Ben Silver to be inducted into Downers Grove North’s Athletic Hall of Fame

Ben Silver, a former Downers Grove North cross country and track and field athlete, is among four athletes who will be inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame on Dec. 20.

Silver, who graduated in 2011, struggled with mental health issues and took his life in the summer of 2015 at the age of 22. He will be awarded posthumously for his accomplishments in cross country and track and field.

A reception will be held at 6 p.m. at the Downers Grove North Commons, followed by the induction ceremony at 7:30 p.m. between the girls and boys basketball games.

Tim McDonald, a Downers Grove North math teacher, assistant athletic director and head of the Athletic Hall of Fame Committee, said, “Ben was someone who checks every box of athletic success.”

Silver achieved success at the conference, regional and state level.

“Ben is the only boy in the history of our school who was a three-time All-State cross country runner,” McDonald said. “His resume speaks for itself. He belongs on that wall.

“Cross country is a sport that takes time to develop your craft and get stronger. It is a really hard level for freshmen and sophomores to achieve,” said McDonald, who taught Silver in his AP Statistics class. “That indicates the kind of athlete Ben was.”

McDonald and Silver used to go to the same gym. Silver would cross-train on an elliptical machine.

“I was surprised the elliptical was able to keep going because Ben was going so fast on it,” McDonald said.

“He worked hard,” McDonald said. “I would come in and swim and he would still be going hard when I left.”

Ben’s mom, Jamie Lee Silver, said she hopes those who “loved Ben, knew him and participated in Ben’s Memorial Mile” will attend the Hall of Fame ceremony.

“It is going to be a lovely event,” she said.

“I have so much gratitude for Downers Grove. We moved there when Ben was in kindergarten and he had wonderful teachers” who fostered his running ability, she said.

In the years since Ben Silver’s death, his family, friends, members of the running community, area residents and others have gathered once a summer to raise awareness for mental health and suicide prevention in honor of Silver by taking part in Ben’s Memorial Mile.

They have donated more than $200,000 to support the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, an organization that awards grants that lead to advances and breakthroughs in mental health scientific research, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization.

Other Hall of Fame inductees for 2025 are Bill Kleckner, a former basketball and football coach at Downers Grove North; Mary McGrane, a former student-athlete for her accomplishments in softball, golf and basketball; and Anthony Calderone, the head coach of the girls badminton and boys golf teams.

McGrane, who is the assistant athletic director, softball coach and girls golf coach at Glenbard West, “was the best all-around athlete for her grade” and “is the greatest softball player we ever had,” McDonald said.

Kleckner recently finished his 50th season coaching football at Downers Grove North. He has coached basketball for 34 seasons.

“He has been retired as a teacher for some time,” McDonald said. “But he continued to coach football.”

Kleckner and the Trojans made it to the state finals four times, including a championship in 2004.

Calderone is “the most successful coach in the history of the school in badminton,” McDonald said.

“He has won three state titles, 16 conference championships and 17 sectional championships,” McDonald said. “The longevity and success is very impressive.”

Downers Grove North began its Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994. With the newest inductees, it will have 90 members.

For Silver’s mom, the event will be extra special because it will be a chance to thank those who contributed to her recent GoFundMe.

Jamie Lee Silver was with her son, Dr. Aaron Silver, in Oregon when Hurricane Helene hit her home in St. Pete Beach, Florida, totaling her car and destroying most of her belongings.

“I really want to thank the people of Downers Grove for their help,” she said.