Members of the Franklin County High School boys and girls track and field teams competed in the Section 2AAA meet on May 5 at Cookeville High School.

The top four finishers in each boys and girls event and the top two teams in the mixed 4×400-meter relay advanced to the Class AAA state meet with 11 Franklin County athletes meeting that qualifying standard across eight total events.

Senior Brandon Walker qualifi ed for the state meet in two individual events as he finished first in the boys high jump with a height of 6 feet, 8 inches. Bradley Central’s Leo King also recorded a successful jump at 6 feet, 8 inches, but an additional fault from King to get there allowed Walker to take first place Walker also sprinted to a fourth-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.78 seconds. He will be competing in the state meet for the second time in his high school career after previously qualifying in the high jump during his sophomore season.

Briley Taylor, a junior, clinched her third straight trip to the state meet in the girls high jump as she finished first in the event with a height of 5 feet, 2 inches.

Taylor, Rockvale’s Annelise Henderson and Cookeville’s Emma Cook were all initially unable to clear the bar at 5 feet, 2 inches with a tiebreaking jump-off being needed to determine a winner. The bar remained at 5 feet, 2 inches for the first round of the jump-off with Taylor then clearing the bar successfully to break the tie and secure a top finish.

Junior Monte Johnson joined the list of individual qualifiers for Franklin County in field events as he finished fourth in the boys triple jump with a distance of 44 feet, 7 inches. It was his first time qualifying for the state meet.

Sophomore Payton Dearing secured an individual berth in the girls 300-meter hurdles as her time of 47.12 seconds put her in second place for the day. She is also a firsttime qualifier for the state meet.

Franklin County opened the running events with a first-place finish in the mixed 4×400 as the team of junior Parker Hill, senior Na’Kayjah Holman, Johnson and Dearing led the field with a time of 3:47.41. Holman will be appearing in the state meet for the third time while Hill will be making his first appearance at the state level.

The boys 4×800-meter relay team for Franklin County also clinched a state berth as senior Josh Smith and juniors Austin Heath, Alex Domincio and Jayden Smith finished second for the event with a time of 8:37.2. All four will be competing in the state meet for the first time.

Holman, Dearing and Taylor were joined by sophomore Amarah Williams in putting together a qualifying performance in the girls 4×200-meter relay as they finished third with a time of 1:46.73. Williams is advancing to the state meet as a relay runner for the second straight year.

Other performances and placements for Franklin County athletes at the sectional meet included:

— Jayden Smith, boys 800-meter run, 2:05.64, fifth — Jayden Smith, boys 1,600-meter run, 4:44.48, fifth — Austin Heath, boys pole vault, 11 feet, fifth — Amarah Williams, Briley Taylor, Mari Wilkerson and Na’Kayjah Holman, girls 4×100-meter relay, 51.1 seconds, fifth — Monte Johnson, boys 200-meter dash, 22.93 seconds, sixth — Brandon Walker, boys 300-meter hurdles, 42.04 seconds, sixth — Edward Phrommala, boys discus throw, 133 feet, 11 inches, seventh — Payton Dearing, girls 100-meter hurdles, 17.72 seconds, seventh — Josh Smith, boys 800-meter run, 2:08.47, eighth — Chase Trigg, boys 110-meter hurdles, 16.65 seconds, eighth — Edward Phrommala, boys shot put, 46 feet, 2 inches, eighth — Chase Trigg, boys 300-meter hurdles, 43.38 seconds, 10th — Amarah Williams, girls triple jump, 30 feet, 1.5 inches, 10th — Jayden Cisco, boys pole vault, 9 feet, 11th — Billie Rose Johnson, Julia Lorente, Skylar Roberts and Lily Camp, girls 4×800-meter relay, 11:41.93, 11th — Elijah Sudhoff, boys 3,200-meter run, 11:45.08, 12th — Illyanna Yates, Juliet Hayes, Skylar Pendergraff and Zaraeya Lawrence, girls 4×400-meter relay, 4:42.13, 12th — Tony Perales, Eli Kelleher, Jack Crabtree and Monte Johnson, boys 4×200-meter relay, 1:36.79, 13th — Charley Evans, girls 100-meter hurdles, 20.33 seconds, 14th — William Knox, boys high jump, 5 feet, 8 inches, 15th The qualifying athletes will next compete on May 21 in the Class AAA state meet at the University of Tennessee. The meet is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. EDT.