Panther cross country is back in action.
After a trip to the state meet last fall and months of offseason training, on Aug. 31 Franklin’s distance runners finally heard the starting gun. In a seven-team meet at Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, Melissa Ward’s squad finished first on the women’s side and second in the men’s.
In the first race of the day, the meet’s female runners battled hot conditions and a difficult course. With parts of Rabun Gap’s usual course under construction, runners followed a roundabout path through the back of the school grounds, including a steep hill that added multiple minutes to competitors’ times. Despite this, sophomore Amy Mendoza Lopez beat a fast pace, placing third out of 67 in 24 minutes and 59 seconds. Just behind Mendoza Lopez was fellow sophomore Mindi Holbrooks, who finished fourth with a 25:08.4 despite battling knee discomfort. Abigail Pope, the final member of Franklin’s sophomore power trio, placed sixth with a 26:10.5.
After Pope, Morgan Cress led a deep and talented freshman class for Franklin, placing 15th with a 27:46.4. Two more Panthers finished roughly a minute later, with senior track and field standout Rylee Cassada placing 21st in 28:38.4 and freshman Breanna Pendergrass placing 23rd in 29:10.7. Sophomore Zoe Kettler rounded out Franklin’s top seven in 35th with a 39:09.9.
As a team, the numerical value of the Panthers’ top seven finishes added up to 52, narrowly beating the host team’s 57 and the Tallulah Falls School’s 60 for first place.
Like their female counterparts, Franklin’s men’s team was dealing with an injury to one of its top runners. After feeling a sudden pain in his foot during training several days prior, senior standout Barrett Stork spent Thursday’s race sidelined in a walking boot. Despite Stork’s absence, the Panthers still claimed the top two spots, with senior Logan Russo placing first in 19:20.2 and junior Matheson Post placing second in 19:43.9. Franklin went on to claim four spots in the top 10, with juniors Cooper Tyler and Dane Hooper placing eighth and 10th with a 21:02.2 and a 21:20.2, respectively.
After Hooper, fans waited more than three minutes for the next Panther to cross the line, when sophomore Jonas Phillips placed 34th with a 24:34.1. Twins David and Adam Rogers placed 38th and 64th with a 24:53.8 and a 28:15.1.
In total, Franklin’s top seven finishes earned 130 points, ranking second to Rabun Gap’s 111 and just ahead of the Tallulah Falls School’s 131.
“I really think that it was a good one, especially for all the new freshmen girls coming from running two miles [in middle school] or not running cross country at all,” said Ward. “That’s a big jump [to 5 kilometers, or roughly 3.1 miles] and they’re all scared of it at first, but I feel like it was a good demonstration of what this year is gonna look like, and having somewhat of a tough course will make the others look easier. Mindi’s knee was hurting her but Amy took charge and finished first on the team, so I know she’s gonna use that as her drive, because she wants it. I think I saw a lot of that from the girls.”
With 20 runners on the roster including 13 underclassmen, Ward says it will take some time to learn which newcomers are ready for primetime. While the boys team enjoys no such luxury, fielding the bare minimum of seven entrants Thursday, strong performances from multiple veterans should help put fans’ minds at ease.
“Going against Christ School, they have some really good runners, but they didn’t bring their really good runners. So, it would have been good competition because Logan probably would have ran faster,” said Ward “Same with Matheson if they didn’t just have each other out there, and Barrett would have been right there with them. ... Cooper’s a tough one – he wants it really bad, but he’s been so busy this summer that he hasn’t done the training that he could have. I was worried that he wouldn’t really show out, but I felt like he showed himself today.”
After the meet at Rabun Gap, Franklin prepared for a trip to Kernersville Sept. 8, where they’ll get an early chance to scope out the state championship course.