ANDREWS – (Special from Philip Latter) The Swain County track teams headed to Andrews last Wednesday, and the Lady Devils came up just short of upsetting the defending conference champions as Murphy prevailed by a score of 121.5 to 120. Andrews placed third with 85.5 points, in front of Highlands (14) and Rosman.
The girls were led by freshman Emma Pindur, who recorded wins in the 1600 (5:53) and 3200 (12:43). Both marks place her in the top-5 in State. Swain also had individual champions in the 800 (Lynsey Hicks – 2:40), 100 (Lydia Sale – 13.8) and 200 (Maggie Burns – 28.4). The Lady Devils 4×400 relay also won in a time of 4:36.
Other top finishers included Sale and Burns getting second and third in the long jump, Sale placing second in the triple jump, Katherine Brown placing second in the shot put, Faith Long placing second in the short, and Emma Blythe placing third in both the shot put and discus. Shelby Hyatt placed third in both the 1600 and 3200, while Emily Styles placed third in the high jump.
“Our program has done a complete 180 this year,” said head coach Phil Latter. “To win almost every race on the track was just fantastic, especially when you consider what we also did in the field events. For us to be in the hunt for a conference title, and to be talking about battling Murphy, that’s exciting stuff.”