DGN at Class 3A state meet

Junior Grace Maletich and her Downers Grove North girls cross country teammates didn’t need long to realize their fate the Class 3A state meet Saturday, Nov. 8.

“I feel like right from the start it didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel like a good race,” Maletich said. “When I came around the half-mile mark, I realized I was ahead of (all of my teammates). It didn’t feel right. I could tell we were far back.”

By the time the 3.0-mile race was over at Peoria’s Detweiller Park, the Trojans were nowhere near where they had been throughout their greatly improved season. They were 22nd (561) among the 25 team qualifiers, six points behind 21st-place rival Downers Grove South.

Maletich was a team-best 110th (18:16) and sophomore Emma Moravec (124th, 18:24) was the only other finisher among the top 150. Juniors Kaitlyn Bonfield (18:46) and Angela Budach (18:48) and Ashley Johnson (18:50) were 156th, 158th and 160th, followed by sophomore Zoe Covey (173rd, 19:08) and senior Zayna Jan (196th, 19:47).

“All teams had their ups and downs and our downs fell at the wrong time,” Moravec said. “Hopefully next year, it won’t turn out like this year at state. This year was one of those days.

“Most of our varsity team will be back and I think next year we’ll definitely want to just show what we really have, what we can really do, beat all of the people we can beat. (Saturday) wasn’t a great race, but I know we’ll come back next year and be even stronger.”

The Trojans expected considerably much more Saturday. As an unpredicted state qualifier in 2013, those Trojans finished better at state, taking 21st with 492 points.

The fifth and final state qualifier at sectionals last year, the Trojans were coming off finishing third at the Marist Sectional Nov. 1 to Hinsdale Central and Lockport, which finished fourth and fifth Saturday, respectively.

Moravec was the only runner among the four returnees from the 2013 lineup with a better overall place Saturday.

Maletich and Covey were the only runners with faster times at Detweiller than when the team raced at Peoria Notre Dame’s Richard Spring Invitational Sept. 20. In that meet, the Trojans finished third to Glenbard West and Palatine, who finished third and second, respectively, to Naperville North Saturday.

A much faster race than last year and more top-heavy field of teams also magnified how much the Trojans competed from their best.

“We had such a great season and worked so hard and wanted it so bad. To go out and not even get close to it is hard but it’s motivation for next time,” Maletich said.

“It was really hard to finish the race and realize that all of the hard work (we did). I don’t want to say it was for nothing, but it kind of felt that way.”

Unfortunately for Downers North coach Tim McDonald, he already knew the disappointing feeling from the 2010 state meet.

Highly ranked all season, the Trojans had won their first sectional since 1988 and were hoping to challenge for a top-three trophy, at least the top five. They ended up 10th (260 points).

“I have no clue what transpired. I have no idea. There’s no reason. We felt good going in,” McDonald said soon after the race.

“We were (watching) at about the half-mile mark and it was kind of like 2010 again where you’re watching and you’re like, ‘Oh wow. This is going to be ugly the rest of the way,’ and it didn’t get better.”

Next year, the Trojans are determined it will be better. Besides returning their top six runners from this state meet, four state alternates were underclassmen -- juniors Fiona Kelly and Maci Schaub, sophomore Gina Kowalewicz and freshman Madison Venckus along with senior Jenna Murphy, a 2011 state team competitor.

“I think we’ve actually come a long way. Last year, I think of sectionals, improving from fifth place (in 2013). Even though state didn’t go as well, I think we’ve grown closer as a team and had some great experiences this year,” Moravec said.

“I’m really proud of the way we went to sectionals and did exactly what we wanted to do, improving steadily from the conference meet. We definitely had our best race of the season at the sectional meet, where it really counts.”

The Trojans had every reason to believe this would be a good state meet. They were on an upswing and like competing at Detweiller as a group.

Had the Trojans just ran the same times as they did at Detweiller in September on Saturday, they would have finished under 500 points and ahead of Saturday’s 19th-place team, York (515).

“On a positive side, there wasn’t one kid who you can look at and say, ‘You ran great and the other kids let you down.’ They all just ran poorly, which obviously makes us take a look at the big picture. What happened? They were out of it so early,” McDonald said.

“They just didn’t execute anything very well, not a kid. It’s back to the drawing board. You just can’t even look at one piece of it and say, ‘We just need to do this better next time.’ I just didn’t expect it any way, shape or form. I expected to have one kid, two, maybe three to have a bad race, but I did not expect to have seven kids run terribly.”

In May, Moravec had her first taste of huge success at the girls track state meet as part of the fourth-place, all-state 3,200-meter relay with Jan and Schaub and graduated Stephanie Urbancik. Jan and Maletich had been part of the all-state, sixth-place 3,200 relay in 2013.

Moravec emerged as a top-25, all-state cross country candidate this season, including a personal-record 17:41 for 2.98 miles at sectionals for ninth place, seven seconds from the top five.

Four of the seven runners who beat Moravec were all-staters Saturday with the other three finishing between 28th, 49th and 58th. Still, Moravec dropped 25 seconds and 19 places from her 2013 state finish (143rd, 18:59).

“I’d have to say the sectionals race (was my highlight this season). I had my best time there. I really went out there and tried to keep up with the front of the pack and how the race went,” Moravec said.

“I just have just kept pushing it more and more each race. I dropped a lot of time. I’m really happy with most of my performances this year. Maybe I’m not learning my limits but pushing limits I already had farther. Each year I hope to do the same thing.”

Maletich handled her role as the often No. 2 team finisher after being the team’s frontrunner most of 2013, including state (36th, 17:51). One of her motivations for Saturday was that she competed at Detweiller in September with a sore ankle that she injured during a practice road run three days earlier.

“I feel like (my season) definitely wasn’t what I wanted it to be,” Maletich said. “Team wise it was great. We had an amazing team. Personally, I want to do more. It wasn’t horrible but it wasn’t the season I wanted. But I was really proud of my team.”

The Trojans were fueled by pack running this season. On Saturday, they had a 12-second split from their No. 1 to 5 runners at one mile but frontrunners Maletich (5:46) and Moravec (5:47) were around 80th place.

At two miles, Maletich was 82nd at two miles (11:59) with Moravec (12:08) roughly 30 places behind.

“We’ve just been trying to work through it together and comfort each other. We all know we didn’t do what we were supposed to do, but we’re trying to move on at the same time,” Maletich said.

Bonfield and Budach actually ran faster than they did at state last year, but their places did not improve. Bonfield was two seconds better than last year but 127th (18:48). Budach improved by 19 seconds but was 156th (19:07), Bonfield’s place on Saturday.

Johnson and Covey were first-year team members as upperclassmen. Jan was a state alternate in 2013.

For the veterans, it was just two seasons ago that the Trojans had an injury-filled 2012 season and no state qualifiers even as individuals.

Their hard work has raised expectations.

“I feel like definitely we grew closer as a team and learned how to work together and push each other,” Maletich said. “It was really cool to represent the school (at state) and Friday was fun to go down and practice together. Saturday was difficult, but Friday we had so much fun as a team.

“State wasn’t very good, but I feel like going into the next season we don’t want to have that experience again. It’s going to motivate us to work hard and to reach our goals at the end of the season.”

-- by Bill Stone