DGN at Palatine Invite story (all levels)

Downers Grove North’s Jenna Murphy ran at the 2011 Class 3A girls cross country state meet as a freshman, but working her way back to the varsity level consistently as a senior sure feels different.

“It’s kind of like your average race. I used to get so excited and nervous, but now it’s just kind of routine,” Murphy said. “Freshman year, I was nervous all of the time. Now I’m just kind of used to it.”

Murphy was among the Trojans’ top finishers on the junior varsity level in 2013, and now she has earned her way back into the varsity lineup consistently.

On Saturday, Sept. 30, Murphy was 86th and the Trojans’ No. 6 finisher at the Palatine Invitational at Deer Grove East Forest Preserve but 21 seconds faster than the 2013 invite, when she was 14th in the JV race.

“I’m kind of used to it. We run with such good teams, it’s kind of like I don’t expect to win or anything, but it’s good to have good competition,” Murphy said.

“It’s been good. We have a really good team this year. All of the young girls are really good. It’s kind of exciting to have a good team and have a good chance at making state.”

Sophomore Emma Moravec was 41st (18:46), 11 seconds shy of a top-30 finish for an individual medal. Juniors Kaitlyn Bonfield (18:58) and Ashley Johnson (18:59) were 50th and 53rd, followed by juniors Grace Maletich (59th, 19:06) and Angela Budach (84th, 19:37), Murphy (86th, 19:40) and senior Zayna Jan (90th, 19:44).

The Trojans (282) were eighth, just six points ahead of rival Lyons Township, and sixth among Illinois teams. Downers North had edged LT 26-31 in their conference dual meet two days earlier at Greene Valley Forest Preserve as well as beating York 22-33.

The varsity race featured seven teams ranked among the top 25 in 3A by DyeStat Illinois, including the Trojans, who moved from No. 20 to 14. They came away Saturday feeling their performance wasn’t nearly as strong as their third-place finish at the Peoria Notre Dame Invite Sept. 20 at Peoria’s Detweiller Park, site of the state meet Nov. 8.

“It was one of those days. You have good races. You have bad races. We didn’t have a good one today,” Downers North coach Tim McDonald said.

“Honestly, I didn’t think we got out right away. We weren’t in it in the beginning and we just kind of stayed outside of it. There’s no excuses. We came into the week and our focus was on Thursday. That was the most important meet of the week and we just didn’t have anything in the tank today, or mentally we weren’t ready to go.”

Downers North and LT are among the six currently top-25 state-ranked teams expected to battle for the five state-qualifying team spots at the 3A Marist Sectional Nov. 1. None of the sectional’s other top teams were at the invite.

No. 5 Palatine (72), fourth at the Class 3A state meet last year, won over three-time defending Class 2A state champion Yorkville (90) and No. 4 New Trier (101), third at 3A state in 2013. Palatine junior Kelly O’Brien, sixth at state in 2013, edged New Trier senior and defending 3A state champion Mimi Smith for the individual title, both in 17:23.

The Trojans had a 20-second split among its first four finishers and Budach probably would have been up there as usual if not for battling breathing problems Saturday. The pack, however, wanted to be higher but still was good enough to edge LT, whose top finisher was 46th.

The Trojans had an eight-second split at the mile with Moravec and Bonfield in 28th and 29th (5:51) and Budach in 52nd (5:59). The split was still 15 seconds at two miles with Moravec in 34th (12:17) and Maletich 53rd (12:32) as the team’s No. 4 runner.

“I know we didn’t perform our best today, but hopefully that’ll just give us the determination to run better at next week’s invitational (at St. Charles North). We all ran our best, even though we weren’t feeling the race today,” Moravec said.

“Thursday was definitely a big meet for us, racing against (Lyons Township). We put a lot of emphasis on that. I think the team ran pretty well on Thursday. I know LT was here again today. I’m sure they ran hard on Thursday as well. I’m really proud of us for (beating them again).”

At last year’s sectional, the Trojans edged LT for fifth place, the last team state-qualifying spot, by just five points. Maletich, Bonfield, Moravec and Budach were the team’s top four state finishers.

Murphy ran at regionals but then was an alternate for sectionals and state. When Murphy ran at state in 2011, she was the Trojans’ No. 7 finisher (183rd, 19:23).

Murphy’s 2014 season started off strong when she was ninth overall and the Trojans’ No. 5 runner minus Bonfield at the EIU Showdown Aug. 27 at Greene Valley Forest Preserve.

“I just kind of built off of that and just kept improving. I’m hoping I’m in top 12 at least so I can go to state and do that one more time,” Murphy said. “I do feel better this year. Just in training, I’ve been more consistent and trying harder in working out. I don’t know. It’s senior year so I want to finish well.”

