CARMEL, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference rolled out its 2022 men's cross country pre-season coaches poll on Thursday (Aug. 18) morning, with the Franklin men's team earning fifth place in the league's early rankings.
The Grizzlies collected 45 points from the conference's 10 coaches and sit between fourth place Transylvania and sixth place Hanover in the poll. In addition, the Grizzlies saw five runners earn "Athletes to Watch" recognition from the conference. Junior Jack Sells, sophomores John Asplund and Elliott Gough and freshmen Jonah Decker and Samuel Wilson all picked up league-wide honors.
Both Asplund and Sells enter the 2022 season after all-conference performances last fall. Asplund finished 10th in his debut conference meet while Sells picked up his first all-conference honor with an 18th place finish at the HCAC Championship last fall.
Gough is coming off a strong freshman campaign in both the cross country and track campaigns. Decker and Wilson will each look to challenge for spots in the top five as rookies on the team.
The Grizzlies hit the course on Sept. 3 for their first race of the year, hosting the Grizzly Invitational at Blue River Park in nearby Shelbyville, Ind. Start time is set for 10:00 a.m.
| 1. |
Manchester (7) |
78 |
| 2. |
Earlham (2) |
67 |
| 3. |
Rose-Hulman (1) |
66 |
| 4. |
Transylvania |
59 |
| 5. |
Franklin |
45 |
| 6. |
Hanover |
42 |
| 7. |
Bluffton |
35 |
| 8. |
Anderson |
24 |
| 9. |
Defiance |
21 |
| 10. |
Mount St. Joseph |
13 |
