Troy Craughwell Elementary School students in Joliet raise money for track

JOLIET – An idea Troy students brainstormed two years ago may become a reality this summer.

Students at the K-4 Troy Craughwell Elementary School in Joliet – a Troy District 30C school – may join the Mileage Club in physical education class. If they walk a total of 26.2 miles in the gym or on the playground during one school year, they are honored into the Mileage Hall of Fame and get their pictures posted on the gym wall.

So fourth grader students Luke Pekol, Cooper Bartz and Zach Pekol. along with fellow third and fourth grade students William Ogrizovich, Max Racutt and Zachary Taylor, led the effort begun two years ago to get a circuit track at the playground behind Craughwell.

The result was, “The 2015 Boosterthon Fun Run,” a school-community fundraiser where the community pledged dollars for the number of laps Craughwell students could walk in the gym on the event day

The goal was $7,000, according to Principal Kathy Barker. The amount raised was more than $14,000. The fundraiser also included a door-decorating contest, team huddles, prizes and a kick-off assembly.

Barker said Phase 1 of the project will consist of laying the track along the periphery of the playground. More fundraising will be needed for Phase 2, which will involve installing various circuit apparatus at stops along the track.