Sports

Rising senior McKenna Plemmons drives to the basket in Franklin’s final summer league scrimmage with Cherokee June 25. (Press photo/Will Woolever)

Rising senior McKenna Plemmons drives to the basket in Franklin’s final summer league scrimmage with Cherokee June 25. (Press photo/Will Woolever)

Women’s hoops host 1A State Champions

Will Woolever
Monday, July 1, 2024
The summer league schedule is at an end for Panther women’s hoops. Throughout May and June, Franklin’s basketball teams have been hard at work, toiling away more than five months from their first official game.
Press file photo

Press file photo

6 named All-State for softball

Will Woolever
Monday, July 1, 2024
Five Panther softball players earned statewide recognition last week. On June 26 the North Carolina Softball Coaches’ Association released its annual list of All-State players, including seniors Olivia Birchard, Laura Holland and Avery Moffitt, and sophomores Ashlyn McConnell and Kendall Rumans.
Press photo/Will Woolever - Franklin’s girls 1,600-meter relay team is pictured at the Adidias Outdoor National meet in Greensboro earlier this month. From left are Amy Mendoza Lopez, Rylee Cassada, Hope Smith and Michelle Ortega.

Press photo/Will Woolever - Franklin’s girls 1,600-meter relay team is pictured at the Adidias Outdoor National meet in Greensboro earlier this month. From left are Amy Mendoza Lopez, Rylee Cassada, Hope Smith and Michelle Ortega.

Track ends year at Nationals

Will Woolever
Monday, July 1, 2024
A long and fruitful year is finally at an end for Franklin track and field. While the vast majority of Panthers ended their outdoor seasons at the 3A State Championship in May, a select few athletes continued their training for an even more prestigious meet.
Press photo/Will Woolever - Rising sophomore guard Audrey Pressley shoots over a Highlands defender in Franklin’s summer league scrimmage with their cross-county rivals June 18.

Press photo/Will Woolever - Rising sophomore guard Audrey Pressley shoots over a Highlands defender in Franklin’s summer league scrimmage with their cross-county rivals June 18.

Women’s basketball shows off depth

Will Woolever
Tuesday, June 25, 2024
The summer league schedule is in full swing for Panther women’s hoops. After hosting their first round of offseason intersquad scrimmages the week before, on June 18 Franklin’s varsity and JV teams took the court once again.
Press photo/Will Woolever - Larken Lynch (front) and Leila Pinkston race to a photo finish in the girls 9-10 50-yard butterfly at the Franklin Amateur Swim Team’s home meet with Waynesville June 20.

Press photo/Will Woolever - Larken Lynch (front) and Leila Pinkston race to a photo finish in the girls 9-10 50-yard butterfly at the Franklin Amateur Swim Team’s home meet with Waynesville June 20.

FAST routs Waynesville’s SMAC

Will Woolever
Tuesday, June 25, 2024
Another Franklin Amateur Swim Team opponent bites the dust. After beating Highlands, Jackson County and Cherokee County their first two weeks, on June 20 FAST hosted the Smoky Mountain Aquatic Club in their third meet.
Press photo/Will Woolever - Participants stream down Main Street June 15 during Franklin’s annual Braveheart 5K benefitting the Scottish Tartans Museum. Logan Russo (far right, bib #557) of Franklin was the overall winner.

Press photo/Will Woolever - Participants stream down Main Street June 15 during Franklin’s annual Braveheart 5K benefitting the Scottish Tartans Museum. Logan Russo (far right, bib #557) of Franklin was the overall winner.

Braveheart 5K raises funds for Tartans Museum

Will Woolever
Tuesday, June 25, 2024
The annual Braveheart 5K was held June 15 in downtown Franklin as a fundraiser for the Scottish Tartans Museum. Logan Russo of Franklin was the overall winner and the overall male winner with a time of 18:01.45. Jaylan Bark of Cherokee placed second with a time of 18:37.84.
Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Brown/Cherokee One Feather - Rising junior Jack Teesateskie stares down defenders in Cherokee’s home playoff game versus Christ the King last February. Teesateskie transferred to Franklin this summer after averaging 17.3 points per game for the Braves his sophomore year.

Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Brown/Cherokee One Feather - Rising junior Jack Teesateskie stares down defenders in Cherokee’s home playoff game versus Christ the King last February. Teesateskie transferred to Franklin this summer after averaging 17.3 points per game for the Braves his sophomore year.

Cherokee transfer boosts basketball

Will Woolever
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
It’s been an eventful two weeks for Panther men’s hoops. Between the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Team Camp at Johnson University June 5-7 and a summer league scrimmage at Hayesville four days later, Doug Plemmons’ team has been hard at work in the month of June.
From left are FHS principal Blair King, Smith, women’s track/cross country head coach Melissa Ward, Cochran, Stork and Gibson (Photo submitted)

From left are FHS principal Blair King, Smith, women’s track/cross country head coach Melissa Ward, Cochran, Stork and Gibson (Photo submitted)

Panthers earn statewide NCHSAA awards

Will Woolever
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
The statewide accolades continue pouring in for Franklin athletics. At the N.C. High School Athletic Association Awards Celebration June 12 in Greensboro, several Panther athletes and coaches received major awards.
Press photo/Will Woolever - (From left) Kendall Adams, Leah Delgado and Emmie Monteith dive off their blocks for the girls 8 & under 100-yard individual medley at the Macon county Rec Park June 13.

Press photo/Will Woolever - (From left) Kendall Adams, Leah Delgado and Emmie Monteith dive off their blocks for the girls 8 & under 100-yard individual medley at the Macon county Rec Park June 13.

FAST routs Jackson, Cherokee

Will Woolever
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
It’s two meets down and three to go for the Franklin Amateur Swim Team. After a hard-fought first week of the season, beating Highlands overall but being outscored in men’s events, on June 13 the FAST Fins hosted a three-team meet at the Macon County Rec Park.
Press photo/Will Woolever - Rising senior Max McClure lays the ball in during Franklin’s varsity summer league scrimmage with Cherokee June 3. The guard will return for his final season as just the third 1,000-point career scorer in Panther men’s history.

Press photo/Will Woolever - Rising senior Max McClure lays the ball in during Franklin’s varsity summer league scrimmage with Cherokee June 3. The guard will return for his final season as just the third 1,000-point career scorer in Panther men’s history.

Men’s hoops kicks off summer league play

Will Woolever
Tuesday, June 11, 2024
Panther men’s basketball is back in action. More than five months from their first regular-season game, Franklin’s varsity and JV teams have been hard at work, holding their first offseason practices of the year.