Another strong year is in the books for Panther track and field.
Having placed first and third in the 3A West Regional May 10, on May 16, Franklin’s men’s and women’s teams took part in the 3A State Championship. There several Panthers earned top finishes at their last official meet of the season.
“We had some good things happen,” said head coach Matt Harlfinger of the trip to N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T) in Greensboro. “As a team – which, we we always kind of preach team first – as a team the girls were able to finish sixth place overall, and we weren’t too far out of second place.”
With 25 total points, Franklin’s girls tied with Jay M. Robinson (Concord) and Orange (Hillsborough), just 13 points behind Northside (Jacksonville) and North Lincoln (Lincolnton). While 3A powerhouse Dudley (Greensboro) won both men’s and women’s titles in a landslide, the Panthers boasted some of the meet’s top individual girls.
“Laura Covarrubias put on a show. She finished as state runner-up in the 300 hurdles with a new school record, 43.39 [seconds],” said Harlfinger. “That was a personal best for her by well over a second, and she actually broke the school record by over a second, which in a sprint race is almost unheard of. She also broke her own school record in the 100-meter hurdles – she ran 14.65, and she finished fourth there. And then in the long jump she finished third with a jump of 17’6”, which was just off of her personal best-ever.”
With three different podium finishes, Covarrubias scored 19 of Franklin’s 25 points, the meet’s third-highest total among female individuals and more than 42 of its 50-plus women’s teams. In the throwing events, her fellow senior standout also capped a stellar career.
“Charley Seagle had an awesome performance,” said Harlfinger of the shot putter. “She went into the state meet ranked outside of the top 10 and she finished third, which, Charley always has a knack for the state level. She seems to perform her best when the lights are brightest, and she always seems to find her way onto the podium at the state meet.”
With a 37-foot, 10 3/4-inch heave, Seagle far outthrew her previous season-best mark, catapulting herself to a podium finish. On the boys side, multiple seniors also impressed.
“Aaron Dewhurst earned a podium finish as well – he placed fourth in the pole vault,” said Harlfinger. “Adam Rogers finished seventh in the pole vault and Braydon Hervey finished eighth in the shot put, which also scored points for us there on the boys side.”
With a heave of 47’ 6 1/4” and vaults of 13’ 6” and 13’ 0”, Hervey, Dewhurst and Rogers earned eight points between them for Franklin, finishing in a four-way tie for 26th. While both teams fell short of their ultimate goal of winning state titles, Harlfinger said he’s proud of the program’s achievements this year.
“Coming into the year we were very well-aware of where we were not going to finish, because of the offseason ‘acquisitions,’ if you will, at Dudley,” he said, referring to Dudley’s curious addition of 11 high-level transfers, including nationally-ranked hurdler Tayman Howell. “So, we kind of refocused and shifted what our goals might be based on that. We did focus pretty heavily on individual development – we wanted to see if we could get a couple individuals on the podium at the state meet. We shifted focus really as a staff from trying to win a state championship to trying to win the regional championship, and we were able to do that.”
With a third-straight 3A West title from the women and a third-place finish from the men, Franklin proved they’re still the program to beat in their region. In addition to their exploits on the track, the team also extended another impressive streak.
“Another big goal for us pre-season was we wanted to be in the conversation for three-peating the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Commissioner’s Cup, which is our community service effort year-to-year,” said Harlfinger. We were able to win our third straight there. ... As always, one of our big goals was also to see how many kids we could get onto a college roster for this year ... so, any time you can put six or seven kids on a college roster, win a regional championship, get recognized for your efforts in the community and break some school records along the way, you feel really good about the complete body of work for this 2025 season.”
With three straight Commissioner’s Trophies for various Franklin-area projects and several seniors committing to college programs, the Panthers have been a powerful force both on and off the track. Ahead of the Adidias Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro next month, the team’s best athletes should continue to rake in the accolades.
“We had three individuals this year that hit All-American standards,” said Harlfinger of the National High School Track, Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association awards. “Laura Covarrubias hit the All-American standards indoors in the 55-meter hurdles and 300-meter dash, and outdoors in the 300-meter hurdles. Charley Seagle hit the All-American standard in the indoor shot put, and Ken Modlin hit the All-American standard indoors in the 300-meter dash, so I’m working on those applications right now to get them recognized.”
With Covarrubias, Seagle and several other top seniors graduating this month, Franklin will be without one of its greatest-ever classes next year. But while this list includes each of their five point-scorers at the state meet, the team should have plenty of talent returning next season.
“Michelle Ortega did well in the 400,” said Harlfinger of the junior’s 12th-place, 1:00.51 finish. “She’ll be one of our top girls returning for next year along with Kamden Reis in the long jump and triple jump – she finished 13th in both of those. ... Ken [Modlin] is one that we’re really excited about; he’s the kind of kid that I really feel like we can build a championship team around. He’s kind of a Swiss Army knife in terms of his range – we can put him in the 55-meter dash all the way up through the 800, and we can plug and play him on any relay."