DGN at OPRF story (varsity)

Downers Grove North junior Grace Maletich enjoyed a more relaxing finishes to her cross country races Thursday, Oct. 9, against Oak Park-River Forest.

As Maletich rolled in as the Trojans’ No. 4 finisher at Schiller Woods, sophomore Hallie Voss, the Huskies’ No. 1 finisher, was next but six seconds behind.

“I felt comfortable going to the finish. I knew I had to go hard because it’s the end of the race, but I knew she wasn’t right on me,” Maletich said. “Right from the beginning, we were separated (from everyone else). It was kind of nice to go through the race and not have to really worry about it.”

The Trojans completed West Suburban Conference Silver Division dual action with a dominating 16-45 victory.

Sophomore Emma Moravec led Downers North’s first four finishers by covering the 3.0-miles in 18:22, followed by a strong pack of juniors Angela Budach (19:00) and Kaitlyn Bonfield (19:02) and Maletich (19:05). Junior Ashley Johnson (19:13) and senior Zayna Jan (19:28) were fifth and seventh.

“Our kids went out, took it to them. We were right up front, 1 through 4 on them, and it stayed that way the whole race,” Downers North coach Tim McDonald said.

Voss (19:11), two seconds ahead of Johnson, did prevent the Trojans from a 1 through 5 sweep. Voss won the sophomore title in the 1,600-meter run at the 2014 Silver Meet for girls track.

“Going into the meet, we definitely wanted to win and win by a lot so to have that good of a score felt good,” Maletich said. “Really our top five are super close timewise but I feel like to just try and shrink that gap more. I feel like every race we get closer together.”

The Trojans now prepare for the Silver Meet at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, at East End Park in Elmhurst. The overall Silver standings are a combination of dual and Silver Meet results. Downers North finished third in the dual standings at 4-2, losing to defending Class 3A state champion Glenbard West and Hinsdale Central, the top two rated teams in 3A.

Top-16 individual finishers earn all-conference honors, something that Maletich has accomplished twice and Bonfield did last year. Moravec was 18th in 2013.

“Everyone wants to get all-conference so going in all of us are trying to strive for that,” Maletich said. “For the past two years, I’ve gotten all-conference so I’m hoping that this year I’ll be able to do it again. That’s really my goal. Seriously, all of Glenbard West are pretty much faster than me and then all of the Hinsdale Central girls. It’s crazy this year. There are so many good kids. It’s going to be a hard race, but I’m looking forward to it.”

-- by Bill Stone