Panther cross country has a new school record-holder.
After taking part in smaller meets in Swain County and Murphy earlier in the month, on the last week of September Franklin prepared for much tougher competition. At the Asics Cross Country Invitational in Fairburn, Georgia, Sept. 30, more than 100 elite teams from across the southeast gathered for a day of races, where senior Logan Russo broke a nearly 30-year-old school record.
“We wanted to go to this meet because there was a kid that broke the North Carolina state record there last year, and because it’s a fast course, very competitive [and a] huge meet,” said head coach Melissa Ward of the massive event. “Really, it was Barrett [Stork] who wanted to go and break the record – that was his goal this year. Of course, he had a few stumbling blocks, and so we were accepted into the race, but not into the championship race, which is where all the fast guys run. But, anybody that could run 16:30 or under we could put in there, and so I slid Barrett in there even though he hasn’t run that yet this year.”
While Stork, the other half of Franklin’s senior dynamic duo, had not yet cleared 16:30 this year due to tendinitis in his foot, his career track record allowed him to compete alongside Russo in the Boys Championship race. On a fast, much flatter course than the team is used to running in the mountains, both seniors turned in eye-popping times.
“I put them both in because they were the only ones that made that cut, and it was worth it because it was great competition. It made Logan push, and Barrett PR’ed as well,” said Ward. “Logan came through the finish line saying, ‘I got it!’ He was super-stoked, and I want to say ran somewhere between a 40-and-50-second PR [personal record].”
With a lighning-fast time of 15:32.40, Russo narrowly broke the FHS record of 15:35, set by Chan Pons in 1994. The time was good for 25th out of 322 race entrants, with Stork hot on his heels in 53rd with a 15:51.62.
After Russo and Stork’s sub-16-minute times in the championship heat, Franklin’s other male distance runners batlled tough conditions in the Red Division race.
“It wasn’t an outstanding race for the rest of the team, because [Russo and Stork] got to race super-early at 8:20, and then the Red Division boys ran at 10:50,” said Ward. “We were in Fairburn, Georgia, and it was a little hot, so they didn’t perform as well.”
In the Georgia heat, junior Matheson Post continued his strong season, placing 30th out of 270 with a 17:12.45. In 103rd, junior Dane Hooper was next across the line with an 18:33.09. On the girls side, Franklin’s talented group of underclasmen continued to impress.
“The girls did well. They were actually in the Red Division, but there was also a JV race,” said Ward. “Only the top eight could run in the varsity race, so we had eight girls in the varsity and eight girls in the JV. The varsity girls actually came in second out of 30 teams, so that was good. Amy [Mendoza Lopez] came in ninth place, so she medaled for that, as well.”
In addition to Mendoza Lopez, three other Panthers earned top-30 finishes out of 277, including Mindi Holbrooks (17th, 21:04.51), Morgan Cress (21:06.84) and Abigail Pope (27th, 21:26.73). With more strong times from Breanna Pendergrass, Rylee Cassada and others, the team should be well-equipped for the Mountain Seven Pre-Conference meet Oct. 4.