The Franklin men’s team huddle before kickoff. Photo by Leon Neuschwander for The Oregonian 
The start of the girls race at Lane Community College. Photo by Melissa Robertson. 
Aidan Palmer (12) finishes the race first place with Charlie Robertson (11) not far behind him. Photo by Melissa Robertson. 
Celebrating after Andrew Reed’s (11) winning goal. Photo by Leon Neuschwander for The Oregonian 
The Franklin Boys Cross Country team raises the state trophy. Photo by Melissa Robertson 
The Franklin Girls Cross Country Team poses for a team picture. Photo by Jacob Michaels. 
Goalie Gael Salas Lara (12) punts the ball during the game. Photo by Leon Neuschwander for The Oregonian. 
The boys team huddles before the state race. Photo by Melissa Robertson. 
The team poses with the state trophy after the game. Photo by Leon Neuschwander for The Oregonian. 
The game attracted a large amount of Franklin students, with the Storm Squad leading cheers. Photo by Leon Neuschwander for The Oregonian.
As the last goal is scored, last tackle made, last ball volleyed, last run through the grass and our last cheer, we close out a fall season full of Lightning success. “What now?” you may ask. Well, now we hop in the pool, lace up our wrestling shoes and pick up our basketballs for the winter season ahead of us. Franklin High School has successfully completed another year of many fall sports such as soccer, football, volleyball, cross-country and cheerleading. Our soccer program had seven teams between the women and men’s this past season. Franklin mens varsity soccer had a 13-3-2 record for the 2019 season, placing 14th out of the 51 6A OSAA teams, not to mention their success in the 2019 Boys 6A Soccer State Championship. “I am so proud of our team and the heart they showed our supporters and our opponents,” says Ty Kovatch, the Franklin boys soccer coach and two-time PIL coach of the year. “It was inspiring to me, and I know it was inspiring to a lot of people in our school and our community, and I am so grateful to have been able to experience [the championship] with them.” The varsity girls team placed 37th out of the 52 6A teams but unfortunately did not qualify for the state championship.
Franklin football had a rough year in the standings, placing 45th in the league of 46 teams. Despite the standings, our football program and our cheerleaders played their hearts out in their games and cheers. Our volleyball team placed 37th out of 53 teams with a record of 8 -10. Our boys and girls cross-country teams had an outstanding performance in the 6A 5K Cross-Country State Championship. Our boys team placed first overall in state with the top two runners, Aidan Palmer (12) and Charlie Robertson (11). Our boys cross country team then proceeded to place third in the Northwest Regional Championship with Aidan Palmer placing 3rd out of 207 runners! Our girls team placed seventh overall with two of the top eight runners. Go Franklin!
Franklin fall sports had their ups and downs throughout the 2019 season. Despite the losses, all of our Franklin athletes and loyal fans contributed greatly to our schools fall sports program in all areas, and we now need to carry this success and effort into our 2019-2020 winter season!
So, as we bundle up for the cold, our Franklin winter athletes wear sleeveless jerseys or nothing but a Speedo or a one piece. Franklin’s winter sports program consists of basketball, swimming, wrestling and cheerleading. If you are planning to attend a winter sports event, make sure to keep an eye out for our Franklin Storm Squad! They are a student-led Franklin sports fan group. So, as our athletes hop in the water, drive in for the layup, get their opponent in a headlock and lead our school cheers, we need to be right there, supporting them and showing our Franklin pride! As Steve O’Neill (Franklin’s wrestling coach and culinary teacher) says, “ I love watching young people grow and realize how much they can do through hard work and effort; it translates to life as well.” Lets go show our winter opponents the hard work and effort of our Franklin athletes!
