Panther track and field continues to rewrite Franklin’s school record book.
On the weekend of April 9-11 the team divided their forces, sending different athletes to meets in Rabun Gap and South Carolina. Versus some of the Southeast’s toughest opponents, multiple Panthers turned in historic times.
“On Friday night Anna Timan broke the school record in the 200-meter dash. She’s just a junior, but she already has five [Division 1 college programs] interested in reaching out to her next year,” said head coach Matt Harlfinger of Timan’s 25.61-second time at the All-American Track Classic in Columbia, S.C. “The very next morning, her best friend Morgan Cress set a new school record in the two-mile, 11:17.27. ... She’s also received attention already from a couple D1 schools as just a junior, so putting the kids on these big stages is really opening doors for them.”
Versus nearly 200 other schools from as far afield as Delaware, the Panthers gained valuable experience for their state title bid next month, approximating the type of competition they’ll see at the 5A Championship meet. On the boys side Franklin’s sprinters and hurdlers also impressed.
“Jonas Phillips also set a new school record for us in the 400-meter hurdles. He’s a senior this year, and he’s received some D1 attention as well,” said Harlfinger of Phillips’ 58.15-second time. “Reid Laseter and Ken Modlin both ran the [400-meter dash] in the Invitational Division, and Ken finished second place overall with a 50.01, which was a big PR [personal record] for him. Reid finished sixth overall with a 50.39, and so both of those were really big PRs, but we kind of walked out of there kind of angry. I think they expected to run faster, and so we kind of walked out of there with a chip on our shoulders.”
Between these and other near-school records from Amy Mendoza Lopez in the mile run (5:07.82) and Mendoza Lopez, Cress, Abigail Pope and Mindi Holbrooks in the 4x800-meter relay (9:54.02), Panthers up and down the roster impressed versus top competition. While their teammates competed in South Carolina, another group traveled to Rabun Gap on April 10.
“Meliah Mason had a big outdoor personal best in the shot put – 32 feet, 8 inches. She’s now leading our conference, and she’s top-five in the [5A West] region in the shot put,” said Harlfinger. “Jenna Holden had a day at Rabun Gap. She PR’d in four different events – the 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles, the long jump and [100-meter dash].”
For Mason, Holden and others, the Rabun Gap meet provided a chance to test their skills without a four-hour drive. For the fledgling Macon Early College team, whom Harlfinger and his assistants have coached alongside Franklin in their first year of competition, a promising freshman continues to impress.
“Jason Darby is just a freshman; he long-jumped 17’ 1” and triple-jumped 36’ 7”,” said Harlfinger. “Both of those are lifetime bests for him, and pretty significant bests too, so we’re real proud of that. He’s currently ranked top-four in the state in the boys pole vault for the 1A division.”