SWANNANOA – The Swain County girls cross country team won the third annual UNC Asheville Cross Country Carnival held on the campus of Asheville Christian Academy. In doing so, they defeated conference rivals Robbinsville, Hayesville, Murphy and Cherokee and larger schools such as Brevard and Tuscola. The cumulative times run by Swain also elevated their ranking to number 3 in the state, the highest in school history.
Not surprisingly, it was junior Shelby Hyatt leading the team with a time of 20:56, her fastest of the year. Hyatt has been the Lady Devil’s number one runner in every race she’s run in her career and Saturday’s 7th place finish proved no exception. Close behind were freshmen Emma Pindur (11th – 21:43) and Lynsey Hicks (13th – 21:55). Sophomore Kylie Pond ran a large personal best of 23:04 to place 25th. The scoring was rounded out by junior Madison Travitz, who ran 23:45 to place 32nd in her first race in nearly a year.
“Top to bottom, that may have been the best overall performance I’ve ever presided over,” says head coach Phil Latter. “From Shelby up front to our large pack who all worked together to set a bunch of personal bests, this team was incredibly prepared and focused for today’s race.”
Junior Serina Holt (25:15) and senior Abby Durisseau (25:16) rounded out the scorers for Swain. They were followed closely by sophomores Bryar Buchanan (25:20), Jenna Crutchfield (25:35), Haley Cooper (26:38), Eliza Watson (26:50) and Mary Helmer (28:26). Freshman Cassy Ford finished in a time of 34:50.
“Cross country rankings don’t really mean anything, but for us to be ranked third in the state and first in our conference shows the potential this squad has,” Latter says. “Getting Lynsey and Madison back was huge. Now it’s just a matter of continuing to develop our young talent and keeping everyone in one piece.”
The boys were no less impressive. They placed third in the field of nine teams, just behind rivals Lincoln Charter and Hayesville.
Sophomore Parker Chatham led the boys with a time of 18:25, good enough for 12th place. Senior Sam Dickson (21st – 19:23 ), sophomores Brett Treadway (24th – 19:34) and Darren Blankenship (25th – 19:35), and junior Rye Hester (31st – 20:11) made up the scorers for Swain. Junior Bryce Ledford (20:57) and sophomore Raine Bradley (21:43) rounded out the top 7.
“Those boys really set the tone for how the day was going to shape up,” says Latter. “Parker and Sam came in determined to run fast and it trickled down to everyone else. This was especially true for Rye, who swept in seized the opportunity to be our number five when one of our seniors got sick. It’s always fun to watch a ton of kids set personal bests and get rewarded for all the hard work they put in when no one is looking.”
The Maroon Devils will return to the Asheville Christian Academy course on October 25th when they host the 1A West Regional. That meet will serve as the qualifier to the 1A State Meet. First up is a trip to Boone for the High Country Classic next Saturday, September 27.