Fenton Invitational story (varsity)

At the season-opening EIU Showdown Aug. 27, Downers Grove North sophomore Emma Moravec immediately received her first taste of trying to be a frontrunner in girls cross country races.

“Honestly, the start of that race was kind of a scary experience,” Moravec said. “Lauren VanVliergerben (4th at state in 2013 for Jacobs) was there and she’s a phenomenal runner so I started out with her and tried to push myself and just realize how much I’ve improved since last year but also how far I have to go.”

Moravec finished third in that race behind two returning all-staters. On Saturday, Moravec finished third and ahead of another 2013 all-stater to help the Trojans win Fenton’s John Kurtz Earlybird Invitational as a team for the first time since 2010.

Moravec covered the 3.0 miles in 18:33.0 and only was beaten by Fenwick senior and three-time all-stater Olivia Ryan (18:12.4) and Prospect sophomore Brooke Wilson (18:22.1).

Junior first-year runner Ashley Johnson was an impressive seventh (18:55.6), juniors Grace Maletich (19:08.8) and Angela Budach (19:12.3) were 12th and 14th and junior Kaitlyn Bonfield was 26th (19:37.4) in her season debut. Senior Jenna Murphy (40th, 20:04.5) and junior Maci Schaub (53rd, 20:32.3) were the Trojans’ No. 6 and 7 finishers.

“It was really awesome. I was so proud of our team. We have so much potential this season. I’m really excited to see where it goes,” Moravec said. “(Getting third) was super fun. I was really happy and kind of proud and surprised that I placed where I did. I’m just hoping to improve from there.”

The Trojans (61 points) finished ahead of rival Downers Grove South (82) and Oak Park-River Forest (118) to move up to No. 10 in this week’s Class 3A state rankings by MileSplit Illinois and remain at No. 12 in the DyeStat Illinois poll.

After pulling out a spot to be among the 25 state team qualifiers in 2013 and finishing 21st, the Trojans appear poised now to take a crack at the top 10 at state – if they can get out of what could be one of the state’s toughest sectionals. Last year, the Trojans were third at the Kurtz Invite (110) behind Downers South (56) and OPRF (69).

“We may not be able to compete with the juggernauts, but after that we’re right there with a lot of the teams. We just have to stay healthy and put our best team on the line when it counts down the stretch,” Downers North coach Tim McDonald said.

“I think (Moravec is) starting to believe in her ability. I think last year in cross country, she really didn’t know who she was as a runner. She had only run one time in her life in cross country eighth grade and that’s such a short season. Then in track, once she got her legs underneath her, literally, she started feeling good. I think she’s starting to understand, hey, I can do the long distance. I can do the short distance.”

One of the strengths for Moravec down the stretch is her speed, which she showed as a strong middle-distance runner during the track season.

An all-stater with the 3,200 relay in May, Moravec said she began her kick with about 800 meters left.
“She has so much speed and as she gets in better and better race shape, she’s going to be tougher and tougher in a 3-mile race,” said McDonald, also an assistant girls track coach and former head coach. “Certainly, if it just comes down to foot speed, there aren’t too many kids that are going to beat her in a homestretch-type situation.”

Although a top-two finish was out of reach at the end Saturday, Moravec put on a strong surge to pass Buffalo Grove all-state junior Kaitlyn Ko (18:38.9) and Vernon Hills junior Vivian Oberbeck (18:42.1) to move up two places by the finish. Ko was seventh at state last year, and Ryan was 22nd at state after taking sixth as a sophomore.

Experience also is helping. Moravec ran cross country at Herrick Junior High but did not participate in summer running before joining the Trojans in 2013. Still, she won the Open race at the 2013 Kurtz Invite, although her time (20:12.2) was significantly slower than Saturday.

It was the start of good things to come. Moravec continued to improve and was 143rd at state as the team’s No. 3 finisher. At state track, the 3,200 relay, which also included Schaub, was an all-state fourth.

“I guess running really well one week pushed me to run even harder the next week,” Moravec said. “I like racing on Saturdays. It’s just the start of the season. You just get amped up one week to the next so each meet you’re racing your best.”

The lineup gained an emotional boost with the return of Bonfield, a third-year varsity runner. For the second year in a row, Bonfield has been hampered by shin splints and sat out the EIU Showdown before competing at Fenton. Bonfield was 10th at the Kurtz Invite last year.

“I’m just excited to run, especially with the team we have this year. I just think that we’re going to do great things this year,” Bonfield said. “I think I started out pretty well (Saturday) and then I kind of just got slower towards the end because I kind of died out. I think it might just be it was my first race so I was getting used to racing again. The season’s a long season so I have time to get back into full shape. I think I’ll be fine.”

Bonfield had the scare of a possible stress fracture but an MRI proved negative. Wearing a protective boot before the MRI, Bonfield cross trained mostly through swimming. After no stress fracture was detected, she worked the elliptical machine and stationary bike for the rest of the bike and resumed regular running workouts Aug. 25.

“Our team is finally back at its full strength so I think as the year goes on we’re going to just work together and push ourselves to reach great places,” Moravec said. “I’m not sure that our overall goals have changed (after Saturday) but there is the realization that we really can get there and have the potential to be maybe a top-10 team at state so I’m really excited.”

The Trojans now compete at Lake Park’s Harvey Braus Invitational Saturday, Sept. 13 in Roselle. The field includes defending 3A state champion Glenbard West as well as fellow top-15 teams Schaumburg, St. Charles East, Saint Ignatius and Hoffman Estates.

“I thought coming into this year that this would be a very competitive team for us and a little bit better than we were a year ago. They’re kind of doing what they’re supposed to right now,” McDonald said.

“I think that (the Fenton title) really boosted our confidence, winning (at Fenton),” Bonfield said. “There are the a lot of good teams at Fenton and (Downers South), they’re a really good team and I know they’ve won that meet the past years since I’ve been at North so I think it showed what we can do this year.”

--by Bill Stone