Eight Panther distance runners will compete in the state meet this weekend.
At the state 2-A West Regional meet in Catawba Jan. 15, both Franklin High School’s boys and girls teams finished in the top 5 in overall points. Finishing second behind only perennial Western North Carolina power North Lincoln, seven members of the FHS boys team will join girls talisman Dylan Garcia at the state championship course in Kernersville for their final run of the season.
The week leading up to the meet was a hectic one for the Panthers. Originally the race was scheduled to be held Friday at the McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte, but plans changed quickly Wednesday night when the Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation department closed its facilities due to a spike in local COVID-19 cases. After learning Thursday morning that the venue would be moved to the Murray’s Mill historical site in Catawba, FHS coaches had to cancel the team’s original reservations near Charlotte and book rooms in Hickory for later that evening.
“We had a lot of hoops to jump through this week,” said girls head coach Melissa Ward.
On a cold, wet day at Murray’s Mill, Franklin’s boys team ran admirably against their toughest competition of the year. Senior standout Ethan Stamey took first overall for the Panthers with a time of 16:16, nearly keeping pace with his personal record despite running on a course with several rolling hills. Although the senior didn’t break his own record, the time had significance for Murray’s Mill itself.
“Ethan broke the course record there, so that’s impressive,” said Ward. “We had regionals there when Kyle [Brown, boys head coach] was in school like 10 years ago, but Nathan Richards [cross country assistant] never ran there when he was here, so I don’t know the last time they’ve held it there … For most of the race he had about two kids in front of him, and towards the end he was able to chop them off and get his victory. It was awesome.”
After Stamey’s individual victory, the boys team had a solid foundation of points, and the rest of the team did not disappoint. Stamey’s brother Nathan came in just a few seconds after his twin, taking 6th with a time of 16:40 and missing the top 5 by 2 seconds. Isaiah Roots, Logan Russo, and Andrew Garrison formed a ‘pack’ for the Panthers, finishing 17th, 18th, and 19th, respectively, with times just over 18 minutes.
“Yesterday they worked the best together, both girls and boys, on ‘packing up’ to where they’re running three or four in a group,” said Ward. “Say we have two or three boys and in between each of those boys is two or three runners - that breaks up our points … If the boys get together and are able to keep people from [passing] between them and push each other to get to the next person, it is mentally distressing for the competition.”
After Ward and Brown made packs a point of emphasis during the team’s training this year, Roots, Russo, and Garrison combined to give the boys team a solid floor in the final standings. Franklin would finish second behind only perennial Western North Carolina power North Lincoln, who placed six runners in the top 11. The top-3 finish secures FHS a spot at the state championship meet in Kernersville Jan. 22.
“We’re absolutely happy,” said Ward. “It was very gratifying to see all that go down.
While Franklin’s girls didn’t end up finishing quite as high as the boys, they were very much in the thick of the race. Leading the way as usual was Montreat College commit Dylan Garcia, who placed third out of 94 runners with a time of 20:00 flat. The course was more challenging than the one on which Garcia ran an 18:58 at the Mountain Six Conference meet the previous week, as some rolling sections of ground made for higher times. Coming in 26th with a 22:22 in just her second meet back with the team was senior Hannah Angel, who forwent this year’s regular cross country season to train for track and field but returned to help her teammates for the conference and regional meets. Finishing back to back in 36th and 37th were sophomores MyKayla McClure and Hannah Ludwig, who posted a 23:24 and a 23:28, respectively. Together with fellow sophomore Hailey Bryant, who finished 40th with a 23:36, the underclassmen also put Ward and Brown’s strategy on packs into action. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to qualify for state. Mountain Six rival Brevard outscored the Panthers by the narrowest of margins - 123-121 - to take 3rd place and the final state championship berth. In a normal year, 4th place would have been good enough for the Panthers to punch their tickets, but precautions over the COVID-19 pandemic will force FHS to stay home this year.
“The girls placed fourth as a team, which normally wouldn’t matter and we’d still go to state,” said Ward. “However, it’s COVID and so only the top three teams get to go. But, Dylan qualified as an individual, so she will go to state.”
After losing a spot in the state meet by two points to their conference rivals, the girls team was understandably disappointed after the race. Rather than dwell on the result though, the always infectious Garcia showed remarkable leadership toward younger teammates.
“It’s been a hard year, and the girls really took it hard. There were definitely some tears,” said Ward. “Before I could even get to them Dylan went over and talked to them. She told them how much she loved them and how she was so sad she wouldn’t get to run with them at state, and really gave them a pep talk about how hard they’d worked and that this didn’t discount that … She took just as much responsibility as they did. It was emotional, it was a powerful message, and it helped the team. I couldn’t have said anything better at that time.”
After a successful regional meet, the Panthers returned to Franklin and didn’t waste any time ahead of this Friday’s state championship. The following day Ward and Brown assigned Garcia and the boys team a long run, a tall order the day after a race. The long run was necessary to keep the team loose though, as Ward and Brown will taper off workouts’ intensity to prevent injury leading up to the 22. While some nerves are to be expected before the final run of the season, Ward hopes her efforts to teach the team the finer points of cross country running can help them shave seconds at the year’s biggest meet.
“The boys are pumped. I think they’re nervous about how they’re gonna do,” said Ward. “I feel like they’re now fully understanding the process and how to really have a strategy and execute. I feel like they’re nervous, but they’re pumped. This is a big deal.”