Silver Turns in Solid Gold Performance at State Cross Country Meet

PEORIA—Saturday's state cross country meet at Detweiller Park was the last for veteran Downers North boys coach Will Kupisch. And senior Ben Silver saw to it that he would leave "Koop," as Kupisch is affectionately called, with some fond memories.

Silver and the Trojans held their own in the Class 3A race while competing against one of the fastest state fields in years. North placed 18^th out of 25 teams with 421 points, and Silver motored to a top-10 finish individually to earn all-state honors.

"I'm just really happy with the race," Silver said. "I think we all really wanted to pull through for Koop so that we could have a great last memory with him. A lot of us are seniors so it was our last year for a lot of us, too."

Silver's time of 14:34 for ninth place bettered his previous personal best of 14:42. The 3A field featured Sandburg senior Lukas Verzbicas, the defending state champ whom many believed could break the longtime state record of 13:50.6 set by three-time U.S. Olympian Craig Virgin.

Virgin established the mark as a senior at Lebanon High School in 1972. Virgin attended the race and happened to be sitting in the announcer's truck just ahead of Verzbicas and the rest of the pack. However, Verzbicas' bid to break Virgin's record fell short. He turned in a time of 13:54, just 3.4 seconds off the record.

Silver, a returning all-stater who placed 18^th in 2009 (the top 25 individual finishers receive all-state medals), came into this year's race with a different strategy—to conserve energy.

"Last year, I pushed the whole race and I died on the last hill," he explained. "So I knew at all costs I had to conserve energy and stay with the top 10 with as least energy as I could spend, and then just everything I had on that last hill."

Kupisch said he couldn't be prouder of the effort Silver turned in not only at the state meet, but throughout the season. Silver missed time a few weeks ago as he worked through an ankle injury.

"(To get) top 10 in the state and with all the competition, it was an impressive outing for Ben Silver, there's no doubt," Kupisch said. "I know he's happy and this is remarkable.

"When you figure out where he was at and where he finished, it really reflects our battle for everybody in life. It's not how you start; it's how hard you finish," Kupisch said. "He didn't start the season where he wanted to, but he finished and took in a top 10. Five weeks ago, he wasn't even running, but he worked through it and here he is today. The sun is really shining on the team. I'm really proud of them."

Senior Ben Llamas also wrapped up a fine career at North with a time of 15:00 to finish 46^th. Classmates Cody Lee (15:39) and Matt Sarver (16:31) were 137^th and 199^th, respectively. Freshman Zach Smith (159^th, 15:53) and junior Pat Grogan (186^th, 16:07) rounded out North's competitors at state.

The normally philosophical Kupisch, who is retiring next spring after 33 years as coach, was busy tending to his team after the race.

"Right now, I just want to congratulate them, bring this whole group to our tent and have some hip-hips, some congratulatory speeches and whatever it may be to share the good feeling that's going on right now," he said. "We ran hard, we had some great times, we had some PRs and that's the way you want the season to culminate. Everyone wants a trophy, but there's only three. So it's individual battles and other stories that really represent more of the world. We did a fantastic job today."

Downers North girls

A week earlier, coach Tim McDonald's North girls squad ran roughshod over the rest of the field at the Lockport sectional, placing five runners in the top 11 while capturing first place.

The Trojans followed up that performance with a 10^th place finish on Saturday in the 3A race. Downers Grove's No. 1 finisher, sophomore Gabrielle Hesslau, took 32^nd overall in 17:32.

She (Hesslau) should feel really good about the race today," McDonald said. "Just like at any state meet, you're going to have some kids that are excited. There will be kids that will be disappointed, which is the nature of the sport."

Senior Samantha Fry, fourth overall at the sectional meet, placed among the top 50 runners (49^th) while turning in a time of 17:46 for the Trojans, whom McDonald hoped could have started the race a little stronger.

"We didn't execute our race plan," he said. "We thought we were behind a little bit at the turn in the corner, and you try to play catch-up in a field that's fast.

"Anything like this, you've got to get yourself out strong, especially going down into the corner," McDonald said. "Once you get beyond that corner and things start to expand, and you're behind, then you're in trouble because other people have a little cleaner field to move through, and you're kind of struggling to stay with it."

Allison Proffitt, a junior, came in third for the Trojans and 62^nd overall (17:53). Senior Gabriella Effrein (18:19) and sophomore Jillian Kothanek (18:23) were within six places of each other, finishing in 101^st and 107^th, respectively. Freshman Meghan Bonfield (18:52) placed 160^th.

"This is a one-day performance," McDonald said. "Maybe it wasn't our 'A' race; maybe it was a 'C' race for us, but it's been a great season. It was a lot of fun and these girls deserve a lot of credit."