STORY: DGN at Silver Meet (varsity)

Downers Grove North junior Alec Danner could completely emphasize with sophomores Jacob Ridderhoff, Nick Chudzik and Ryan Birkmeier joining him in the varsity race at the West Suburban Conference Silver Division Meet Saturday, Oct. 17.
As a sophomore in 2014, Danner also was thrown into the varsity fire of the state’s toughest conference. He still managed 14th for a top-16 all-conference finish behind eight seniors.
“My first year basically as a varsity athlete,” Danner said. “I was just adjusting to the training and everything. It was just kind of a different transition to go from freshman to varsity.”
On Saturday, a much more seasoned Danner took a solid sixth behind three 2014 all-staters at Camera Park in Glendale Heights.
And he very easily could have finished higher.
Danner (14:23.4 for 2.88 miles) was fourth coming down the stretch but was edged late by two fellow sophomores – York’s Charlie Kern, Jr. (14:22.8) and Lyons Township’s Danny Kilrea (14:23.2).
“I’d say overall with this race I’m happy with it, but just at the end there, it was disappointing because I know I can beat both of those guys,” Danner said. “I was able to put myself out there with the big names in the field. It was just I got sixth. I would have loved a top-three finish but it’s all about tweaking things for regionals and onward for this year.”
The Trojans (120 points) finished fifth. Following Danner were Birkmeier (20th, 15:01.6), Ridderhoff (27th, 15:12.8), Chudzik (31st, 15:23.1), junior Andrew Marek (36th, 15:40.1) and seniors Nick Torres (38th, 15:45.1) and Rocco Manzo (39th, 16:08.0).
Downers North finished behind the top four teams separated by just 10 points – York (51), Lyons Township (57), Oak Park-River Forest (60) and Hinsdale Central (61). Glenbard West (149) was sixth.
“The last 50 meters maybe we want back, but I was pretty happy with how (Danner) ran,” Downers North coach John Sipple said. “He did very well, worked up to where he’s supposed to be.
“In this conference, I’m pretty happy with the way the sophomores ran. I thought that they ran pretty well and very composed. It was definitely solid.”
The Trojans could have come closer as a team but also played it safe by sitting senior and probable all-conference finisher Robby Prescott out to rest an injury. Senior Eric Neumann, Glenbard West’s No. 1 runner, dropped out during the race because of illness.
Prescott is expected to compete at the Class 3A Plainfield South Regional Saturday, Oct. 24, at ?? Woods. The Trojans only need a top-six finish among 10?? Teams to advance to the Hinsdale Central Sectional Oct. 31.
Danner was the only returnee from last year’s state-qualifying team that competed at regionals. Like Danner in 2014, this season’s sophomores already have seen plenty of varsity action before Saturday.
“Out of all of the races this year, definitely (this meet) has been the most varsity feeling because there are so many elite teams here and ranked top five in state,” Chudzik said. “It’s a good learning experience getting used to running with all of this talent around you and it really helps to be with them.”
Danner will not compete against any of those runners that beat him Saturday, but he will see Hinsdale Central and LT at sectionals.
OPRF junior Irwin Loud (course-record 14:03.8) beat out Hinsdale Central junior Blake Evertsen (14:12.0) for the Silver title. Loud, last year’s Silver sophomore champion, and Evertsen were respectively 11th and 12th at state last year.
Kern and third-place LT senior Connor Madell (14:17.9) were eighth and 15th at state, giving the Silver four of the eight top-15 3A all-state returnees from 2014.
Danner was 50th at state as the Trojans’ No. 2 finisher behind graduated all-stater Ryan Clevenger (4th).
“Those guys are all-state runners and that’s where he belongs, and they’re better than all-state runners. They’re the top runners. It’s good to have him right up there with those guys,” Sipple said.
“I was just trying to get up with the front pack there and just battle my way,” Danner said. “I was gapping (Kern and Kilrea) by the end and I was in fourth. I just need to re-evaluate my race plan coming into the postseason.”
Danner said that the gap from him to Kern and Kilrea was simply not large enough to sustain fourth place Saturday.
“Basically it was just a really good learning experience. As Sipple always talks to me, I’m not the speediest guy on the track. I’m not one to outkick the whole field. I just need to use my aerobic advantage over the field, to go earlier to gap them so I can have more room at the finish. I think if I would have gone earlier, they would have kicked hard but they wouldn’t have been able to get me at the finish.”
At the 2014 Silver Meet, Ridderhoff, Chudzik and Birkmeier were a respective all-conference third, fifth and seventh in the freshman race.
“I was really planning on getting top 16 (Saturday), but I didn’t know if it was going to happen because there’s a lot of tough competition,” Birkmeier said.
Actually, Birkmeier was 9.1 seconds from 16th place but only 1.5 from 18th.
The more important takeaway was that he ran well with a personal-record type effort. He gained further confidence for when the Trojans need him -- and a solid overall team effort -- at sectionals.
“I think I performed really well (Saturday), one of my better races,” Birkmeier said. “The kids who won the freshman race last year I beat this year, which is pretty cool. If I would have run 3.0 miles, I would have PRed by maybe like 20 seconds.”