Highland High School Class of 1982
Darryl Frerker graduated from Highland High School in 1982. He then headed to Illinois State University to pursue his education and athletic career, graduating in 1987.

Darryl Frerker ran cross country for HHS from 1978 to 1981 and was on the tennis teams in the spring of those same seasons. It is in the sport of running that he really excelled. Darryl was the only HHS boy to ever win a medal at the IHSA state cross country meet when he finished 10th in the 1981 finals. His time of 14:40 is the fastest that any runner from the immediate area had ran since Craig Virgin of Lebanon ten years earlier. In college, Darryl competed for the Redbird track and cross country teams and won six Missouri Valley Conference championships and was named a an NCAA All-American after the 1987 season. After graduation from college, Darryl took his talents to the international level. He competed in Japan, Australia, New Zealand and in many European countries. In February of 1988 he became only the 158th American in history to break the 4:00 mile when he finished with a 3:58.1 in South Bend, Indiana. He earned a trip to the Olympic Trials later that year and raced well but came up short in his bid to make the 1988 USA Olympic team that competed in Seoul, South Korea. He kept competing and in 1991 he won the 1500 M Olympic Festival final and followed that up with a #1 national ranking in the indoor mile. The 1992 season gave hi another crack at the Olympics and he would lay it all on the line at the trials in New Orleans. In the prelims he ran incredibly well and advanced to the semis for the first time in his career. After a solid 6th place in the semi-final round Frerker qualified for the finals. He would have to crack the top three to make the Olympic team and he made a valiant effort to do so, He even led the race for a while before finishing 10th overall.

In 1995 Darryl became the head coach of the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville cross country and track teams. After several seasons at the collegiate level, Darryl took a position as teacher and coach at Collinsville High School. In 1997 Darryl was inducted into the Illinois State Redbird Athletics Hall of Fame. His former high school coach, Steve Moore said, “Darryl was the most talented runner I ever coached. He was one of the hardest workers too.”