2010 Distance Highlights

May 13, 2010 - Larson becomes 25th Red Devil to break 5:00 barrier!

At the final 1600 time trial of the season today, senior Robbie Larson set a personal record and broke 5:00 for the first time. Larson's time of 4:58 made him the 25th member of the team this season to run under 5:00 for the 1600. Senior Jordan Anetsberger won the time trial setting a personal record in his final race of the season with an excellent time of 4:49. Personal bests were also set by Ankit Aggrawal (5:05), Alec Wohlever (5:11), Sagar Dommaraju (5:12), and Sun Kim (5:12). The varsity and frosh/soph runners will have their chance to shine tomorrow at the WSC championships hosted by Downers Grove North.

May 7, 2010 - Devil's Fayette in 3200 run and 4*800 set season best times at McCarthy Invite

The Red Devil's took to their home track this past Friday night, and, despite windy conditions, achieved some impressive performances. Leading the way was the 4*800 relay of Azad and Arash Darbandi, Ted Owens, and Zach Withall. The relay finished 4th overall in a season best time of 8:16. Azad Darbandi led the way with a 2:01 lead-off, with his older brother Arash running a PR of 2:04, Owens running a 2:06, and Withall anchoring in a PR of 2:05.

Billy Fayette finished 2nd in the 3200 to All-Stater Alec Bollman (Palatine H.S.)running a season best of 9:33 and coming back a very short time later to run 4:31 in the 1600.

May 4, 2010 - Devils excel at LT/York Tri meet despite windy conditions

Despite 20 mph winds, the HC distance squad made the most of their opportunities at yesterday's tri-meet against conference rivals York and Lyons Township, with 33 runners setting personal best marks. Most impressively, the freshman harriers saw personal bests set by 20 of the 21 members of the team! Among the day's highlights were the following performances:

    • Ankit Aggrawal setting a 9 second p.r. in the 800 (2:26) followed by a 3 second p.r. in the 1600 (5:19)

    • Neil Pedersen making a debut in the 3200 and running negative splits for an impressive overall time of 10:24

    • Luke Chen winning his first ever high school race with a 10-second pr in the 800 (2:20)

    • Kevin Stradinger and Derek Major having big 12 second prs in the 800 (2:37 for Kevin and 2:43 for Derek)

    • Khaled Noghnogh breaking the 3:00 barrier for the first time in the 800 run (2:58)

    • Three more runners joining the sub 5:00 mile club (Matt Kane in 4:56, Forester Eversten in 4:56, and Mike Korompilas in 4:58)

    • Azad Darbandi setting a career best time of 4:41 in the 1600

    • Jack Girard breaking his 1600 p.r. by 14 seconds to run 5:23

May 1, 2010 - Red Devil distance squad is heating up

At the Jim Arnold Invitational this Saturday, several Red Devil runners had significant personal records, and the team held its own against some of the better athletes in the state. Arash Darbandi ran a p.r. in the 3200 of 9:30.3, the fastest 3200 of the Westphal/Kupres/Lawrence era, and Billy Fayette continued his fine season with a 2:00.5/4:25.8 double. The 4*800 team held a sizeable lead finished less than 5 seconds out of first place, running competitively against an Oak Park River Forest team that earned all-state honors last season. Meanwhile, Freshman Brendan Eng and Dylan Palo both ran personal best times in the 3200 (11:07 for Palo, 11:09 for Eng), and Neil Pedersen had a 7 second p.r. in the 1600 (4:51). Senior Nick Tyson returned to action after several weeks of cross training to run a personal best in the 800 of 2:04.7. Last, but certainly not least, Zach Withall ran an outstanding 1600 race, finishing 7th overall with a 4-second personal best time of 4:31.3.

Earlier in the week, the freshman and sophomore runners had a chance to compete in a home invitational. Ted Owens led the way running a 2:03/4:41 double to finish 2nd in both the 3200 relay and the 1600. Jack Feldman joined Owens on the 4*800 (along with Dan Chan and Neil Pedersen) running a p.r. of 2:06, then came back an hour later to finish 2nd in the open 800 (2:08), and finished an hour after that by contributing a leg to the runner-up 4*400 team. Tom Lyons and Arjun Reddy both had small personal record times in the 3200 (10:24 for Lyons, 10:29 for Reddy), as did Brendan Eng in the 1600 (5:04). At both meets, the distance squads proved formidable competitors against first rate opponents.

April 23, 2010 - Major breakthroughs for Owens and Withal at LT Relays ; HC takes second in 4*1600 and Sprint Medley, 3rd in 4*800 and Distance Medley

Returning to LT's track for the second time this week, the Red Devil runners once again took advantage of favorable conditions to run personal best times at the annual Lyons Township relays. Leading the way was Ted Owens, who dropped his lifetime PR from 2:10 to 2:03.4 during his 800 leg of the distance medley relay, and Zach Withall, who ran a lifetime 1600 PR by 6 seconds en route to a 4:35.5 for his leg of the 4*1600, a relay in which all four runners earned personal best marks (Fayette in 4:24, Darbandi in 4:27, and Feldman in 4:41). Azad Darbandi also ran an 800 leg faster than any runner from last year, finishing at 2:01 in the sprint medley relay.

