedler ran the first mile in 4:49, and then ran the final mile in 4:55 for an official time of 9:44.90. Kyle Friedler was awarded a MEDAL for finishing in FIRST place. Kyle Friedler came within 29 seconds of the Maine East Indoor Stadium 3200m Record (9:15.5, St.John, Maine West, 1970). New Trier's Burke finished in second place with an official time of 9:57.7. Deerfield's Gold finished in third place with an official time of 10:05.4. New Trier's Roge finished in fourth place with an official time of 10:12.7. Vernon Hills Auw finished in fifth place with an official time of 10:19.3. Deerfield's Winter finished in sixth place to complete the scoring with an official time of 10:26.00. Northside Sophomore Kris Ushijima ran the first mile in 5:16, and then ran the final mile in 5:26 for a personal best time of 10:42.86. Kris Ushijima passed alumni legend Max Mcoy (10:45.78) on the Northside 3200m All time list for the 17th fastest time in Northside history! Kris Ushijima dropped 38 seconds (11:20.72) with a personal best time of 10:42.86.

 In the Shot Put, Northside Senior Matthew Kosova threw a PERSONAL BEST 37'8. Northside Junior Daniel Agbeo threw an outstanding 34'4. Northside Freshman Marcus Zinke threw a PERSONAL BEST 28'6.

 In the Long Jump, Northside Junior Elias Decker had a leap of 15'8. Northside Junoir Daniel Agbeo jumped an official distance of 13'10.75.

 In the Triple Jump, Northside Senior Brandon Banas jumped an official distance of 33'7.50. Northside Junior Elias Decker jumped an official distance of 33'3.50.

 In the High Jump, Northside Freshman Marcus Zinke had a BIG day for the Northside Mustangs. On February 3, Marcus Zinke jumped a personal best 4'6 at the Niles West Invitational. On February 24, Marcus Zinke improved to 5'0 at the Paul Swanson Relays. On March 4, at Maine East, Marcus Zinke jumped a PERSONAL BEST 5'4. Zinke has improved by 0'4 in the High Jump at every Track meet. Zinke is incredible athlete, and is one of the Mustangs top Freshman distance runners, and is also the best high jumper on the TEAM.

 Northside will have 4 athletes in the 4x800m Relay at the Varsity Indoor City Championships on Saturday, March 18, and 4 athletes in the 4x800m Relay at the Sophomore Ostberg Indoor Championships on Tuesday, March 21. As a result, the 800m splits from Relays, and open races at the 51st Annual Maine East Invitational will have a major impact on the entries for upcoming Championship meets.

 An 800m Time Trial, for a Pineapple, took place at Maine East, prior to the commencement of the Track Events. Northside Freshman phenom Jack Peterson surprised everyone but himself by winning it with a personal best time of 2:41.00. Jack Peterson will be honored and awarded a Pineapple prior to the commencement of practice on Monday. Northside Junior Mason Sotomayor finished in second place with a season best time of 2:44.00. Northside Junior Isreal Gomez finished in third place with an official time of 2:59.00. Northside Freshman Payton Kane finished in fourth place with a personal best time of 3:00.00.  

 In the Sophomore-Freshman 4x800m Relay, Northside Sophomore John Kim ran a personal best 800m split of 2:24.01 on the first leg of the relay, and made a nice exchange to Gabriel Vara. Northside Sophomore Gabriel Vara ran an outstanding 2:35.52 800m split on the second leg of the relay, and made a good exchange to Jalen Miron. Northside Freshman Jalen Miron ran a personal best 800m split of 2:33.54, and made a perfect exchange to Jack Vasilopoulos. Northside Freshman Jack Vasilopoulos anchored Northside to fifth in their heat, and seventh overall with a 2:35.13 800m split for an official time of 10:08.20.

 In the Varsity 4x800m Relay, Northside Senior Brian McManus ran 160m splits of 25, 28, 27, 27, and then ran the final 160m in 28.27 seconds for a 2:15.27 800m split, and made a good exchange to Sergio Soto. Northside Senior Sergio Soto ran 160m splits of 26, 27, 28, 29, and then ran a NEGATIVE 160m split in 27.74 seconds for a 2:17.74 800m split, and made a nice exchange to Charlie Guthmann. Northside Junior Charlie Guthmann was a member of the Northside 4x800m Relay at the 2016 IHSA State Championships. Guthmann ran a 2:11.55 800m split at the 2016 IHSA State Track and Field Championships, and just finished the IHSA Regional Basketball tournament on Monday, February 27. Guthmann came into Track season in top condition, thanks to Northside Basketball Coach Przemyslaw Kania. Charlie Guthmann exploded after the exchange from Sergio Soto with impressive 160m splits of 24, 24, 27, 29, and then ran the final 160m in an EVEN split of 29 seconds for Indoor personal best 800m split of 2:13.45, and made a perfect exchange to Nortberto Nieves. A year ago, Guthmann ran a 2:23 800m split in his first indoor meet of the season. Guthmann had an incredible performance, and the best is yet to come. Northside Sophomore phenom Norberto Nieves protected the mustangs lead by running 160m splits of 26, 29, 29, 30, and then ran the final 160m in a NEGATIVE split of 28.37 seconds for an 800m split of 2:22.37 to finish first in their heat, and sixth overall with an official time of 9:09.20. Brian McManus, Sergio Soto, Charlie Guthmann, and Norberto Nieves were awarded MEDALS for finishing in sixth place overall, out of 11 high schools.

