Story: DGN at Lyons Township Regional

Downers Grove North senior Stephanie Urbancik not only has competed at the state track meet three times but also earned all-state medals in each appearance.

Now she and senior Katie Portman are trying to experience the Class 3A state cross country meet for the first time.

The Trojans need a top-five finish at the Hinsdale Central Sectional at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, and based on the weekly state rankings by three sources, they are projected to finish anywhere from fourth to sixth.

”I’m really excited for (sectionals),” Urbancik said. “I’m nervous, too, because it could be my last race so I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure it’s not and leave everything out there, everything that I have left because there’s nothing to hold back.

”I think if we just remember to run for each other, we can do it.”

The Trojans advanced to sectionals with a glimpse of the kind of race they need to run. They finished fourth at the Lyons Township Regional (70 points) to easily achieve the necessary top-six finish among the eight teams.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Bonfield finished sixth (17:57.85 for 2.97 miles), 4.25 seconds from the last individual medal for a top-five finish.

Sophomore Grace Maletich (18:13.02) and freshman Emma Moravec (18:20.11) were 11th and 12th, sophomore Angela Budach (19:05.64) and Portman (19:06.60) were 20th and 21st and Urbancik (19:28.11) and junior Jenna Murphy (19:48.80) were 26th and 32nd.

The three teams that beat the Trojans – Hinsdale Central (43), Downers Grove South (44) and LT (55) are the ones expected to finish ahead of them at sectionals.

At the six-team West Suburban Conference Silver Division Meet Oct. 19, the fourth-place Trojans were 12 points behind third-place LT. Proviso West did not field a varsity team.
 
”We had a better race than (the Silver Meet) so that’s good,” Portman said. “(Downers North coach Tim McDonald) said the goal is to get momentum moving into next week and I think we did that. Although we didn’t beat LT, that’s OK. We can next week.”

Last year, the Trojans also finished fourth at the LT Regional (96 points) but the mood was quite different. They were on a downswing and ended up eighth at sectionals (224), 82 points behind fifth-place LT.

”Last year, even with the injuries, we had a decent conference meet and we came here and just laid an egg. It was over (basically). We did not run well and the next week (at sectionals) was more of the same,” McDonald said.

”For us, we’ve got to take a step forward (from regionals). It’s not a light switch. You run well today, you run well next week.”

If the Trojans can’t surpass LT at sectionals for the first time in their five meetings this season, they probably will contend with Lockport, Neuqua Valley, Marist and Sandburg for the final two berths. Lockport won the Plainfield South Regional 32-60 over Neuqua Valley and Marist edged Sandburg 31-33 to capture the Marist Regional.

On Sept. 21, Downers North beat Neuqua Valley 324-344 when they finished eighth and ninth at the Richard Spring Invitational at Peoria’s Detweiller Park, site of the state meet Nov. 9.

The top seven individuals at sectionals not among the five qualifiers teams also advance to state. Last year, Bonfield was a team-best 19th at sectionals (18:25.3), one place and 1.4 seconds from the final individual berth.

”I just want the team to make it and I think (our key is) if everyone just stays close to each other,” Bonfield said. “I know today (McDonald) told Emma to try and stay right on me and Grace. I think she did a lot better (with that). If we all just try to stay together more and then get more up by everybody else, then we’ll do a lot better as a team. I think we can make it.”

The Trojans have a couple of other factors in their favor. They are the only team among the contenders to have competed at KLM this season. Downers North lost to Hinsdale Central 20-30 in their dual Oct. 10.

They also competed at regionals without the most experienced postseason runner in their regular varsity lineup, senior Meghan Bonfield, who was taking the ACT.

”It’s kind of weird for me because (Meghan Bonfield and I are) always pretty close to each other in the races and she definitely pushes me a lot, and we always ride on the bus together, too, so that was kind of sad,” Urbancik said.

“She ran awesome at Hinsdale last time so we’re just hoping she can do that again. I think she’ll make a big contribution.”

Meghan Bonfield, Kaitlyn’s sister, had competed in three regionals and with the state-qualifying teams in 2011 and 2010, Murphy, who replaced her Saturday, also ran at state in 2011. Other members of the Trojans’ 12-member state series roster are juniors Rachel Krusenoski, and Zayna Jan, sophomore Maci Schaub and freshman Brigid Miller.

”It was kind of different being an alternate. I just felt not as much a part of the race,” Murphy said. “It wasn’t as good of a race for me, but it was still a cool experience because running the bigger meets are always fun. It was all right, just kind of filling in.”