In Thursday’s meet, Murphy covered the 3.0-mile Greene Valley course in 19:19, 46 seconds faster than Aug. 27 and 20 seconds faster than her race at Peoria’s Detweiller Park Sept. 20. Like Thursday, Murphy and Jan pushed each other throughout the race Saturday.

“(Murphy is) running well. She’s having a really good season for us,” McDonald said. “But even she was a little timid in the beginning. She could have been that much better because her start was way back.”

Johnson continues to adjust to her first cross country season. This was the second of three straight weeks in which the Trojans had their conference meet on Thursday followed by an invite on Saturday. Johnson ran well in Peoria, but she did not compete in the Thursday meet. This week she ran both.

“It’s hard to balance this, school and work and trying to keep my grades up. You’ve just got to learn to balance everything. It’s hard mentally,” said Johnson, who was on her way to work as a Target cashier after the invite.

“It’s not really my best time. I was feeling a little sick towards the end. It’s not as flat as Peoria so it’s a little more hilly and it’s hot out. I think the heat got to me a little bit towards the end. I try to pace myself to go a little bit behind (our lead pack) and then I try to catch up. I like to finish stronger. I can’t really get out that fast. I feel like Thursday was a little bit better (race), but you learn.”

On Thursday, Moravec (18:15) won comfortably by 12 seconds over LT junior Hannah Dutler (18:27), who was 46th Saturday (18:54). On Saturday, Moravec improved her 2013 invite time by six seconds but was two places lower.

“Honestly, I think the races were about the same in comparison to the rest of my times, but I guess improvement every year is good,” Moravec said.

Budach was fifth overall (18:39), followed by a pack of Johnson (18:44), Bonfield (18:49) and Maletich (18:56) in eighth through 10th that was four seconds ahead of LT’s No. 4 finisher. Murphy and Jan, who both ran 19:19, were 15th and 16th.

Frosh-soph girls

While sophomore Zoe Covey is enjoying a strong first season with the Downers Grove North girls cross country program, she has been waiting for a breakthrough race.

She took a big step Saturday, Sept. 27, by taking fourth in the frosh-soph girls race at the Palatine Invitational– thanks to a little patience.

“I asked (Downers North coach Tim McDonald) because I felt like I’ve been going out too hard. I tried to stay with the front group but not trying to lead full out the first 800 meters” Covey said. “I tried to stay with them for a while but I figured as long as I kept them within my sights or had a good feeling of where they were and just kept my place and focused on doing better rather than how well they were doing, then it would all turn out well.”

Covey, who covered the 2.5 miles at Deer Grove East Forest Preserve in 16:02.8, and sophomore Gina Kowalewicz (21st, 16:35.8) earned individual medals in the frosh-soph race by finishing among the top 25. Covey only finished behind Yorkville freshman Maggie Klemm (15:13.5), Palatine sophomore Anna Buckstaff (15:19.8) and Yorkville freshman Kimberly Batdorf (16:01.7).

Sophomores Meghan Kelly (43rd, 17:01.9) and Lauren Isenman (47th, 17:05.0), freshman Isabella Scarlati (51st, 17:09.3), sophomore Brigid Miller (63rd, 17:22.6), freshmen Claire Kovarik (100th, 17:51.0) and Allison Padovani (102nd, 17:51.8) and sophomore Mary Laffey (104th, 17:53.1) and Madison Venckus (115th, 18:02.8) rounded out the frosh-soph team’s top 10 finishers.

The frosh-soph team (156 points) was fifth behind Palatine (51), Lyons Township (73), Yorkville (101) and Prospect (145). The top four teams earned trophies.

“We were definitely pushing each other a lot. It was nice,” Isenman said. “We could see each other and we all pushed each other to pass peple at the end. It kind of materializes as the race goes on, just whatever happens fight through it and do what you can. I felt good and I thought we pushed each other a lot, too.”

Covey only finished behind Yorkville freshman Maggie Klemm (15:13.5), Palatine sophomore Anna Buckstaff (15:19.8) and Yorkville freshman Kimberly Batdorf (16:01.7).

Klemm was disqualified afterwards for apparently cutting part of the course, but she later was reinstated as the champion. Had Klemm been disqualified, not only would Covey have moved up to third, but the Trojans also would have earned the last team trophy by finishing fourth with 151 points, beating Yorkville on a sixth-runner tiebreaker.

Covey held off fifth-place LT sophomore Caitlyn Mangini (16:04.3) by 1.5 seconds two days after Mangini had taken first in the team’s meet with York over 3.0 miles at Greene Valley Forest Preserve.

Covey, who competed in track last season beginning as a sprinter, felt that her better strategy and the shorter race distance improved her performance Saturday. She was third at the mile in 6:04, two seconds ahead of Mangini.

“It was a lot nicer and I felt a lot stronger this time. I went out too hard on Thursday and this time went a lot better,” Covey said.

