DGN at EIU Showdown

Junior Alec Danner surged to first place and the Downers Grove North boys cross country team pulled out first as a team at the annual season-opening EIU Showdown at Greene Valley Forest Preserve Wednesday, Aug. 25.
The Trojans won a sixth-runner tiebreaker with Jacobs for the overall title after both teams scored 55 points. Invite newcomer Highland Park (68 points) was third, followed by Shepard (79), Plainfield North (90) and Burlington Central (185). Each coaching staff from the various teams has at least one alumnus from Eastern Illinois University.
Danner put on a late push to win the race on a new 3.0-mile course in 15:20, comfortably ahead of Shepard junior Caleb Washington (15:29). Highland Park senior Brett Davidson, who led throughout the first mile, was third (15:30).
DGN senior Robby Prescott was fourth (15:57), 10 seconds ahead of fifth place. Senior Nick Torres (15th, 16:40) who ran a huge personal best, and juniors Andrew Marek (17th, 16:46) and Tristan Jahn (18th, 16:47) also broke 17:00, followed by junior Zach Goliszewski (22nd, 17:08) and senior Bradley Wilcoxen (28th, 17:24).
Goliszewski was just edged for 21st by Jacobs’ No. 5 finisher but was 12 seconds ahead of the Golden Eagles, No. 6 runner to easily clinch the tiebreaker.
Danner was the Trojans’ No. 2 state meet finisher in 2014 (50th) behind graduated all-stater Ryan Clevenger. At last year’s EIU Showdown, he was second (15:40) to Clevenger’s winning 15:30 and finished just one second ahead of the third-place Washington.
With Nick Chudzik (16:24), Ryan Birkmeier (16:25) and Jacob Ridderhoff (16:40) finishing 1-2-3, the frosh-soph team rolled to its team title with 21 points. Plainfield North (57) was second, followed by Jacobs (70), Shepard (126), Highland Park (126) and Burlington Central (177).
Sam McCool (6th, 16:59), who also broke 17:00, and Miles Christensen (9th, 17:39) also were among the top 10. Brendan Lockerby (17:44), Tyler Mertes (17:45) and Matt Moravec (17:46), the Trojans’ top freshman finisher, were 12th, 13th and 14th.
The final times for Chudzik and Birkmeier would have had them contending for top-10 finishes in the varsity race and Ridderhoff for the top 15.
Chudzik improved nearly one minute from when he took third at last year’s EIU Showdown in 17:21 behind two Plainfield North runners. Birkmeier (21st, 18:43), Ridderhoff (17th, 18:32), McCool (34th, 19:39) and Lockerby (57th, 21:24) enjoyed significant improvements.