Panther track and field are among the state’s top teams once again.
Having earned a West Region title from the girls and a runner-up finish from the boys, on May 15 they attended the 5A Championships in Greensboro, battling rivals from more than 40 other schools. With top-5 finishes, their 11th and 12th of the last four years, Franklin brought another strong season to an end.
“The state meet went really well,” said head coach Matt Harlfinger, whose staff were named the Mountain Eight Conference Coaches of the Year this spring. “We broke a couple of school records; we came home with a couple of individual champions. In a number of events we were able to post season-best marks, which at the state level you really want to be able to do. You want to be firing on all cylinders.”
“Anna Timan was able to bring home first place in the 300 [meter] hurdles, and that was a goal that she set back in November,” Harlfinger continued. “One of the very first conversations we had coming into the season was that she said, ‘I want to win an individual title this year. I’m ready to do that; let’s put in the work.’ … When it came time to line up, I don't think I even watched the race; I just kind of knew what was going to happen. … She went and nailed probably the best race that I've ever seen, so I’m really proud of her and her growth, not only on the track but off the track.”
With a time of 44.49 seconds, Timan beat her fastest rival by more than a full second, an eternity in a sprint state final. On the boys side, Franklin also won gold in the same event.
“[Timan] has done a fantastic job this year, and same with Jonas Phillips. Jonas was able to win the 300-meter hurdles,” said Harlfinger. “His story is just so unique in that from his junior year times, you wouldn't look at what he did and say, ‘That kid's got a chance to win the state meet next year.’ Never mind that he would go win it in kind of a commanding fashion. He set it up through the summer and fall … he’s just been laser-focused all year.”
In fending off a late surge from Jay M. Robinson’s Demonte Barr, the event’s former #1 seed whom he had upset at the regional meet, Phillips prevailed by less than one-fifth of a second (38.97-39.14). As Franklin’s most-improved athlete in recent memory, the senior also etched his name in Panther history.
“In doing that Jonas set a new school record, which he had already held in the 300 hurdles. The other school record we broke was a big one that we've really been chasing all year long,” said Harlfinger. “The girls 4x800 [meter relay] record was set in 1995 and we felt like we had a chance this year, especially with just how well Morgan Cress and Amy Mendoza-Lopez had been running. Abigail Pope has really come into her own running some really fast times, and so it was ‘Who is that fourth piece?’ At the state meet we put Abby Timan out there; she's just a freshman. … They were able to finish as state runners-up and break our school record by about a second.”
With a time of 9:48.80, Franklin broke a record set more than 30 years ago by Jaque Timan, Jennifer Wiggins, Jessa Brown and Corie Fuchs. Elsewhere around the track, several other Panthers met important marks.
“We hit a couple of personal-best or season-best marks at the state meet. In the pole vault Adrianna Stewart tied her lifetime best with nine feet to finish fifth,” said Harlfinger. “In the boys 4x200, we ran a season-best mark with Jonas Phillips, Reid Laseter, Ken Modlin and Siler Kinsland. Our girls 4x100 with Mindi Holbrooks, Anna Timan, Michelle Ortega and Kai Pelletier ran a season-best, and then our girls 4x200 with Mindi Holbrooks, Anna Timan, Michelle Ortega and Annalee Ledbetter ran a season-best mark at the state meet as well. All of that pushed us higher and higher into the state rankings. I think our girls ultimately finished fourth place overall, which is another top five-finish for us, and the boys finished fifth.”
In the newly-created 5A classification’s first season, Franklin remained one of the state’s best mid-sized programs, extending a streak of top-five finishes dating back to the old 3A including the winter indoor and spring outdoor seasons. If not for circumstances beyond their control, the Panther boys might have finished even higher.
“The situation on the boys’ side was so close; and the same thing was true [during the winter indoor season]. I think from second place through fourth or fifth place, it was single digits that separated them,” said Harlfinger. “It really came down to the final event, like we knew it would. The final event is the four-by-four [4x400 meter relay], and it's one of our stronger events. The situation was that if we won the four-by-four, we would finish as state runners-up, and we were comfortable with that.”
“Through the first two legs, we were in the mix going into Ken and Reid. Ken was the Indoor 500 [Meter Dash] State Champion, and Reid is one of the fastest kids we've ever had in school history - he's an awesome anchor leg,” Harlfinger continued. “Ken takes the baton, turns around and runs square into the back of a kid from Northwest Cabarrus that had just finished running. He shouldn't have been standing on the track; he should have been standing in the grass, and Ken runs flat into him, bobbles the baton and the baton hits the track. He picks it up and gets back to going, but by that point we'd just given up a little too much - at that level, you can't give up an inch.”
After an unsuccessful attempt to contest the result, Franklin was forced to settle for fourth in the 4x400, ending the meet just 10 points out of second place with 35. With a core of young talent returning however, both teams should contend for years to come.
“We really felt like we got cheated out of some success there. We made it back to the team tent, and the boys were angry; I was angry.” said Harlfinger. “We made the agreement that we would never feel like this again, that we would become so good and so strong and so fast that nobody could ever make us feel like that again. The vibe going into our summer training is that we’re on a scorched-earth tour next year on the boys' side. We return so much talent on the boys' side, I wouldn't want to have to compete against us for the next couple years.”
Sports Editor Will Woolever can be reached at sports@thefranklinpress.com