DGN at WSC Silver Meet (recap)

The Downers Grove North boys track team used its first 100-plus point performance at the West Suburban Conference Silver Division Meet since 2010 to earn second place Friday, May 16, at York.

Conference champions were seniors Zack Smith (season-best 4:14.01 fully automatic time in 1,600-meter run) and Jazz Charrier (21 feet-5 inches in long jump) and juniors Ryan Clevenger (lifetime-best 9:07.22 in 3,200) and Nick Janicki (lifetime-best 162-4 in discus).

Finishing second were seniors Charles Creamer (110 high hurdles in 15.74) and Nick Steichmann (48-9 1/2 in shot put) junior Max Sale (150-5 in discus) and 3,200 relay (senior Tony Zea, juniors Jack Diamond and Zac Christensen and Smith in 7:55.36).

The Trojans (106 points) were only beaten by York (149.2) after finishing third at the indoor Silver Meet Meet with 81 points, one behind second-place Oak Park-River Forest. Lyons Township (73.4) was third Friday, followed by Hinsdale Central (68.4), OPRF (67), Glenbard West (61) and Proviso West (31).  

Janicki and Sale dominated discus by going 1-2 as the only throwers to exceed 140 feet. Janicki surpassed 160 feet for the first time.

Clevenger dominated the 3,200 by 15.10 seconds over York senior Alex Bashgawi (9:22.32) and just missed Smith's outdoor school record of 9:07.1. Smith won the 1,600 by 2.64 seconds over Hinsdale Central senior Billy Magnesen (4:16.65) and closed on his outdoor school record of 4:13.24 at the 2013 Struck Invitational. 

Charrier, new to long jump this year, won by seven inches. He surpassed 21 feet for the second meet in a row and just missed his career best by 3/4 of an inch.

Steichmann nearly won shot but was passed by LT's Adam Schawfelberger (49-11) on his final attempt. Creamer was second by .38 to York's Jarvis Hill (15.36), and the 3,200 relay finished second to Lyons Township (7:52.34) and edged third-place Hinsdale Central by .19.  

Moments after the 110 hurdles final, Creamer came back for the 100 finals and took third (11.42). Also taking third were Zea (400 in 51.07), senior Eric Wisz (personal-best 13-6 in pole vault) and the 400 relay of Giordano, Creamer, junior Brendan Dingle and Charrier (43.41).

Zea finished just .12 from first-place Byron Jackson of Proviso West (50.95). Senior Andrew Adams was fifth in a personal-best 51.57. Sale (49-10 1/2 in shot) and the 1,600 relay (Adams, Diamond, Giordano, Zea is 3:34.30) also were fifth, and sophomore Zack Hogan (41-0 in triple jump), Charrier (100 in 11.61), Christensen (800 in 1:59.22) and the 800 relay (Giordano, seniors Justin Fortes and Josh Stirn and junior Damian Margarites in 1:35.45) were sixth. 

The Trojans compete at the Class 3A Romeoville Sectional Friday, May 23. Entries that finish among the top two or achieve state-qualifying standards at the sectional regardless of place advance to the state meet May 30-31 at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. 

Frosh-soph level

Freshman Joe Keys won the frosh-soph 110-meter high hurdles title at the Silver Meet in 16.93 fully automatic time and also was fourth in the 300 intermediate hurdles (45.12).

The Trojans finished seventh with 32 points, one point behind sixth-place Proviso West. York won with 136 points.

Freshman Alec Danner (3,200 in 10:00.24) and Jack Barkei (800 in 2:08.25) also finished fourth. Sophomore Antonio Ferrer was fifth in discus (personal-best 97-2) and sophomore Romeo Jones was sixth in the 300 hurdles (45.12) after being in contention for the title until the final hurdle.

The 3,200 relay (Barkei, sophomores Michael Brooks, Nick Torres and Brad Wilcoxen in 9:05.76), 400 relay (freshman Andrew Marszewski, sophomore Mike Avdich, freshman Jordan Wilde, sophomore Spencer Carr in 48.61) and 800 relay (Marszewski, Wilde, Keys, Jones in 1:42.78) were fifth and the 1,600 relay (Marszewski, Wilde, Keys, Jones in 3:51.16) was sixth.

--by Bill Stone