Panther cross country is headed to the 3A West Regional.
At the Mountain 7 Conference Championship meet Oct. 19 at Jackson Park in Hendersonville, Franklin’s distance runners butted heads with their M7C rivals for conference bragging rights from now until next year’s championship. With a second-place finish by the men, a fourth-place finish by the women, and five individuals among the top 15 in their respective races, Melissa Ward’s team will attempt to earn a State Championship berth at Freedom High School in Morganton Oct. 30.
On the men’s side, sophomores Logan Russo and Barrett Stork carried the torch for Franklin, placing third and fifth in a 64-person heat with a 16:28 and a 16:43, respectively. Hot on Russo and Stork’s trail was senior Andrew Garrison, who finished 12th with an 18:01. After Garrison, first-year runners Dominic Faetz and David Olaski finished 22nd and 24th, crossing the line one after the other in 19:00 and 19:05, respectively. Fellow first-year runner Aaron Ashe placed 30th with a 19:25, while sophomore Landon Chavonic placed 49th with a 21:41.
Overall the Panther men earned 65 points, placing second just ahead of Smoky Mountain’s 70 and behind West Henderson’s 27.
On the women’s side, juniors Hannah Ludwig and Jasmine Valencia set the pace for Franklin, finishing back-to-back in 13th and 14th with a 21:29 and 21:32, respectively. In 23rd, sophomore Mykayla McClure crossed the line in 22:39, while junior Hailey Bryant placed 27th with a 23:15. In 30th and 31st, juniors Ava May and Cynthia Rios formed Franklin’s second ‘pack’ of the day, finishing in 23:38 and 23:40, respectively, while sophomore Olivia Owle placed 37th with a 24:46.
Overall the Panther women finished fourth out of six (Pisgah did not have enough female runners to field a team) with 95 points, just behind Smoky Mountain’s 89. West Henderson duplicated their men’s team score with their second 27 of the day, while Tuscola finished close behind the Falcons with 37.
Unlike last year when the North Carolina High School Athletic Association limited the field due to COVID-19 concerns, every team in the 3A West Region will be allowed to compete in the regional championship this Saturday. To advance to the State Championship in Kernersville Nov. 6, Franklin must finish among the top 4 teams in the region.
After Tuesday’s M7C championship, Ward said the team had a few more days of hard running before getting ready for the regional meet.
“We’ve got a long run this weekend, and then we’ve got one more pretty tough workout on Tuesday,” said the second-year coach. “Then, we’ll be tapering for regionals, so that does give us some time to get some work done.”