HANOVER, Ind. – For the first time under the guidance of head coach Brandon Dworak, the Franklin men's cross country team has laid claim to a team championship after winning the Hanover Invitational on Saturday (Sept. 14).
 
The Grizzlies put five runners in the top-12 and finished with 40 points as a team, edging out host Hanover (60 pts) and Asbury (78 pts) for the team championship.
 
Leading the way for the Grizzlies in the 6K race was senior John Asplund, as he finished second overall with a time of 19:59.9. Rookie William Hirsch placed second on the team and seventh overall, hitting the finish line in 20:45.1. Junior Riley Devening (20:48.6), junior Trevor Newby (20:49.1) and freshman Zachary Schroeder (22:11.5) occupied the ninth, 10^th and 12^th place spots, respectively.

Finishing just outside of the top-20 was freshman Kai Sheley (21st/21:55.4) and junior Andre Davis (23rd/22:03.0). Also taking part was senior Elliott Gough (27th/22:12.1), sophomore (28^th/22:31.1), sophomore Finn Adams (40^th/23:07.8), junior Jonah Decker (50^th/24:07.8), and sophomore Tristan Maloney (70^th/29:31.9).
 
Franklin is off for nearly three weeks before their next race, which comes on Friday, Oct. 4 at the NCAA DIII Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind.