IHSA Sectionals
BRODSKY LEADS THE CHARGE AT SECTIONALS WITH 23RD PLACE SHOWING, TEAM FINSIHES 15TH
The DFDC travelled to Busse Woods to compete in the IHSA 3A Sectional hosted by Hoffman Estates. 18 teams qualified for this meet from their respective Regionals, so the competition was fierce.
Senior Bradley Brodsky was a hopeful for one of the seven individual qualifying spots for the State Championships. He knew the final qualifier usually finishes around 15th place, so he put himself in the top 25 in the first mile with the chance to move up. Unfortunately, Bradley was not able to move up as he had planned, and he finished in 23rd place. His 15:17 was a three-second personal best, but was ten seconds behind the final individual state qualifier.
There was a similar mood surround the rest of the team’s results. A quarter mile into the race, sophomore Josh Puyear and junior Ben Kraemer, who are normally the second and third runners for Deerfield, were involved in a collision and tumbled to the ground. They both got up and kept running, but the fall pushed them farther back than usual with a ton of ground to make up. They spent the rest of the race trying to climb back into position, but they could only do so much. That’s how sports work. Sometimes the unexpected occurs and you have to deal with it.
Freshman Cole Bernstein was the fourth finisher for the Warriors. Senior Jonathan Wallk was fifth. Sophomore Charlie Hart was sixth, and senior Declan Black was seventh after a selfless race where he tired himself out by spending most of the first mile trying to help Puyear regain his position.
This race concluded the 2018 season for Deerfield cross country. Although the final race didn’t go as planned, it was a fantastic season. The Warriors peaked at the right time and were able to sweep all four levels at the Conference Championship meet, including beating rival Highland Park on the varsity level for the first time in many years. They later ran a stellar Regional race to qualify for Sectionals, despite being the smallest 3A school in the entire state. The future is very bright for the Warriors as they now look to track season this spring and the next cross country season the following fall.
