October 27, 2017 at 12:56 p.m.
Franson sets high goals for finale
Hodag senior seeks podium, personal best at state meet
Franson sets high goals for finale
But Franson is not merely satisfied with qualifying for the WIAA state cross country meet for the third time in her four-year career. She has some pretty clear goals for when the gun goes off in the Division 2 girls' race at approximately 1:20 p.m. at The Ridges in Wisconsin Rapids.
"Now, I want to get top 10 state," she said after placing fifth in last Saturday's Division 2 sectional in Waupaca.
A top 10 would mean a podium finish in Franson's last high school race. She was not far from that goal last year when she placed 14th in the Division 2 race. Her time of 19 minutes, 53.71 seconds was roughly 24 seconds off the podium. Head coach M.J. Laggis said cracking the top 10 this year is a realistic goal.
"We've had some real hard Monday workouts and I think, based on how she's performed, we've went about it the right way because she's been there on Saturdays," he said. "She wants to podium and we want her to get there. We're all pulling for her."
Franson was the second of five individual qualifiers out of the Waupaca sectional. Her time of 20:26.55 seconds was roughly nine seconds faster than what she ran a year ago at sectionals on the same Waupaca course.
Franson hung near the front of the pack with some pretty tough company. The top two finishers - Lakeland's Ashley Peterson and Marinette's Katelyn Kitzinger - have the sixth- and 11th-fastest times this season, respectively, in Division 2 according to Athletic.net. Freedom's Jaci Hintz and Lauren Vosters, who finished third and fourth last Saturday, are two of the six returning runners who finished on the D2 podium a year ago.
"Now I know I can finally pace myself with Ashley and girls from Freedom. It will be a great setup for state," Franson said.
Franson figures familiarity with the course and the competition will help her as well this afternoon. She finished 49th in the Division 1 race as a freshman with a time of 19:39.67, and narrowly missed qualifying in the D1 field as a sophomore before returning to state a year ago in D2.
"Last year, I kind of just went into it - because I hadn't run in D2 yet - I was just going for it and didn't know where to pace myself," she said. "This year I can figure out who I can run with at the start, where to place myself with the girls and I think it will be really good race."
Laggis said the week of practice has followed the same pattern that has worked for Franson throughout her career - intensive sessions Monday and Tuesday, with workouts that gradually decreased Wednesday and Thursday. Franson, her coaches and the teammates who will be cheering her on, left for Wisconsin Rapids yesterday morning.
"She'll be ready to rock in Rapids, there's no doubt," Laggis said.
Aside from gunning for a podium finish, Franson said she would like to beat her career-best time.
"19:30 would be ideal for me I think, realistically," she said.
The two goals may not be mutually exclusive. Franson's personal best is 19:31.6, which she set two weeks ago at the Great Northern Conference meet in Eagle River. Should she break the 19:30 barrier on Saturday, she may be in the hunt for a top-10 finish. The 10th-place finisher in last year's D2 meet clocked in at 19:28.32. The 10th best time in D2 was 19:28.20 in 2015.
Regardless of how she runs Saturday, Laggis said the legacy Franson has left on the Rhinelander cross country program has already been cemented.
"Just a great young lady," he said. "If you were a young runner in Rhinelander, or a young athlete, wouldn't you look at that and say, 'That's what I want to do with my high school career.' She's just been such a good role model and a good example."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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