Highland boys, girls track struggles on tough weekends at IHSA Class 2A state meet

On Memorial Day weekend, Highland Bulldogs sophomore middle distance runner Dallas Mancinas and the HHS 4x800 relay team made the trek east to Eastern Illinois Unversity in Charleston for the IHSA Class 2A state track meet.

Mancinas and the 4x800 teams had high hopes for big finishes, but when the dust settled May 25, the Bulldogs were not among the finalists in the 800 meter run or the 4x800 relay.

The 4x800 relay team of Mancinas, Ethan Smith, Avery Brock and Cole Basden ran first and ended up finishing 21st in the preliminary heat with a time of 8:22.

“That’s state-level competition (they faced) and we were preparing all week to face it. Time-wise we were still back from what we ran at sectionals because our PR was 8.14,” Highland coach Joe Shannon said. “The field in general was about 6 to 7 seconds back and up until Avery Brock’s leg — which was the third leg — we were fine and then I think everybody else’s third leg was a little bit quicker so that allowed four different teams to pass Avery on his second lap.”

Cole Basden finished the anchor leg of the baton and was forced to make up a lot of ground fast.

“By that point, Cole Basden got the baton and as the anchor leg, he went out on a dead-out sprint for 50 to 75 meters trying to catch the pack and was pretty much spent after the first lap,” Shannon said. “Going into it, I was really hoping we would hit some PRs, but we didn’t. I think it was a really valuable experience for Dallas and Avery, especially with some of the freshmen we’re getting in track.”

Mancinas spiked, battles through

It was a tough double-duty day for Mancinas, who had to turn around less than an hour later and run the open 800 meters. Mancinas — who ran a 2.02-minute split in the 4x800 — finished 35th in the preliminary heat with a time of 2:14.54, which left him short of the finals cut for that race.

“In that relay, Dallas split a 2.02 which was about a second and a half off his personal best throughout the year and through 2 1/2 legs he was up there to put us in the finals,” Shannon said. “Doing 800s in a day is not an easy double (run) and that might have been the third meet we were in with weather near or over 90 degrees ... after the 4x800, Dallas was pretty sick at that point.

Mancinas had to battle the heat and illness as the race started. Then, at the start of his race, he was shoved to the side by another runner and then accidentally spiked as he initially fell to the ground and got back up to run which caused him to have a hitch in his stride the rest of the race.

“It was a noticeable hitch in his step the entire race so he tried to keep up with the field for the first lap and then the second lap he looked like he was hobbling, so time and place were pretty irrelevant to me at that point,” Shannon said. “Dallas is a fighter and I was really proud of him for fighting through it and finishing the race at state.”

Highland girls track update

A week earlier on May 19, the Highland girls track team sent Peyton Frey to state. Frey, a junior middle-distance runner, competed for the Bulldogs in the IHSA Class 2A at Eastern Illinois University.

Frey, who qualified for state in the 800-meter run at the IHSA Class 2A sectional at Civic Memorial in Bethalto on May 11, was looking to be a top-10 finisher in her first trip to state.

Frey got out to a good start in the 800 in her preliminary heat but could not maintain the pace and wound up finishing 24th with a time of 2:27.5.

“Obviously it was not her best (performance) as she shaved seven seconds off her PR which was a school record and a huge deal, but she was in a unique situation in her conference where she was the fastest girl in almost every one of her races,” Bulldog coach Nick Schaible said. “Then going to state, she’s actually got people who are faster than her and I think that got in her head a little bit. She started out a little too fast and she had a really good first lap and then just put a little too much effort in the first lap and kind of died off the second lap.”

Schaible believes that in spite of the tough near-miss finish for Frey, her first trip to state will give her valuable experience for her senior season.

“It’s still a good experience (for her) coming into next year and we’re looking to improve on that and yes, she should be doing way better (next year),” he said.