April 20, 2010 - Chan breaks 5:00 for the first time; 22 others run PRs

On a beautiful day for a track meet, the Hinsdale Central distance squad had several breakthrough performances during the annual LT-Maine West tri meet. The marquee event was the 1600, where Dan Chan ran 4:59.2 to break 5:00 for the first time and was joined by teammates T.J. Collanto and Jordan Anetsberger as the newest members of the 2010 sub-5:00 club. A slew of Freshman are now knocking on the door of this elusive barrier, led by Mike Korompilas, who, in his 1600 debut ran a terrific race to finish in 5:00.7, just ahead of teammate Forester Eversten who crossed the line in 5:01. Dylan Palo, Brendan Eng, and Mark Gesior all ran 5:06/5:07, bringing the freshman closer to completing the quest for the "drive for five" freshman under 5:00.

Other impressive performances were turned in by Luke Chen (5:33), Kevin Stradinger (5:45), and Tommy Lubenow (5:47), while Derek Major (5:52) an Kevin Labotka (5:59) broke 6:00 for the first time ever. Congrats, gentleman!

April 17, 2010 - Victories for Fayette and Feldman at Bud Mohn's Invitational; Arash Darbandi runner-up in 3200

Billy Fayette earned his first ever Varsity invitational victory in the 1600 meter run Saturday at Downers Grove South, while Jack Feldman earned his first ever invitational gold earlier in the day at the sophomore level of the 3200 run. The two HC runners used strategies which proved to be a study in contrasts: Fayette breaking for the lead early in the race and holding on to victory, Feldman patiently pacing off a York runner and then blasting to victory with an outstanding kick in the last 100 meters where he moved from third to first. Fayette's time of 4:26.5 matched his best time ever, while Feldman dropped his PR by a whopping 24 seconds to 10:11.

In the other section of the 3200, senior Arash Darbandi ran a solid race despite a strong headwind and lots of maneuvering and jockeying for position among competitors early on. Darbandi put on a strong move to distance himself from the pack, and fought York's Kuphall Sangha in the final lap, settling for a second place finish in a personal best time of 9:40.9.

Earlier in the day, the Devil's saw strong performances turned in by several members of the 3200 relay. Personal best times were recorded by Dan Chan (2:13), Forester Eversten (2:17), Brad Somerfield (2:13), and by senior Robby Larson (2:10). Larson was making his varsity debut, and took full advantage, shaving 7 seconds off his previous 800 p.r. Tom Lyons and Azad Darbandi both earned personal bests in the open 800 - Lyons finished 5th with a time of 2:11, while Azad dropped his best time to 2:02.6. Capping off a good day for the Devil's was Arjun Reddy who had a big p.r. in the 1600 running 4:50.5 for 4th place. Teammate Ryan Somerfield finished right behind in 5th. Congrats to the distance squad for racking up some major points for the team!

April 10, 2010 - Several personal best times as Devil's open up Outdoor season

Jack Feldman and Arash Darbandi both had a pair of personal bests to lead the team at the Hinsdale Relays this saturday. Despite strong winds, the distance squad collected 8 personal bests and 2 more seasonal bests out of 15 possible races. Feldman earned the biggest drop in his previous best time by dropping his 1600 PR 10 seconds with a 4:42 performance in the 4*1600. In the same race, Arash Darbandi set a personal best by 3 seconds dropping his time to 4:31, and Joe Berg also dropped his time 3 seconds running 4:49. Billy Fayette led off the relay with a seaonal best of 4:30.6.

Also earning personal bests were Arjun Reddy in the 4*800 (2:13.2), T.J. Collanto in the 4*800 (2:12.2), Darbandi in the 1200 of the DMR (3:19), and Feldman in the 800 of the DMR (2:09.5). Ted Owens tied his PR with his race winning 2:08 in the Sprint Medley relay, and Drew Justus set a seasonal best with a 2:09.4 split in the 4*800. Complete splits are at the bottom of the page.

March 22, 2010 - Freshman Devil's represent well at Indoor Conference.

Ryan Somerfield led the way for the Hinsdale Central Freshman at the Conference meet held this past Monday at York High School. Somerfield finished 2nd in the 1600 and helped the 4*800 to a runner-up finish with a 2:15 leadoff leg. The other members of the 4*800 were Stephen Tyson (2:26), Alec Wohlever (in a personal best time of 2:22) and Mike Korompilas (2:15). Korompilas earned all-conference in three different events, finishing 4th in the open 800 and helping the 4*400 team to a 3rd place finish (in a personal best time of 59.5). Dylan Palo and Mark Gesior crossed the line within a second of each other to finish 5th and 6th in the 3200 (in 11:15), while Sagar Dommaraju ran an 8-second personal best in the 800 (2:25) to finish 5th. Forrester Eversten made his track debut with a 4th place finish in the 600 (1:39) while Brendan Eng capped off a good day for the Devil's by earning a PR with his 6th place 1600 finish of 5:16.

