Swannanoa- Saturday, October 29th started early for our cross country teams. Arriving at the bus at 8AM, Swain left for Asheville Christian Academy to race in the NCHSAA West Regional meet to qualify for the NCHSAA State meet the following Saturday. To qualify for the state meet, Swain needs to place in the top 4 as a team. If Swain does not qualify as a team, then the top 7 runners overall, whose team did not qualify, will qualify as individuals.
After a sleepy bus ride over, our Devils set up their tarp and tent, claiming their spot at the regional meet. As they started to finally wake up, the boys went to do their warm up and stretches before they had to lineup. The boys were predicted to be tied for 4th place with SMC rival, Murphy. Previous, Swain lost conference to Murphy by one point. This could be their last meet if any one of the boys didn’t do their absolute best. With this in mind, Swain lined up and sprinted as the gunshot was heard. One-by-one, runners sprinted the last 200 meters to the finish line to be greeted by loved-ones, teammates, and fellow competitors. All were anxious to know if they had made it to the big meet.
With the cool morning almost over, our girls had to run in the heat of the afternoon. Previous, our girls won conference for the 5th consecutive time by 13 points against Murphy. At regionals they were ranked 2nd by a few points ahead but Murphy and Pine Lake Preparatory were not far behind. Once the boys started their race, the girls started their routine warm up and stretches just like the boys. You could feel the nerves in each runner as they walked to the line for a uniform check before take off. “Bang!” Like the flying geese that morning, Swain quickly flew to the front of the flock. It was as close as ever, did they make it? Or was that their last race?
Waiting is always the hardest part. As the announcer called each team’s placement one-by-one, Swain’s heart beat faster. “Five place, with a difference of ONE POINT, is…”, the last unqualified team for state, “PINE LAKE PREP!” Screams of joy could be heard as “fourth place, SWAIN COUNTY” was read over the microphone. Our boys did it again, they made it to state. However, that wasn’t all for Swain. Our girls were next. Again, the waiting to hear the name “Swain”. Tears were ready to pour as the announcer said “third place, SWAIN COUNTY!” For the fifth consecutive time, our girls are going to state.
Both Swain cross country teams got the “golden ticket” to the NCHSAA State Championship meet next Saturday, November 5th at Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville. The 1A Men’s race starts at 10:30AM and the 1A Women’s race starts at 11:30AM. Our Devils will be leaving the high school at 12:00PM on their bus.
Please be there at Kernersville or when they leave to show our cross country teams support for being STATE BOUND!
Photography: Robin Pond
SWAIN BOYS SCORES
| 8th | Parker Chatham (SR) | 17:48.22 | 8 pts |
| 25th | Phineas Little (SR) | 18:58.99 | 21 pts |
| 27th | Darren Blankenship (SR) | 19:02.40 | 23 pts |
| 36th | Dewight Winchester (JR) | 19:35.45 | 32 pts |
| 41st | Bradley Vestal (SO) | 19:42.41 | 37 pts |
| 50th | Brett Treadway (SR) | 20:13.87 | 45 pts |
| 56th | Jessee Steele (SO) | 20:34.58 | 50 pts |
BOYS TEAM SCORES
| 1st | Community School of Davidson | 78 pts | |
| 2nd | Lincoln Charter | 90 pts | |
| 3rd | Murphy | 113 pts | |
| 4th | Swain County | 121 pts | |
| 5th | Pine Lake Preparatory | 122 pts | |
SWAIN GIRLS SCORES
| 4th | Emma Pindur (JR) | 21:39.97 | 4 pts |
| 17th | Lily Richards (SO) | 23:23.92 | 17 pts |
| 23rd | Rebecca Duncan (FR) | 23:42.32 | 23 pts |
| 31st | Kylie Pond (SR) | 24:31.58 | 29 pts |
| 35th | Lynsey Hicks (JR) | 24:54.09 | 33 pts |
| 43rd | Emma Dingle (SO) | 25:25.49 | 40 pts |
| 45th | Bryar Buchanan (SR) | 25:26.85 | 42 pts |
GIRLS TEAM SCORES
| 1st | Lincoln Charter | 46 pts | |
| 2nd | Murphy | 84 pts | |
| 3rd | Swain County | 106 pts | |
| 4th | Pine Lake Preparatory | 121 pts | |
| 5th | Community School of Davidson | 149 pts | |