St. Joseph-Ogden’s Carter and Franzen Qualify for State Track Finals
By FRED KRONER
Senior Payton Carter and junior Savanna Franzen were the only St. Joseph-Ogden athletes to qualify for the IHSA Class 2A girls’ track and field meet.
In the 17-school Charleston Sectional on Thursday (May 9), Carter tied for second place in the pole vault (10 feet, 3 inches) and eclipsed the qualifying mark.
Franzen took third in the 1,600 meters and also hit the qualifying standard with her time of 5:18.97.
Carter ran fifth in the 200 meters (27.59 seconds), but did not advance. Teammate Lyla Frerichs was sixth in the high jump (4 feet, 9 inches) in her final competition of the season.
The Spartans had top-10 performances from all four of its relay, led by a seventh-place ending from the 800-meter unit of Iris Davis, Helene Jones, Lilly Ahart and Katie Ericksen. Their time was 1:53.69.
Winding up in eighth place was the 3,200-meter foursome of Sophia Kasper, Chloe Burkhalter, Kiah Riesel and Hannah Mock. Their final time was 11:32.18.
Both the 400-meter and the 1,600-meter relays finished in ninth place.
Featured on the 400 relay were Carter, Davis, Ahart and Ericksen. Their combined time was 52.81 seconds.
Sharing the baton on the 1,600 relay were Jones, Madison Clampitt, Ericksen and Franzen. They crossed the finish line in 4:21.66.
State-qualifiers Carter and Franzen will return to action on Friday (May 17) in the state semifinal round at Charleston. Finalists will compete on Saturday (May 18) at Eastern Illinois University.
Tolono Unity won the sectional title with 139 points. SJ-O was 10th with 22 1/3 points.
