By Fred Kroner
St. Joseph-Ogden had two of the top four runners on Saturday (Oct. 30) in the Decatur Class 1A girls’ cross-country sectional race at Hickory Point Golf Course.
Savanna Franzen placed second and Ava Knap was fourth, leading the Spartans to a team runner-up finish and a berth in the upcoming state finals.
Franzen ran the 3-mile layout in 18 minutes, 1.30 seconds and was first among freshmen at the sectional. Knap was timed in 18:56.65 and was first among seniors.
The Spartans’ other scoring runners were senior Kailyn Ingram (23rd in 20:25.67), sophomore Chloe Burkhalter (34th in 20:50.38) and senior Addie Allen (35th in 20:50.63).
The top six schools in the meet grabbed state berths.
Tolono Unity was the team champion with a composite of 57 points. SJ-O was second with 90 points. The other team qualifiers were Monticello (108 points), Urbana Uni High (109 points), Robinson (164 points) and Marshall (178 points).
SJ-O’s other sectional competitors placed among the top half in a field with 151 performers.
Senior Taryn Sexton was 49th in 21:27.34 and junior Kaytlyn Baker was 73rd in 22:40.48.
The team state berth in the school’s 26th all-time for girls’ cross-country as well as the 14th in the past 15 years and the seventh in the eight years Jason Retz has served as head coach.
The only interruption to the streak was in 2020, when COVID-19 forced cancelation of the state series.
