Panther swim and dive are among the top teams in their region.
At the 3A West Regional Meet in Charlotte Feb. 2-3, WNC’s elite 3A teams gathered for two days of stiff competition. After placing fifth overall on the women’s side and 12th overall on the men’s, Franklin’s best swimmers will travel to Raleigh for the 3A State Meet Feb. 7-8.
With a roster full of fast swimmers, the Panther women’s depth was on display in the relays, placing third in the 200-yard freestyle, fourth in the 400 freestyle and fifth in the 200 medley. In the freestyle relays, junior Zoi Walker and seniors Claire Ballard, Logan Guynn and Rylee Cassada turned in times of 1:45.95 and 4:00.29, respectively, finishing behind only powerhouse programs like Lake Norman Charter and Northwest Cabarrus. In the 200, Ballard swam her 50-yard leg in just 24.84 seconds, breaking her own school record of 25.03 seconds from last year. Overall the team broke their own school record in the 400 by two hundredths of a second, and missed their own school record in the 200 by the same margin.
In the 200 medley, Ballard (breaststroke), Walker (butterfly) and Cassada (freestyle) joined junior backstroker Kate Phillips for a time of 2:02.81. That time was nearly three seconds faster than the team’s previous best this season, and broke the school record of 2:03.09 set by Elizabeth Cox, Beth Long, Lara Anderson and Shelly Williams in 2003.
In individual events Ballard and Cassada also impressed, with Ballard placing fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1:11.93) and Cassada earning sixth in the 50 freestyle (26.23). In the 200 individual medley three Panthers placed in the top 20, with Walker earning 10th (2:34.97), sophomore Alyse Remery earning 16th (2:44.33) and freshman Kenna Keyworth earning 19th (2:46.99).
Keyworth also placed 16th in the 100 butterfly (1:17.25), while Remery placed 22nd in the 500 freestyle (6:42.55). In the 100 backstroke Phillips placed 23rd in 1:16.48, rounding out a stellar day for the team.
In overall scoring the Panther women notched 126 points, good for fifth place behind Lake Norman, Central Cabarrus, Northwest Cabarrus and North Lincoln.
Senior Jose Gomez and sophomore Jonah Brant led the way for Franklin’s men, both taking part in the maximum of four events allowed per person. In the relay events both helped their team to three top-12 finishes, placing 7th in the 200 freestyle (1:40.08), 10th in the 400 freestyle (3:44.34) and 11th in the 200 medley (1:55.58). Junior Gavin Rinker and freshman Malik Walker also swam legs in the freestyle relays, while Rinker (butterfly) joined Gomez (freestyle), Brant (breaststroke) and junior Jack Hyatt (backstroke) in the medley.
In individual events Brant turned in Franklin’s highest finish of the day, placing second in the 1-meter dive with a score of 296.9. The sophomore had previously scored 344.85 points at the Mountain Seven Conference Meet Jan. 20, breaking the school record of 342.95 set by Ryan Ballant in 2015.
In the 50 freestyle Gomez took home 12th with a 23.77, while Walker placed 14th in the 200 freestyle with a 2:07.30.
In team scoring the Panther men earned 75 points for the day, finishing just behind Mountain Seven Conference rivals West Henderson (82) for 12th. In combined scoring Franklin placed 10th overall with 201 total points.
After Saturday’s meet, the team turned their attention to the 3A State Championship, with the top six finishers from each region plus six more at-large earning bids in each event. All six relay teams qualified for the meet in Raleigh, as well as Ballard in the 100 breaststroke, Cassada in the 50 freestyle and Brant in the 1-meter dive.
Upon returning hom from regionals, the team faced a quick turnaround for the state meet, planning to travel to the Raleigh area Feb. 6. Brant will compete in the State Diving Championship Feb. 7, then join his teammates for the swimming events the next day.