Just moments ago, Joe Franklin won the 800 meter title at Nike Outdoor in the last high school race of his career. The talented field took it out bunched up at a good pace of 25 seconds for the first 200, but then slowed down considerably to enter the bell lap in 54.5. Joe sat in the pack for the first 200 meters and then started to come wide to get into position. After 400 he was able to overtake the leaders and quickly opened up a huge gap with a surge of speed. Joe extended the gap into a chasm, but going into the last 100 meters it appeared that the pace was getting to him. Fighting hard and finally swirling his arms to keep his momentum and balance across the finish line, he held off a hard charging Charles Jock (CA) to finish with a time of 1:50.48.
Congratulations to Joe at the conclusion of your high school career with a national championship! Good luck at Tennessee!
Post-Race Interview | Race Video (Coming) | Photos (Coming)