MURPHY – The Lady Devils cross country team remained undefeated against Smoky Mountain Conference opponents after placing second overall on Wednesday at the Murphy Invitational. Union County (Ga.) won with a score of 50, followed closely by Swain (56), Hayesville (61), Murphy (62) and Towns County (120).
Shelby Hyatt once again paced the Maroon Devils, finishing 3rd overall in a time of 21:13. Lauren Shell also placed in the top 10 by running 22:33. Madison Travitz (23:40), Erin Zwick (24:48) and Serina Holt (25:50) rounded out the scorers for Swain.
The men were in a more difficult position with two of their top three runners unavailable and placed 5th overall. Hayesville won with a score of 43, followed by Union County (64), Robbinsville (68), Murphy (75), Swain (105), Towns County (145), Hiwassee Dam (201) and Nantahala (204).
Russell Bigmeat led the Maroon Devils with a 7th place finish in 18:42, followed by Ira Smart (21st – 20:16), Sam Dickson (27th – 20:50), Brett Treadway (30th – 21:11) and Darren Blankenship (41st – 22:13).
The Maroon Devils return to action next Wednesday at Cherokee, then follow that up with a trip to Boone for the High Country Classic next Saturday.