RANGER — Shelby Hyatt found herself in unfamiliar territory Wednesday afternoon. Accustomed to slowly working her way through the field, Hyatt instead took command of the race just past the mile mark and never relinquished the lead en route to her first career cross country victory.
Her teammates were no less impressive. With five runners in the top 11 overall, Swain scored a resounding victory over Hayesville and Murphy. Madison Travitz placed fourth overall, less than a step ahead of teammate Lauren Shell in fifth. Erin Zwick used a tremendous surge to seal seventh place while Serina Holt rounded out the scoring in 11th.
On the boys side, Swain kept the race close but couldn’t quite overcome Hayesville’s front runners. Robbinsville placed third with Murphy and Hiwassee Dam in fourth and fifth.
Russell Bigmeat lead Swain with a fifth place finish, followed by Parker Chatham in seventh. Swain’s depth was on display as Darren Blankenship (14th), Phineas Little (15th), Sam Dickson (16th) and Brett Treadway (18th) all finished close together. The boys were without their usual number three runner, Ira Smart.
Both squads return to action next Wednesday at the Carney Classic in Hayesville.
Three Swain girls placed in the top 5 at Hiwassee Dam on Wednesday.