In one of their biggest meets of the year, Panther track and field put on a show.
At the WNC Kickoff Invitational hosted by Swain at Western Carolina University March 24, roughly 1,000 athletes from two dozen local teams gathered for an early-season litmus test. In one of WNC’s most important meets of the year, several Panthers turned in impressive performances.
“It’s always a big event,” said men’s head coach Matt Harlfinger before the meet. “This will be one of the premiere elite competition meets in Western North Carolina year-to-year. I would say this one and the Blue Ridge Classic later on in April are the two big track meets that pop off in Western North Carolina. ... The kid from Swain, Matthew Gray, he finished top four in the nation at the indoor national meet for the pole vault, so there’s gonna be some national-level talent at this track meet.”
Between Gray, Swain’s girls’ team, which won the past several 1A state titles, and Christ School’s men’s team, who boast multiple nationally ranked distance runners, Friday’s meet was chock-full of top-flight talent. As the reigning men’s indoor 3A State Champions and the 3A Women’s Runners-Up however, Franklin looked right at home.
On the women’s side, 3A State Indoor Long Jump Runner-Up Laura Covarrubias continued her stellar season for the Panthers, breaking school records in the long jump (17’8”) and 200-meter dash (25.75 seconds). In addition to winning the 200 and placing second in the long jump, the sophomore also finished second in the 100-meter dash (12.57 seconds).
Also a member of Franklin’s talented group of sophomores, Addison Coker impressed in a variety of events, placing second in the triple jump (33’9”), third in the long jump (16’5”), fourth in the 100-meter hurdles (17.52 seconds) and fifth in the pole vault (7’6”). 3A State Indoor Pole Vault Champion Boston Stringer placed second with a 10’0” vault, while sophomore Charley Seagle finished second in the shot put (34’10”) and third in the discus throw (92’3”).
In the two-mile run, freshman Abigail Pope and senior Hannah Ludwig placed back-to-back in third and fourth, with Pope finishing in 14:16.02 and Ludwig crossing the line in 14:17.64.
In the relay events, Franklin won the 4x200-meter (1:51.55) and 4x400-meter (4:21.32), also placing second in the 4x100-meter (53.34).
On the men’s side, a pair of Panther upperclassmen earned three top-four finishes apiece. In the sprint events, senior Isaiah Roots was a contender at all three distances, taking first in the 200-meter (23.26), second in the 400 (50.51) and fourth in the 100 (11.33). Just ahead of Roots in the 100 was Elijah Cochran, who placed third in that event with an 11.14, second in the 110-meter hurdles (15.78) and first in the 300-meter hurdles (40.81).
In the pole vault, Franklin’s ace quartet impressed once again, with 3A State Indoor Champion Blake Cassada placing third (13’0”), State Indoor Runner-Up Adam Rogers placing fourth (12’6”), State Indoor Fourth-Place Finisher Aaron Jennings taking fifth (11’6”) and sophomore David Rogers placing ninth (11’0”). In the distance events, Franklin’s junior dynamic duo also impressed, with Logan Russo placing third in the 800-meter (1:59.41) and fifth in the 1,600 (4:33.50), and Barrett Stork placing third in the two-mile 10:16.36) and eighth in the 1,600 (4:38.82). Franklin also won the 4x400-meter relay (3:27.22).
In team scoring, the Panthers nearly swept both sides of the meet. In women’s events, Franklin placed first out of 18 teams, earning 134 points to Swain’s 127.5. On the men’s side, the Panthers accrued 117.83 points to place second to Christ School (135.33).
After the WNC Kickoff, Franklin had more than two weeks to prepare for their next meet, with a trip to Rabun Gap scheduled for April 13 after the spring break holiday.