Downers Grove North Boys have been one of the crown jewels in Illinois all season
High School Name: Downers Grove North
Club Name: Downers North XC Club
High School Head Coach: John Sipp
School enrollment: 2197
Regular season finish: 3A State Championship Runner-Up
Entry To NXN: 2nd place- NXN Midwest Regional
Opening thoughts by Coach Sipp:
These guys really cut their teeth at the varsity level last year and learned what it meant to be a varsity runner in the state of Illinois. They took that to heart over the past year and with the help of our senior leadership they really helped the team on a whole improve tremendously at all levels. It has been a lot of fun to witness the growth of some many of our young men not just as runners but as people with Championship character.
Meet the boys:
Alec Danner (Sr) - Alec as a freshman was able to make it into our top 12 and go through the State Series back in 2013 when our team managed to finish in 2nd place behind the leadership of Zack Smith and a number of other seniors. He has been a strong varsity runner for us since the beginning and has really grown into one of the main leaders on the team. Alec has a Champions mentality and He really does a great job of living the runners lifestyle and refining his craft over the years to become a stud IL runner. Additionally, he has committed to run for Bradley University next year!
Andrew Marek (Sr) - Andrew ran 19:56 for 3 miles in his first race for us his freshman year but shortly thereafter he went down with a stress fracture. But his love the sport of distance running still grew during his freshman year and you could see then that he was going committed to improving. I would say that him and Alec are our "Running Nerds", they know all the guys names at almost any level. I would also say that Andrew is the most "Adult" of our crew, he enjoys debating politics and stuff like that. He is still looking for a place to call home next year and he would be a wonderful fit for most collegiate programs! Why this kid hasn't been more heavily recruited is crazy to me!
Ryan Birkmeier (Jr) - Ryan started out running 18:05 for 5k his freshman year but he really didn't start to show it until track his freshman year. Since then Ryan has shown the propensity to work and the desire to improve oozes from him. Ryan is a tall, gangly, quiet teenage boy who is sneaky funny and truly cares for his teammates. He is just starting to realize his true potential as a runner and I am very excited to see what the future brings for him.
Nick Chudzik (Jr) - Nick is the only boy in a set of triplets and he is a former Hockey player. Chudzik is probably one of the toughest/grittiest kids that I have had the pleasure to coach. He has an infectious smile and personality that people just want to be around. He also has really shown the ability to be a good leader and is the type of kid any coach would love to have on his team. He has a Champions heart!
Sam McCool (Jr) - Sam has really developed into a very solid cross country runner this season and I have really be impressed on his ability to latch on to his teammates and race with them. Sam is learning to become a very good runner and is really starting to mature and grow into an awesome young man. He has come a long way since his freshman year running 18:37 at Detwieller!
Jacob Ridderhoff (Jr) - Jacob comes from an athletic family, his two older sisters are standout athletes (one track and the other soccer) at Washington University in St. Louis. He really took a lot of strides forward during his sophomore year training/racing wise and he continues to grow into a very good runner. He is one of the most competitive racers that I have had the opportunity to coach, he is just a flat our "gamer". The dude showed that ability his freshman year when I put him in the Sectional 3200m and he responded with confidence and maturity beyond his years.
Matt Moravec (So) - Matt is the younger sister of track all-stater Emma Moravec (2:13 800m) and has really shown that he too has the pedigree to be a very good runner. His mystique has grown over his time on our team, in part to his very soft spoken (or short spoken) manner but also because of his transition lenses on his glasses. Even his glasses have their own Twitter account @Matts_lenses.
NXN Interview with DGN