Lake Bluff Teen Brings Home State Championship Title At Track Meet

LAKE BLUFF, IL — Lake Bluff teen and North Shore Country Day student Brian E. Smith took home a state championship title at last weekend's Illinois High School Association State Finals track meet.

In the 400-meter dash, Smith finished with a time of 48.47 seconds, earning first place in Class 1A and recording the third-fastest 400-meter time across all three IHSA classes. With the win, Smith became the third individual state champion in his school's history.

In his qualifying heat earlier that week, Smith broke his own school record, lowering his fastest time by over a second to finish in 48.12 and setting the stage for his upcoming victory.

At the meet, Smith was also one of only two athletes in the state to place in all three sprint events, placing fifth in the 100-meter and seventh in the 200-meter.

"Smith’s state championship marks a milestone for the program and caps a season of growth, grit and Raider pride," a North Shore Country Day spokesperson said.

When Smith enrolled at private high school North Shore Country Day as a freshman, he was a baseball player. However, due to the school's fall sports requirement for ninth graders, he decided to give cross country running a try

After the transition to cross country, Smith went on to rack up many awards before earning his state champ title over the weekend, including:

• Indoor 400-meter state champion (2024 and 2025 Illinois Top Times meet)
• 2024 IHSA 1A state runner-up in the outdoor 400
• Broke a 20-year-old ISL conference record in the 400
• Eighth in the nation at 400 at the Adidas Indoor Nationals (March 2025)
• 1A Indoor state meet record holder for 400 (March 2025)

See related: Lake Bluff Teen Will Represent Illinois School At National Track Meet

Two additional racers from North Shore Country Day also qualified for the state meet. Junior Reese Meyers came in sixth in the 400-meter dash at the girls meet the weekend before with a time of 57.94; and sophomore Kaeden Ackley advanced in the triple jump.

Despite the school having a smaller roster, the student athletes on North Shore Country Day's track and field team had a standout season with now school records set for boys and girld in various events.

“We’re incredibly proud of all three student-athletes for representing North Shore on such a competitive level,” said Athletic Director and coach Patrick McHugh. “It was truly an amazing performance.”