Highland Park High School’s Annual Charity Drive event for Propel A Cure has already come to a close, marking a successful run for the Chron’s disease fighting charity. Among many of the exciting events, Highland Park High School hosted an exciting cannonball contest at the indoor pool for the drive on February 6th.
The first-ever cannonball contest occurred in March 2022 and has served as a recurring event for the school’s yearly drive. Other events that day were Pie in the Face, Blue Pole Signing for the Seniors, and later the “Art into the Night”. Participants paid three dollars to enter, and spectators paid five dollars, with all proceeds supporting Propel a Cure. The event lasted about 30 minutes, with three judges scoring the participants on a 1-10 scale based on their splash volume and style.
The first round included all 9 participants, and the second round the top 3. Some participants were given another attempt. Here are the results:
Main Round:
Tom Ward: 6, 5.99, 6.7
Paxton Feder: 8.2, 7.694, 7.9
Cooper Kasdin: 8.9, 8.88, 8.91
Josh Midanek: 3, 5.55, 3.14
Josh’s Midanek (retry): 5, 6.23, 6.3
Jesse Barnes: 8.8, 7, 8.43
Ruy Barranco: 2.9, 4.44, 3.33
Luke Giese: 7.7, 7.5, 7.59
Ben Hilgart: 8.8, 8ish, 8.1
Brody Landes: 10, 9.99, 10
Final 3:
Ben Hilgart: 9, 9.5, 9.125
Cooper Kasdin: 8.5, 8.729, 8.8
Brody Landes: 11, 11, 11
Brody Landes was crowned the 2026 Cannonball Champion! The audience agreed that the scoring was extremely accurate, and many cannonballers left the event pleased with the fun afternoon.