One senior and four underclassmen were the scoring runners on Saturday (Nov. 9) for the St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ cross-country team, which ended 12^th in the IHSA Class 1A state meet at Detweiller Park, in Peoria.

Senior Jack Fisher was the team’s top placer. He covered the 3-mile course in 15:35.98.

He was followed by junior Lance Retz (86^th in a career-best 16:00.17), sophomore Colin Burnett (115^th in 16:17.40), sophomore Nate Farney (131^st in 16:25.44) and freshman Eli Franklin (45^th in 16:35.60).

There were 258 runners at state in 1A.

The other SJ-O competitors were seniors E.J. Beckett (172^nd in 16:49.80) and Joe Grebat (180^th in 16:57.13).

The 1A team title was won by Niles Northridge Prep (126 points), followed by Elmwood (156 points) and Eureka (165 points). SJ-O was 12^th with 358 points.

There were 30 full teams at state.

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fred@mahometdaily.com

All-State runners Savanna Franzen and Grace Bressner were the catalysts for the St Joseph-Ogden girls’ cross-country team, which placed 12^th out of 30 teams on Saturday (Nov. 9) in the IHSA Class 1A girls’ cross-country state meet.

Franzen, a senior, became a three-time All-Stater in cross-country. She was timed in 17 minutes, 45.50 seconds on the 3-mile course at Peoria’s Detweiller Park.

Freshman teammate Grace Bressner nabbed the 25^th and final All-State spot. Her time was 17:55.90.

Bressner and another freshman, Tessa Walker, posted career-best times. Walker ran 54^th in 18:46.20.

The other SJ-O state participants were sophomore Abigail Bello (164^th in 20:29.80), junior Sydney Steinbach (234^th in 22:57.30) and sophomore Kiah Riesel (245^th in24:20.20).

Franzen is the fifth girl from SJ-O to earn at least three All-State honors in cross-country. The others were Faith Houston (four), Chelsea Blaase (three), Amy Roberts (three) and Ashley Wright (three).

The 2024 state race marks the fourth time the Spartans have had at least two All-Staters in the same girls’ race. There were three in 2014 and two each in 1990 and 1991.

Team honors went to Williamsville (171 points) followed by Tolono Unity (173) and Anna-Jonesboro (177 points).

SJ-O was 12^th with 371 points.

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For the 27^th time in the last 36 years, St. Joseph-Ogden’s entire girls’ cross-country team has qualified for state.

The Spartans secured their advancement on Saturday (Nov. 2) by finishing third in the 20-team Cumberland Class 1A Sectional at Mattoon’s Lake Land College.

Two SJ-O runners garnered top-10 finishes in a race with 144 competitors.

Savanna Franzen was seventh, running the 3-mile course in 18 minutes and 1 second. Grace Bressner, the day’s first freshman placer, was 10^th in 18:27.0.

Other SJ-O leaders were Tessa Walker (15^th in 19:26.8), Abigail Bello (45^th in 20:50.7), Sydney Steinbach (77^th in 22:22.6) and Kiah Riesel (113^th in 24:50.9).

Tolono Unity won team honors (79 points), followed by Shelbyville (126 points) and  SJ-O (137 points).

SJ-O will return to action on Saturday (Nov. 9) in the IHSA state meet at Peoria’s Detweiller Park. The Class 1A girls’ race will begin at 9 a.m.

The state appearance for SJ-O in girls’ cross-country will be the 15^th for the school in the last 18 years.

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The Spartans qualified on Saturday (Nov. 2) by placing second in the 21-school Cumberland Sectional held at Lake Land College, in Mattoon.

Jack Fisher was the SJ-O leader, running sixth in the 158-runner race. His 3-mile time was 15 minutes, 42.6 seconds.

The next five Spartans to cross the finish line did so within 21.2 seconds of each other.

The pack featured Colin Burnett (34^th in 6:39.8), E.J. Beckett (42^nd in 16:54.4), Eli Franklin (43^rd in 16:55.0), Lance Retz (46^th in 16:59.2) and Nate Farney (48^th in 17:01.0).

Also competing at the sectional for SJ-O was Joe Griebat (71^st in 17:37.1).

La Salette won the meet with 97 points. SJ-O and Urbana Uni High each tied for second with 152 points. The Spartans’ sixth runner (Farney) finished 24.4 seconds in front of Uni High’s No. 6 runner.

The top three schools at the sectional all participated in the same regional (at Tuscola) one week earlier.

SJ-O will return to action on Saturday (Nov. 9) in the IHSA state meet at Peoria’s Detweiller Park. The Class 1A boys’ race will begin at 10 a.m.

The state appearance for SJ-O in boys’ cross-country will be the 26^th all-time.

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St. Joseph-Ogden’s boys’ cross-country team finished third on Saturday (Oct. 26) at the IHSA Tuscola Class 1A regional meet at Wimple Park.

Notre Dame De La Salette won team honors (49 points), followed by Urbana Uni High (85 points) and SJ-O (90 points).

Senior Jack Fisher was the Spartans’ top placer. He came in 10^th in 16:03.96 for the 3-mile course.

Teammates trailing him were sophomore Colin Burnett (14^th in 16:13.09), senior E.J. Beckett (19^th in 16:35.85), sophomore Nate Farney (22^nd in 16:29.99), freshman Eli Franklin (25^th in 16:34.49), junior Lance Retz (27^th in 16:38.56) and senior Joe Griebat (30^th in 16:55.23).

There were 99 runners in the race.

SJ-O will return to action on Saturday (Oct. 26) in the Cumberland Sectional at Mattoon’s Lake Land College.

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St. Joseph-Ogden had three of the top eight finishers on Saturday (Oct. 26) and took second in the nine-school Tuscola Class 1A IHSA regional cross-country meet at Wimple Park.