 In the Varsity 50 Yards High Hurdles Finals, Northside Senior Jay Borgwardt finished in sixth place with a personal best time of 7.8. Borgwardt was awarded a MEDAL for finishing in sixth place overall.

 In the Varsity 50 Yard Dash Semi-Finals, Northside Junior Guy Lohoua ran a personal best time of 5.8. Lohoua finished in 4th place, and missed qualifying for the Finals by one place. Lohoua advanced to the Semi-Finals after running a 6.1 in the Prelims. Northside Junior Daniel Agbeo ran an official time of 6.2 in the prelims.

 In the Varsity 50 Yards Low Hurdles Finals, Northside Junior Asher Rappaport finished in sixth place with a personal best time of 7.5. Rappaport was awarded a MEDAL for finishing in sixth place overall.

 In the Varsity 800m run, Vernon Hills Mohrdieck won it with an official time of 2:05.5. New Trier's Blond finished in second place with an official time of 2:06.0. Northside Senior Alex Ortiz ran 160m splits of 24, 26, 26, 25, and then ran the final 160m in 25.50 seconds to finish in third place with a season best time of 2:06.50. New Trier's Marrick finished in fourth place with an official time of 2:07.30. Northside Junior Jacob Yosowitz ran 160m splits of 24, 27, 26, 25, and then ran the final 160m in 26.50 seconds to finish in fifth place with a PERSONAL BEST time of 2:08.50. Maine West's Leon finished in sixth place to complete the scoring with an official time of 2:08.90. Northside scored 8 points in the 800m run!

 In the Sophomore-Freshman 4x160m Relay, Northside Freshman Jeronimo Najarro ran a 23.18 160m split on the first leg of the relay, and made a nice exchange to Jack Peterson. Northside Freshman Jack Peterson ran a 23.72 160m split on the second leg of the relay, and made a good exchange to Jalen Miron. Northside Freshman Jalen Miron ran a 23.98 160m split on the third leg of the relay, and made a perfect exchange to Jack Vasilopoulos. Northside Freshman Jack Vasilopoulos anchored Northside to sixth place overall with an impressive 22.58 160m split for an official time of 1:33.70.

 In the Varsity 4x160m Relay, Northside Junior Carel Jones ran a 21.02 160m split on the first leg of the relay, and had trouble with the exchange to Brandon Banas. Northside Senior Brandon Banas ran a 19.20 160m split on the second leg of the relay, and made a good exchange to Jadd Oweimrin. Northside Junior Jadd Oweimrin ran a 20.74 160m split on the third leg of the relay, and made a nice exchange to Jay Borgwardt. Northside Senior Jay Borgwardt anchored Northside with a 20.73 160m split to seventh place with an official time of 1:21.80.

 In the Varsity 400m Dash, Northside Junior Charlie Guthmann WON his heat, and finished in sixth place overall with a PERSONAL BEST 400m time of 57.50. It was the fastest Northside open 400m time in 2017, including the King of the Quarter competition. Charlie Guthmann was awarded a MEDAL for finishing in sixth place overall. Northside Sophomore Ozazee Osaghae scratched from his event(s) for the third consecutive meet.

 In the Varsity 1600m run, New Trier's Wonlford won it with an official time of 4:39.90. New Trier's O'Reilly finished in second place with an official time of 4:41.9. Leyden's Sarad finished in third place with an official time of 4:45.5. Deerfield's Wolfe finished in fourth place with an official time of 4:47.10. Maine West's Johnson finished in fifth place with an official time of 4:48.7. Northridge's Conroy finished in sixth place to complete the scoring with an official time of 4:50.9. Northside Senior Brian McManus ran the first 800m in 2:28, and then ran the final 800m in 2:34.60 for a season best time of 5:02.60. Northside Sophomore Norberto Nieves dropped 10 seconds (5:17.20) with a PERSONAL BEST time of 5:07.60. Nortbero Nieves ran the first 800m in 2:31, and then ran the final 800m in 2:36 for a personal best time of 5:07.60.

 In the Varsity 200m dash, Northside Junior Guy Lohoua tied for fifth place with two runners with an official time of 25.0. Guy Lohoua was awarded a MEDAL for finishing in a fifth place tie. Northside Junior Jadd Oweimrin ran an outstanding time of 26.7.

 In the Sophomore 4x400m Relay, Northside Sophomore John Kim ran a 60.75 400m split on the first leg of the relay. Northside Freshman Jeronimo Najarro ran a 66.02 400m split on the second leg of the relay. Northside Sophomore Gabriel Vara ran a 67.61 400m split on the third leg of the relay. Northside Freshman Jack Vasilopoulos anchored the Mustangs with a 65.76 400m split for an official time of 4:20.14.

 In the Varsity 4x400m Relay, Northside Junior Carel Jones ran an impressive 57.41 400m split on the first leg of the realy. Northside Senior Sergio Soto ran a 61.24 400m split on the second leg of the relay. Northside Junior Jacob Yosowitz ran an outstaning 58.80 400m split on the third leg of the relay. Northside Senior Jay Borgwardt anchored Northside with a 61.45 400m split for an official time of 3:58.90.

 New Trier won the 51st Annual Maine East Invitational with 155 points. Deerfield finished in second place with 124 points. Vernon Hills finished in third place with 61 points. Maine East finished in fourth place with 59 points. Schaumburg finished in fifth place with 44 points. Glenbard East finished in sixth place with 41 points.