All for one: Franklin boys take Mid-State title

The Franklin boys track and field team took a big hit Tuesday when top hurdler Sam Barnett was injured in the preliminaries of the 110-meter hurdles. Luckily, the Grizzly Cubs had more than enough depth to make up for his absence.

Travis Murr scored individual victories in the long jump as well as the 100- and 200-meter dashes, helping to lead the Franklin boys to the team championship at the Mid-State Conference meet at Greenwood on Tuesday.

The Grizzly Cubs finished the day with 164 points, well clear of runner-up Plainfield (103). Whiteland (95) was third and Greenwood (91) fourth.

“Each person has their own part on the team, and I think we covered the team well,” Murr said. “(Barnett) got injured, which really was a disappointment, but we always have a second person filling their spot.”

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Sure enough, Murr had plenty of help. Franklin got individual first-place finishes from Josh Campbell in the 1,600 meters, Andrew Bixler in the 3,200, Nick Riggles in the 300 hurdles and Payton Utterback in the pole vault. Bixler joined Tyler Fromer, Isaiah Lindsay and Chandler McGaha on the winning 4×800 relay.

In the girls meet, Franklin finished second behind Plainfield, totaling 121 points to edge the host Woodmen (113). Whiteland was fourth with 101 points.

Kloie Doublin paced the Franklin girls, placing first in the 100 and second in the long jump and 400 while also anchoring the winning 4×400 relay. Ally Parramore won the 300 hurdles and was second in the 100 hurdles, while Emma Treibic won the mile and was third in the 800.

Greenwood was led by Hanna Anderson, who claimed victories in the 200 and 400 and finished a close second to Doublin in the 100.

“We’ve been racing each other since seventh grade,” Anderson said, “so it’s a friendly rivalry.”

Also netting individual victories for the Woodmen on the girls side were Olivia Weston (high jump) and Krista Robinson (800). Nick Patton won the 110-meter hurdles for the Greenwood boys.

Whiteland had individual champions on both sides. Kerrigan Miller won the girls long jump, and Ryder Emberton swept the boys discus and shot put in convincing fashion, though his winning distances were not quite what he had hoped for coming in.

“I’m not satisfied with the distance, because I knew I had a lot more in me,” he said. “But a win’s a win, and I’ll take it.”