Senior Savanna Franzen was fourth in the 3-mile race (18:11.90), freshman Grace Bressner was sixth (18:29.91) and freshman Tessa Walker was eighth (19:09.89).

Other SJ-O leaders were sophomore Abigail Bello (19^th in 20:19.70), junior Sydney Steinbach (42^nd in 22:22.94) and sophomore Kiah Riesel (59^th in 24:10.98).

There were 70 runners in the race.

Walker, Bello and Riesel all recorded season-best times.

Tolono Unity captured team honors (40 points), followed by SJ-O (70 points) and Paxton-Buckley-Loda (94 points).

SJ-O will return to action on Saturday (Oc. 26) in the Cumberland Sectional at Mattoon’s Lake Land College.

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St. Joseph-Ogden’s Savanna Franzen finished fifth in the 260-runner field on Saturday (Oct. 19) in the Patriot Girls’ Cross-Country Invitational at Peoria’s Detweiller Park.

Franzen ran the 3-mile course in 17 minutes and 51 seconds.

SJ-O’s other competitors were Grace Bressner (17^th in 18:52.80), Tessa Walker (30^th in a season-best 19:35.80), Sydney Steinbach (140^th in 23:13.70) and Kiah Riesel (177^th in 24:36.40).

Williamsville won team honors (100 points), followed by Shelbyville (107 points) and Tolono Unity (183 points). SJ-O was 12^th with 312 points.

SJ-O returns to action on Saturday (Oct. 26) In the IHSA Class 1A Regional at Tuscola’s Wimple Park.

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Jack Fisher ran a season-best 3-mile time on Saturday (Oct. 19), helping the St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ cross-country team to a third-place finish in the 34-school Patriot Invitational at Peoria’s Detweiller Park.

Fisher was the individual runner-up in 15:31.70.

The Spartans’ next five varsity runners entered the finish chute within 48 seconds of one another.

Colin Burnett was 27^th (16:28.30) and was followed by Nate Farney (37^th in 16:42.80), E.J. Beckett (39^th in 16:45.30), Eli Franklin (65^th in 17:09.60) and Lance Retz (73^rd in 17:16.40).

There were 284 finishers in the varsity race.

Meet champion Elmwood finished with 82 points and was followed by Notre Dame De LaSalette (103 points) and SJ-O (145 points).

In the boys’ junior varsity event, four SJ-O runners finished within 23 seconds of one another.

The Spartans placed eighth out of 14 schools which fielded full teams.

The SJ-O leaders were Henry McCannon (42^nd in 19:29.20), Hunter Dilley (45^th in a season-best 19:32.30), Mark Harbourt (46^th in 19:33.50) and Cyrus Zadeh (52^nd in 19:51.50).

The Spartans’ other JV participants were Sam Zadeh (74^th in 20:35.60), Nathan Hinkel (83^rd in 20:52.00) and Patrick Clark (130^th in 25:54.00).

SJ-O returns to action on Saturday (Oct. 26) In the IHSA Class 1A Regional at Tuscola’s Wimple Park.

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St. Joseph-Ogden’s seven entries in the varsity division of the 10-school Illini Prairie Conference boys’ cross-country meet on Tuesday (Oct. 8) finished the race within 47 seconds of one another and helped the Spartans win the team crown.

Junior Lance Retz was the team leader, finishing sixth in the 66-runner race in 16:03.0. He was SJ-O’s lone all-conference honoree.

He was trailed by sophomore Colin Burnett (11^th in 16:20.2), sophomore Nate Farney (13^th in 16:24.3), senior Jack Fisher (14^th in 16:26.9), senior E.J. Beckett (18^th in 16:37.7), freshman Eli Franklin (21^st in 16:45.5) and senior Joe Griebat (22^nd in 16:49.4).

Recording their top 3-mile times of the season were Retz, Burnett, Farney, Franklin and Griebat.

In the team race, SJ-O’s composite score was 62 points. Runner-up Tolono Unity had 84 points and third-place Pontiac had a score of 88 points.

In the 43-runner open race, five SJ-O competitors posted season-best times.

Aiden Hundley was fifth in 18:35.1, Henry McCannon was eighth in 19:01.7, Mark Harbourt was 15^th in 19:20.2, Hunter Dilley was 20^th in 19:51.2 and Sam Zadeh was 26^th in 19:56.9.

The Spartans’ other runners in the open race were Nathan  Hinkel (21:33.0) and Patrick Clark (24:55.1).

Chillicothe IVC captured team honors in the open race with 45 points. SJ-O was second with 54 points and Tolono Unity took third with 58 points.

The Spartans return to action on Saturday (Oct. 12) at the Patroit Invitational at Detweiller Park, in Peoria.

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Three St. Joseph-Ogden runners earned all-conference accolades on Tuesday (Oct. 8) in the Illini Prairie Conference girls’ cross-country meet at Brookhill Golf Course, in Rantoul.

Senior Savanna Franzen was third in the 3-mile race with a time of 17:34.2. Freshman Grace Bressner was third in 18:10.9. Freshman Tessa Walker placed ninth in 19:50.8.

The top 10 finishers in the 59-runner race were accorded all-conference status.

Other Spartan participants were sophomore Abigail Bello (20^th in 21:14.1), junior Sydney Steinbach (29^th in 22:03.1) and sophomore Kiah Riesel (53^rd in 25:01.7).

Franzen, Bressner, Bello and Steinbach all registered their top times of the season.

In the team chase, Tolono Unity was first with 31 points, followed by SJ-O (63) and Paxton-Buckley-Loda (81) in the nine-school meet.

The Spartans return to action on Saturday (Oct. 12) at the Patroit Invitational at Detweiller Park, in Peoria.

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