Eli Franklin wins IESA Class 2A Championship
By Fred Kroner
Sectional champion Eli Franklin led St. Joseph Middle School to a team title on Saturday (Oct. 7) in the IESA Class 2A sectional boys’ cross-country race that St. Joseph hosted.
Franklin won the 2-mile race by 8.28 seconds. His 2-mile time was 11 minutes, 24.38 seconds.
All of the Panthers’ sectional entries finished among the top 23 in a race that attracted 75 competitors.
The team’s other leaders were sixth-grader Camden Fisher (third in 11:33.77), seventh-grader Adam Bello (fifth in 12:02.32), seventh-grader Brady Johnson (ninth in 12:28.73), eighth-grader Henry McCannon (17th in 12:40.12), eighth-grader Sam Zadeh (22nd in 12:50.08) and eighth-grader Nathan Hinkel (23rd in 12:51.04).
The St. Joseph cumulative team score was 35 points. Runner-up Potomac had 84 points and third-place Toledo Cumberland ended with 87 points.
The top three schools all earned berths in the 24-team IESA state finals.
The boys’ state race will be on Saturday (Oct. 14) at Normal Parkside and is scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m.
Schools are allowed to add three runners to their state rosters in case substitutions are needed. The remainder of the Panthers’ state roster will include eighth-grader Patrick Clark, eighth-grader Hunter Dilley and sixth-grader Kelton Pruemer.
