The postseason is underway for Panther wrestling.
On Jan. 22, the team traveled to East Henderson for the Mountain Eight Championships, battling their conference foes in an individual tourney. Led by multiple podium finishes from the girls, Franklin continued to round into late-season form.
“Team scores-wise on the girls side, North [Henderson] was first, Brevard was second, and we tied for third with West Henderson,” said head coach Jimmy Barnett. “We had three reach the finals. ... Jessenia Canjiano, freshman, she made the finals [in the 107-lb. weight class]. April Perez, senior, made the finals at 120; and Bri Dezarn, freshman, [made the finals] at 126.”
With at least one first-round win apiece, Canjiano, Perez and Dezarn each advanced to their weight classes’ respective championship matches. There all three turned in admirable efforts.
“We start at 107 and Jess is wrestling North’s coach’s daughter, Sofia Williams, and Sofia is an excellent wrestler,” said Barnett. “Jess ... made a mistake, got caught and got pinned, but like I told her, I said, ‘You’re a freshman – you’re going to have plenty more opportunities at this.’ That made four tournaments now this year where she’s made it to the finals and got second, so she’s going to break through and start winning them.”
“April then goes out at 120, gets head-thrown by a girl from North, goes straight to her back but rolls through, has the girl on her back and they’re out of bounds. But somehow or another, April kept her mat awareness together enough to keep a foot in and pin the girl in 36 seconds to win her first conference championship. That was big for April, and huge for the girls – the girls went crazy over it.”
Between the three finalists and other strong matches from Makayla Pendergrass (4th), Carrie Holland (3rd) and Vayolet Centeno (4th), Franklin’s girls turned in a strong day. On the boys’ side, a young Panther team battled multiple state-level foes.
“Garrett [Young] scored team points, and Devlin [Bailey] went 1-2,” said Barnett of Franklin’s sophomore dynamic duo, competing at 215 and 285, respectively. “Luis [Hernandez] filled in at 175 for Eli [Riffe]; he had a medical forfeit and scored points for us on that, and Sam Moore won a match and scored points for us.”
Between 2025 3A state finalist Pisgah and several other strong teams, the Mountain Eight is one of the state’s top conferences for men’s wrestling, which left room for few Panther wins Thursday night. For Franklin’s young rising star however, the tournament served as valuable experience.
“That was the match of the day, I guess. Everybody wanted to watch that match, and once it was over everything thinned out a little bit,” said Barnett of Young’s 215-lb. championship match with Pisgah’s Landon Pope, last year’s 3A state runner-up. Down 2-1 late in period 3, Pope earned a last-minute escape to force overtime, after which the match remained tied to force a sudden victory period. There Pope earned another escape to win the match, but Barnett credited the sophomore for his efforts against the senior.
“I was pretty tickled with it,” he said. “It still motivates Garrett to get him ready for regions and state.”
Following the conference meet, Franklin turned their attention to the 5A West Regionals, planning a trip to Parkwood High School in Monroe for the women’s tournament Feb. 6-7.
“Jess is going to make it,” said Barnett of projecting Franklin’s regional qualifiers based on record. “Natalia [Vasquez] is right on the borderline, so I don’t think she’ll make it as a sophomore first-year wrestler. April’s going to make it, Bri’s going to make it, and I even think Makayla’s going to make it at 132. Lexi [Schick] is right there on the border at 145; I don’t see her getting in, but she might. And then Carrie will be in, and I’m pretty sure Vayolet will get in.”