The conference meet is in the books for Panther swim and dive.
From Jan. 14-20, Franklin competed in the Mountain Eight Championships, traveling to Asheville and Cullowhee for a two-part meet. Led by a banner week from their senior talisman, Franklin continued to improve their times ahead of the 5A West Regional this weekend.
On Jan. 14, Jonah Brant and Lana Walker traveled to the Asheville Jewish Community Center. There they earned a clean sweep for the Panthers, winning the men’s and women’s 1-meter dive. With a score of 372.10, Brant broke his own school record (344) in the event.
On Jan. 20, Brant and Walker rejoined their teammates at the Jackson County Aquatic Center in Cullowhee. There Brant capped a week to remember for Franklin, winning the boys 200-yard freestyle (2:10.29). Earning 20 points for each of his wins, he tied Brevard’s Josh Poche for Men’s Most Valuable Swimmer.
Thatcher Daniels and Gavin Alverson also won events for Franklin, claiming the 200 medley (2:21.69) and 100 butterfly (1:02.47), respectively. Alverson also placed second in the 100 backstroke (1:06.06).
Malik Walker narrowly missed out on a win of his own, placing second in the 500 free (5:53.40). Dusty Fraites placed seventh in the 200 free (2:41.64) and 10th in the 100 free (1:11.90).
The Panther boys also impressed in the relay events, placing first in the 200 medley (1:54.22; Daniels, Brant, Walker, Alverson), second in the 400 free (3:59.17; Fraites, Walker, Daniels, Alverson) and third in the 200 free (1:46.20; Brant, Fraites, Walker, Daniels). Alverson in particular came through in the clutch for Franklin, winning the 100 fly by less than two-tenths of a second and completing a dramatic comeback finish in the medley relay.
As a team Franklin’s boys earned 239 points, good for fourth behind West Henderson (466), Smoky Mountain (351.5) and Brevard (291).
Kenna Keyworth led the way for Franklin’s girls Tuesday, winning the 100 fly (1:08.06). Six days after her diving win, Lana Walker placed fourth in the 200 medley (2:43.03), while Keyworth placed sixth in the 100 breaststroke (1:29.09).
Dalila Canzone and AnnMarie Hinton nearly also earned wins for Franklin, placing second in the 100 free (1:02.52) and 500 free (6:35.75), respectively. Hinton also placed sixth in the 50 free (30.77).
Emma Ballard also earned a top-three finish, placing third in the 200 free (2:30.86) and seventh in the 500 free (7:02.05). Cadee Breedlove placed fifth in the 100 fly (1:25.92) and 10th in the 100 back (1:28.96), while Olivia Rinker placed 11th in the 500 free (8:09.27) and 13th in the 200 free (3:01.51).
Franklin’s girls also impressed in the relay events, winning the 400 free (4:20.39; Walker, Hinton, Canzone, Keyworth) and placed third in both the 200 free (2:07.39; Breedlove, Rinker, Canzone, Hinton) and 200 medley (2:12.92; Breedlove, Canzone, Keyworth, Walker). As a team Franklin’s girls earned 282 points, good for third behind West (474) and Brevard (446).
In combined scoring both Panther teams earned 521, good for fourth overall behind West (940), Brevard (737) and Smoky (578.5). All four schools far outpaced the bottom three, with Tuscola (96.5), Pisgah (43) and East Henderson (40) bringing up the rear. North Henderson did not field a team this year.
After the meet, Brant shared his thoughts on his final conference championship as a Panther, as well as Franklin’s come-from-behind win in the medley relay.
“I felt great; the team did so well,” he said. “For my last conference [meet], I’m very proud of my team. I’m so glad I stuck with it; I’m so glad to swim and dive and that I got introduced to that environment.”
“That relay was something; it was awesome,” Brant continued. “Gavin Alverson, in the end he caught up, which is really impressive – I was so excited. … We were going nuts, yelling his name, telling him to ‘Go, go, go.’”
As the only senior on either Panther team, Brant has taken on a leadership role for Franklin this year, as well as traveling to and from Asheville for dive meets. Having placed second in last year’s 3A 1-meter finals, he says he’s gunning for a state title next month.
“[For] my highest difficulty I usually do a forward double tuck. It’s a 2.2 difficulty, which will gain me more points if I do it well,” he said of his go-to dive, a double front-flip landing feet-first in the water. “But my favorite dive of all of them would have to be the inward half-twist dive. … That one is a very unique dive; no one else does it in the state or in the region. At conference, none of the judges besides [Panther head coach Dwain Picou] knew how to judge it, because it’s so unique and no one knew what it was. … You’ll go off the board inward, and then you twist midair in the opposite direction.”
After the conference meet, the Panthers prepared for the 5A West Regional, for which they’ll travel to the Greensboro Aquatic Center Jan. 29-30.