“I think that I’ve gotten much more used to sprinting at the end and figuring out how to power up to that next level. I think (only running 2.5 miles) did help mentally personally because you know you don’t have to go a lot farther. Cross country races are all pretty much the same so this really kind of changed it up because it’s fresher. It’s newer in your head.”

Kowalewicz almost made her race extremely shorter. She was 19th at the mile (6:24) but as the runners came toward the finish line around the 1.5-mile mark, Kowalewicz initially thought the race was nearly over, but she soon followed others around a tree and toward the other direction.

“I asked the girl next to me, ‘Are we going to finish?’ She like, ‘No. We have another mile,’ ” Kowalewicz said. “The first mile I felt really good, really strong. So that second mile wasn’t the best, but I felt strong during it. It was an OK race. I almost started sprinting up and down. I was like, ‘Oh, I thought that’s where we were going,’ but I’m glad she told me. That would have been really bad. I was like, ‘Wow. I’m on fire today.’ ”

That wasn’t the case last season. Saturday’s performance was 39 places and nearly 32 seconds better than 2013 (60th, 17:07.2). She continued to improve as the season went on and went on to have a strong track season, including the 400-meter title on the sophomore level at the West Suburban Conference Silver Division Meet.

“I just wasn’t that good last year and I feel like I’ve definitely made some improvements this year,” Kowalewicz said. “At the beginning of the season, I just kind of had to start getting used to it. I wasn’t used to running three miles. We only ran two in junior high. Definitely towards the end, it started settling in.”

Isenman made even bigger strides from the 2013 invite. Saturday’s race was an improvement by 115 places and 1:34 (162nd, 18:39.0).

Her track highlights included breaking 13:00 in the 3,200-meter run and nearly breaking 6:00 for the 1,600. Her current cross country goal is to break 20:00 for 3.0 miles. She was pleased with 3.0-mile performances in Peoria and at the Lake Park Invite.

“I definitely feel stronger this year,” Isenman said. “I’ve improved a lot. I think track helped me improve a lot from cross country last year to this year. I’m happy with how I’ve improved. I just hope to improve more, though.


Junior varsity girls

After not getting off to a strong start at Peoria’s Detweiller Park her previous invitational, Downers Grove North junior Fiona Kelly attempted a 180-degree reversal of strategy at the Palatine Invitational Saturday, Sept. 27.

“Maybe not a complete 180, maybe like a (140),” Kelly said.

Kelly still felt like she had a better result, leading the Trojans with a 37th-place finish at Deer Grove East Forest Preserve. The Trojans were 10th (269 points).

Kelly covered the 3.0 miles in 21:05.0, followed by seniors Shannon Kennedy (57th, 21:30.8), Alex Hohnsen (70th, 21:44.3), Olivia Matheu (82nd, 22:05.1) and Sydney Wagner (100th, 22:26.3), junior Abby Hodonicky (171st, 23:54.7) and senior Lauren Taylor (237th, 25:23.6). Top-20 finishers earned individual medals.

“I felt it went really well. It was really hot, but I just tried to position myself really well in the beginning, which turned out it was a smart idea to do. It went really well for the weather, because it was hot,” Kelly said.

At Detweiller in Peoria Notre Dame’s Richard Spring Invitational, Kelly tried to work her way into the top-15 medalwinners during the third mile, but the gap had proved to be too large and she ended up 17th, three seconds from 15th.

Kelly could have been intimidated by the weather conditions Saturday or by having to also compete Thursday, but she wasn’t. Kelly was 39th at the one-mile mark (6:35) and 34th (13:46) after two miles.

“In Peoria, I just didn’t start fast, but today my start went really well so I just positioned myself well, which carried on throughout the race, which was good,” Kelly said. “Thursday was hard because it was also hot and it was a school day. But I think my mindset today was just come here, get it done and run it fast so that’s probably positive thinking.”

Senior Rachel Krusenoski was an impressive third and the JV team’s top finisher at the Spring Invitational. Her race especially was inspirational because she drove down that morning with her mother to compete after attending the funeral of her grandfather the day before.

On Saturday, however, Krusenoski could only help the team from the sidelines Saturday while wearing a protective walking boot for her right foot.

Krusenoski is hampered by pain to her tibialis posterior muscle, the stabilizing muscle of the lower leg. She said if that muscle in her right leg is torn, she probably will be able to run soon after the inflammation reduces and some cross training. She tore her left one as a sophomore.

If the muscle is partially torn, she said her season probably will be over. She is scheduled to have an MRI Monday.

“I’m trying to stay positive,” Krusenoski said. “It had been hurting for a while but it’s surprising and it’s not surprising. I think kind of the increase in performance in a short time because of the family stuff that was going in, not having a lot of the training and then running fast, and then having really good workouts and pushing again just was a little bit too much in a short amount of time.”

-- by Bill Stone