By Fred Kroner
The St. Joseph-Ogden girls’ cross-country team registered a record-setting performance on Saturday (Nov. 6) in the IHSA Class 1A state meet at Detweiller Park, in Peoria.
With Ava Knap finishing fifth and freshman Savanna Franzen taking sixth, it marked the first time the Spartans’ girls’ program had two top-six state-placers in the same year.
Only one SJ-O runner has finished higher at state than Knap and Franzen. Chelsea Blaase was the 2011 Class 1A state champion.
Knap was timed in 17:48.51 for the 3-mile course. She was just 27.06 seconds behind the state champion, Aurora Rosary senior Lianna Surtz.
Among seniors at state in 1A, Knap was third. Franzen was second among freshmen, completing the course in 17:51.72.
They helped SJ-O secure a fourth-place finish in a meet with 30 teams and 256 runners.
To earn all-state honors, runners needed a top-25 finish individually.
This year marked the fifth time the SJ-O girls’ program had at least two all-staters in the same year. The Spartans matched a feat also achieved in 2014, 2008, 1991 and 1990.
The 2014 squad had three all-staters. The other four years produced two all-staters.
The finishes by Knap and Franzen gave the school six top-10 state-placers in the past 15 years. In that same 15-year span, SJ-O’s girls’ program has had a total of 14 all-staters.
Other scoring runners for the Spartans at Detweiller were senior Kailyn Ingram (56th in 19:04.73), sophomore Chloe Burkhalter (85th in 19:25.79) and senior Addie Allen (95th in 19:34.09).
The team’s top-five split was 105.58 seconds.
Other SJ-O state competitors were senior Taryn Sexton (161st in 20:24.39) and junior Kaytlyn Baker (211th in 21:29.58).
Capturing the Class 1A team title was Tolono Unity (126 points). Following the Rockets were Winnebago (138 points), Eureka (157 points) and SJ-O (167 points).
