Cherokee – (Special from Philip Latter)
On a cool and cloudy afternoon in Cherokee, the Lady Devils put in a phenomenal effort and were rewarded with their first SMC Championship since 2009.
The Lady Devils were led by sophomore phenom Maggie Burns. Burns captured individual titles in the long jump (15’5.5”), 400 meters (1:02.89) and 200 meters (27.69), and also anchored the victorious 4 x 400-meter relay (4:24.28) along with Madison Travitz, Emma Pindur and Lynsey Hicks. For her performances, Burns was recognized as the Smoky Mountain Conference’s Track and Field Performer of the Year.
Pindur may soon vie for a similar award after her equally impressive day. The freshman ran a 2:21 800-meter split to anchor the victorious 4 x 800-meter relay team to a new Smoky Mountain Conference meet record of 10:09.64. She was joined on that relay by Shelby Hyatt, Hicks and Travitz. A few hours later she came back to place second in the 1600 meters (5:50) and 3200 meters (12:51), before helping the 4 x 400 relay earn gold.
Other top performers included Lydia Sale winning the triple jump (34’1”) and 100-meter dash (13.54), placing fourth in the 200 (28.60) and joining Sarah Hyatt, Emily Styles, and Samantha Thomas on the third place 4×100-meter relay team; Shelby Hyatt placing third in the 1600 (5:53) and 3200 (12:52) in addition to the 4 x 800 relay; Travitz adding a third-place finish in the 800 (2:34) to her contributions in the 4 x 400 and 4 x 800 relays; Katherine Brown placing second in the discus (95’8”); Sarah Hyatt (8’) and Thomas (6’6”) going 2-3 in the pole vault; and Emma Blythe placing fourth in the shot put (29’6”) and fifth in the discus (87’2”).
“It was just an incredible display,” said head coach Philip Latter. “We talked a lot the last few days about putting the team before the self. We knew it would take the type of heroic efforts that Maggie, Lydia and Emma put out there for us to win, and that’s just what they did. We needed everything to go right, and thanks to their positive attitude, talent, and ability to stay in the moment, that’s just what happened.”
After Murphy pulled within a point with just four events to go, Swain ended up pulling away to win with a score of 147.5. Murphy placed second with 119 points, followed closely by Robbinsville with 116. Andrews (75.5), Hayesville (45), Highlands (16), Cherokee (11), Hiwassee Dam (10) and Rosman (9) rounded out the team scores.
On the men’s side, the 4 x 100-meter relay of Angel Bowers, Caleb Woodard, Jordan Cody and Shane Swimmer proved to be unbeatable en route to posting a time of 45.66. Those athletes would also feature prominently in the scoring in numerous other events. Cody placed second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.52. Swimmer placed second in the 400 meters (54.03) and fifth in the 100 meters (11.77). Woodard ended up fourth in the shot put with a heave of 39’6”, while Bowers placed third in the long jump (18’10”) and fourth in the triple jump (38’1”).
Defending pole vault State champion Cooper Reinert repeated as Smoky Mountain Conference champion with a vault of 12’6”.
Other top performers for the men included Parker Chatham placing second in the 3200 (11:01) and fourth in the 1600 (5:06); Ben Miller placing third in the 110-meter high hurdles (17.37), fourth in the 300-meter hurdles (44.23) and fifth in the triple jump (36’10”) and Ross Ensley placing fifth in the shot put (38’10”).
Those performances led Swain to a third-place finish in the men’s team competition, a two-spot improvement over last year. Murphy won with a score of 158, with Hayesville (121.5), Swain County (88), Andrews (78), Robbinsville (42.5), Rosman (26), Highlands (25) and Cherokee (10) rounding out the field.
“Almost all those athletes will be returning next year,” said Latter. “I think the foundation is in place for the program to really take off in the next couple years. We’re such a young team that I can’t help but think the experience we got today, and what we will get in the next two meets (Regionals and State) will pay huge dividends down the road.”
The track team returns to action on May 9 for the 1A West Regional Meet. It’ll take place on the campus of Appalachian State University.