SHELBYVILLE, Ind. – The Franklin men's cross country team kicked off the 2024 campaign on Saturday (Sept. 7) morning, hosting the annual Grizzly Invitational at their home course at Blue River Park.
 
Facing off against a large field with competition from all across the Great Lakes region, the Grizzlies finished the afternoon with an 11^th place finish.
 
It was a familiar sight for Franklin fans atop the team lineup, with senior John Asplund pacing the Grizzlies in the 8K race. Asplund hit the end line in 26:32.33, good for 35^th place overall. Taking second on the team and 82^nd overall was junior Sam Wilson after he completed his race in 27:29.34. Junior Riley Devening took third on the team and 107^th with a time of 27:50.60.
 
Freshman William Hirsch was a scorer in his first career meet, as he finished 123^rd in 28:06.44. Junior Jonah Decker placed 129^th in 28:08.65 and fellow junior Trevor Newby rounded out the scoring with a 140^th place finish in 28:16.23.
 
Up Next
Franklin hits the road next Saturday (Sept. 14) for the Hanover Invitational. Start time for the first race is set for 10:00 a.m.