The three returnees from the 2012 regional lineup who ran Saturday improved their times significantly on the same course. In the 2012 regional, Maletich was a team-best 11th in 18:41.84 with Bonfield 21st in 19:17.69 and Urbancik 26th in 19:42.76.

Three runners also improved their times at LT from the teams’ dual meet Sept. 26. Portman dropped 25 seconds en route to a personal best Saturday, followed by Kaitlyn Bonfield (18 seconds) and Moravec (8 seconds).

Stronger competition and good course conditions despite an often stiff, cold wind combined for better races from the overall regional field. Hinsdale Central freshman Alexa Haff (16:56.08), the individual Silver Meet champion, won with the second-fastest course time ever to the 16:50.22 Sept. 7 by Riverside-Brookfield senior Mailin Struck, a foreign exchange student from Germany and contender for the 2A title. Second-place LT senior Lexy Rudofski (17:15.41) achieved the fastest time by any LT runner on its home course.

Bonfield’s time also was a personal best and the sixth of seven runners to break 18:00. Her time Saturday would have taken second in the 2012 race.

”I’ve been working to break 18:00 so I was pretty happy with it,” Bonfield said. “At the 2-mile mark, there’s a clock and when I was coming to finish (on the final lap), I looked at that. I also tried to see the clock by the finish line so I could try and break it.”

Maletich also put herself among the frontrunners but was unable to keep herself up there like the Silver Meet, her first race back from an Achilles injury since the Hinsdale Central dual.

At the mile Saturday, Maletich was battling for third with Downers South’s Haley Albers (3rd, 17:34.26) in 5:40. Maletich was half a stride ahead of Kaitlyn Bonfield at two miles in 12:10 in sixth and seventh place.

”It was definitely better than last week. I need to get better, but it was OK,” Maletich said. “A little step forward. It just needs to get better for (sectionals) if I want to make it to state.”

Probably the most exciting aspect of the regional was the continuing progress of Moravec, the only freshman in the lineup, and Budach, a first-year cross country runner. Moravec was the Trojans’ No. 3 runner at the Silver Meet and Saturday, closing the gap between her and Maletich from 12.6 seconds to 7.1.

"(Regionals) was definitely one of my better races,” Moravec said. “Conference definitely had a different atmosphere than all of the other races and I think that was a good preparation for this race. With all of the cheering, it really just helped me to keep going and to push myself until the end. My team is definitely so supportive and I’m really grateful that they’re there to cheer me on.”

Budach also learned from her Silver Meet, where she was 33rd and the team’s No. 7 finisher. Budach ran track in the spring and mostly was on the frosh-soph level but did compete at sectionals.

”It was a lot of fun and it was really fun running for the team. I do better when I’m running for someone, not just myself,” Budach said. “I figured out I had to dress warmer than I did at conference because my legs got frozen and I couldn’t move. This time it went better and I was able to get in a full stride and everything.”

Budach and Portman finished just in front of LT’s No. 6 and 7 finishers.

”It was really nice having (Budach) pushing me at the end,” Portman said. “Before the race (McDonald) had sort of said the No. 4 through 7 people should try to stick together so it was nice that it happened a little bit.”

A four-year runner, Portman also is completely new to postseason cross country. Last year, she had a chance to be on the 12-member state roster but she said she declined because the speech season was starting and it was her first season as a team captain.

”This year, since I’m top 7, I’m just missing the first few tournaments of the year to run,” Portman said. “I wish I could do everything, but I’m glad that I’m here. This is where I should be now.

”We’re all practicing hard and we need to keep doing what we’re doing. I hope we make it (to state), especially for (Meghan Bonfield and Urbancik) because they’ve both run at state before so they know what it’s like. They can taste it. For me, it’s just like, ‘OK, I’ll just go out and do whatever I can.’ ”

Going into the season, McDonald said one of the keys to success was how much the seniors would be able to contribute. Meghan Bonfield has been a top-five finisher for the team this year, and McDonald is hopeful that she can, at worst, finish close to Moravec while helping to elevate the Trojans’ No. 5-6-7 finishers as well.

Urbancik and Meghan Bonfield have agreed that they often have had their best races in the same meets.

”We’re still looking to improve (as a team) in the next week because sectionals is going to be tough,” Urbancik said. “We’re going to be running for our lives, (McDonald) said, so if we want to keep going on, we’re all going to have to be determined and we all have to want it a lot.”

-- by Bill Stone