Though nothing looked exactly normal, every DGN sports team was able to compete in some fashion during the 2020-2021 season. Below are recaps of each varsity team that has finished competition. Note: Sports competing during the ‘summer’ season are still in the midst of the regular season and are not included in these wrap-ups. 

FALL SPORTS 

Boys’ Cross Country 

Boys cross country was dominant per usual, not only winning conference but also being regional and sectional champs. Running in the Marist Regional, Evan Cummins and Roy Llewellyn both finished top five, with times of 15:11 and 15:12. Kyle Mcnally and Chris Allen finished seventh and eighth. At sectionals, the boys finished five points clear of second place with an impressive 77 total points and finished with a point spread of 25 seconds from the top runner to the last, for perspective the second-best school finished with 47. Evan Cummins finished seventh with a time of 15:18, and Roy Llewellyn finished ninth with a time of 15:19.   Evan Cummins, Roy Llewellyn, Kyle McNally, and Chris Allen were named all-conference. 

Girls’ Cross Country

The girls’ cross country team was also great this year. The team finished third in sectionals and was led by West Point commit Melissa Jachim. Jachim finished third among all runners with a time of 17:43. Sydney Hnatiuk and Allison Van de Wetering rounded out the top ten with times of 18:36 and 18:37. They finished just two points behind rival Downers Grove South.

Boys’ Golf 

Boys’ golf also had a great season, finishing 4-4 on the year. Yet another player qualified and won sectionals, this time it was senior Tyler Schenk, as well as qualifying for state. As a team, North finished third in regionals behind only Glenbard West and Hinsdale Central. At sectionals, Schenk finished tied for fourth among 64 golfers with a 75, only two strokes behind the winner. Matt Kramer shot an 84, good for top half of the competition.

Girls’ Golf 

Limited information is available regarding the results of the girl’s golf team, but the Trojans, led by juniors Audrey Stanton and Jessica Cagney, played 5th at sectionals. 

Girls’ Tennis 

Girls Tennis also had a strong season. They finished fourth in sectionals Hinsdale Central, York, and Hinsdale South. Liveta Ezerskis finished in 2nd place for singles, winning 6-2 then 6-0. Freshman Emily Wittmer finished in third place for singles as she won 6-1 and 6-3. As far as doubles, Kate Southworth and Molly St. Clair took home second place by winning 6-1, 6-0. 

Girls’ Swim and Dive 

Girls’ swim and dive was outstanding, placing second in conference as well as a second-place finish at sectionals and even had eight swimmers advance to the (would be) state championships. In the Hinsdale sectional, the girls had a first-place finish, a third-place finish, and two second-place finishes. Overall a solid year for the swim and dive team, they look forward to building on the success next year.

WINTER SPORTS 

Athenas 

At their first dance competition of the season, the Athenas placed sixth. These girls only continued the climb higher as the season progressed.  At the WSC conference competition, they placed third. Two of their members Maddie Redpath and Kayla Kamilis were named to the 8 count audio All-State dance team. Congratulations on a great season.

Girls’ Badminton

The girls’ badminton team achieved an extremely high level of success in this unusual season. Not only did the team win the West Suburban Silver Conference title, but in addition, a handful of the players advanced to become sectional medalists. Sophomore Gabrielle Chen, Junior Megan Heinz, and senior Jessica Spahn all advanced to the state competition as well.

Boys’ Basketball

With much of the roster returning for their senior season this past winter, the boys dominated the West Suburban Conference this year on the court. Boasting an impressive record of 12-2, the Trojans faced Glenbard West in their final game, a winner-take-all battle for the title of conference champion. DGN dominated the Hilltoppers, summing up what was a near-perfect season and sending the talented senior class off in style. 

Girls’ Basketball 

The pressure was on for the DGN Girls basketball team this past winter, to say the least. The 2020 girls’ team set school records- becoming the first girls’ basketball team in our school’s history to advance to the sweet 16, where they lost in a nailbiter to a talented Whitney Young squad. Without a single senior on the roster, the girls picked up right where they left off last season, finishing with a 10-3 record and earning the title of conference champions. The young team faced many obstacles including a two-week quarantine which made their odds of success slim, but they didn’t let these challenges get the best of them.

Girls’ Bowling

The girls’ bowling team may have had a shorter season than usual but they certainly made the most out of it. Senior Tina Ebel led the varsity team to their state tournament on March 15th. This was their last match of the season with 500 total players in attendance. Ebel placed 48th and her final score for the six-game match was 1121. Although the competitions were more spaced out the team still pushed through. The varsity team ended with a 2-6 record.

Girls’ Gymnastics 

As per usual, the Downers Grove Girls’ Gymnastics team dominated their season, going undefeated and winning the conference championship meet. COVID changed the flow of their season more than it did most sports- between canceled meets and virtual competitions, these girls faced lots of adversity. Their first in-person meet did not occur until the conference meet held at Hinsdale South High School, and the girls took home the title. While we only have five female gymnasts competing from DGN, they were nothing short of impressive.

Boys’ Swim and Dive

The boys’ swim and dive team started off their season against LTHS. They had many great meets throughout the season. Many of the boys set new best times and beat their season-bests. At the WSC conference, Brad Szydlowski took fourth in Diving. 

SPRING SPORTS 

Football

Football played a total of six games and made the best with what they were given. In the first game of the season against Proviso East, the Trojans took the win 55-0. At their final game of the season the crosstown battle between Downers Grove North and Downers Grove South we took the huge dub of 23-7. There were a lot of hard battles left out on the field but the boys gave everything they had into those games.

Boys’ Soccer

Boys’ soccer had an amazing season with a strong start and a strong finish. Trygve Hansen had a lot to do with the boys’ soccer domination this season with his goal-scoring abilities. One of the most notable wins that brought home a huge trophy was Derby win with a 3-0 win. On senior night and their last game against Glenbard West, they won 4-1, finishing their season with 8-2-1 and 5-1 in conference.

Coed Cheer 

DGN’s COED cheer had an unusual season as all the other sports did but what was special in their season is that they were completely virtual. Even with all the differences from their last season the varsity coed cheer team made their way to a state-qualifying second-place finish at this year’s virtual state meet. With their grit, they made an unusual situation into something to be proud of. What an amazing season.

Boys’ Gymnastics 

The boys’ gymnastics team has had an exciting season so far with a second-place finish at their conference meet. They moved up to be the fourth-ranked team in the state. There have been a lot of transitions within the team including but not limited to transitioning gym space and losing a potential 2020 state team. Regardless of the difficulties along the way, there’s a very bright future for this year’s boys’ gymnastics team.

Girls’ Volleyball 

At their season opener at Morton, there were wins on all levels. Varsity once again crushed this season. Varsity clinched a third conference championship in the last four years with a 25-10, 25-7 win over Proviso West. Wolkow 8 kills, Beacom 5 kills, Mall 3 kills, Long 2 kills, Brindl 10 Asst, Casey 7 Asst, Terhaar 2 aces, Baldwin 3 aces. These girls finished off their season with another win against Hinsdale South, finishing overall with an amazing record of 11-1 and the title of conference champions.