March 19, 2010 - 33 Personal Records and 9 Seasonal Records set by HC distance runners at Conference Meet and JV Time Trial!

The Sophomore 4*800 got the Red Devil's off to a great start at the Conference Meet with a second place finish of 8:43 that featured all four members of the team earning personal best times. Ted Owens led off with a 2:08 and handed off to freshman Mike Korompilas who ran an outstanding of time of 2:11.8. Mike passed the baton to his freshman counterpart Ryan Somerfield who pushed through to a time of 2:14.2, and Neil Pedersen ran a great anchor leg of 2:09 to bring home the silver.

There are too many great performances to name, but major highlights included Azad Darbandi earning two all-conference honors in the 800 (2:04.2) and the 600 (1:28.2), Dan Chan running a huge P.R. in the 800 of 2:14, and Neil Pedersen earning a "quasi-silver" medal out of the slow heat of the 600 with a P.R. of 1:34.

Earlier in the day, Zach Withall impressed with a 4:41 in the JV time trial, while Billy Grimm broke the elusive 5:00 barrier for the first time ever, running 4:59. Congrats to Billy and all our runners!

March 12, 2010 - DUAL OF THE DISTRICTS - Stubbings and Pedersen break 5:00 barrier for the first time! R. Somerfiled right on the cusp; Gomez breaks 6:00 for first time ever.

Several more Hinsdale distance runners achieved all-time personal bests at the Dual of the Districts this weekend. Highlighting this group were Bill Grimm (10:58) in the 3200 run, Sagar Dommarju (2:33), Jack Girard (2:35), Pat Kendall (2:45), Will Raj (2:46), and Khaled Noghnogh (3:07) in the 800, and Tom Lyons (4:54), Pete Stubbings (4:55.5), Neil Pedersen (4:58), Mark Gesior (5:14), Steven Tyson (5:30), Sun Kim (5:32), Sam Gomez (5:53), Kevin Stradinger (6:02), and Luke Chen (6:16) in the 1600.

30 PRS in Friday's meet against Benet, Marmion, Grayslake, and Roosevelt - Azad Darandi preserves distance squad's honor with thrilling victory over Ben Cherry!

It was another successful night for the Red Devil's this past March 5th, as Azad Darbandi and Billy Fayette finished 1-3 in a much anticipated match-up against Hinsdale Sprint starts Ben Cherry and Jordan Cray, highlighting a performance that saw over half the team achieve lifetime best performances. In the 3200. Alex Stec took the varsity crown with a 10:38 winning time, while the 800 saw personal best performances turned in by Alec Wohlever (2:24), Mark Gesior (2:25), Sam Gomez (2:33), Luke Chen (2:34), Jack Girard (2:38), Will Raj (2:46), and Kahled Noghnogh (3:14). For Kahled, it was his fourth PR for the 800 in a row, as he has dropped his times from 3:53, to 3:33, to 3:21, and now to 3:14!

Capping off the meet for the distance crew was the mile run, where Joe Berg led all Devil's with a PR of 4:52.6. Other personal best times were achieved by Dan Chan (5:18), Sagar Dommaraju (5:44), Ankit Aggrawal (5:45), Jack Girard (5:51), Pat Kendall (5:52), Jack Rogers (5:54), and Kevin Labotka (6:03).

The Devil's will compete next in the Dual of the Districts this Friday at Hinsdale South.

11 PRs at Proviso West Invite

Several runners had all-time best performances this past Saturday at the highly competitive Proviso West Invite. Highlights included Jack Feldman running 2 prs in the 4*800 (2:10.4 split) and mile run (4:54.7), Arash Darbandi earning two prs in the same two events (2:05.9 and 4:36.0), and Freshman Ryan Somerfield (5:06.5) and Mike Korompilas (2:15.0) stepping it up in their first ever big-time invitational. Arjun Reddy and Tom Lyons crossed the line within a half second in the 3200, finishing 5th and 6th with dual prs of 10:31. Joe Berg added a PR a short while later running 10:25, while Brad Somerfield ran a PR in the mile run (4:56.5) to cap off a strong day for the Devils.

DEVIL'S off to a Good Start at Little Four Invite

The devils distance squad took to the track for their first meet of the season this past friday. Several members of the team were competing in their first ever track meet. The team put in a solid showing with several young runners earning personal best times. Some of the highlights included:

-Tom Lyons earning 2nd in the sophomore 3200 run with a solid time of 10:45, followed by freshman Mark Gesior who ran 11:22 in his first ever race.

-Freshman Mike Korompilas turning in the best split in both the 3200 and 1600 relay, with times of 2:24 and 1:02 respectively

-Joe Berg running the fastest 3200 relay split in 2:16.7 and finishing third in the Varsity 600 with a time of 1:37

-Jack Feldman earning a runner-up in the sophomore 800 with a solid time of 2:14.0

-Azad Darbandi breaking 5:00 for the first time this season en route to a 4:56 mile. He was followed closely by Brad Somerfield who came close to breaking the barrier as well, running 5:04.

-Arjun Reddy winning his first ever track race with a 5:04 mile.

-More splits and analysis at the bottom of the page.