Bryson City – This past year, senior Dewight Winchester won the 2017 USAT Off-Road 19 and Under National Championship, besting his competition by 13 full minutes. Winchester is also a two-time Xterra Southeast Regional Champion, winning in both 2015 and 2017. While Swain High School, nor the NCHSAA, has triathlon sports, undaunted Winchester proudly wears maroon in his races and always slips his Swain hat on before going to the podium. Swain County is proud of Dwight and his 100% #MaroonStrong performances and offer our sincere congratulations on his national championship. Winchester was recognized at halftime of the Maroon Devils contest with the Asheville Gladiators.
Here is more of his amazing story (Special to the Maroon Devils Network).
On May 31, 2015, Dewight Winchester, a rising sophomore at Swain, had just gotten his first mountain bike a few days earlier and decided he wanted to compete in his first ever Xterra Triathlon at Tsali. While Dewight was a cross country runner, he had absolutely no experience or training with the biking or swimming components of this grueling sport. His parents cautiously allowed him to sign up to compete, having no idea the journey that would lie ahead. To say he was unprepared would be an understatement. After the half mile swim, he was exhausted but managed to run the 5.5 miles before transitioning to his bike for the final 22-mile leg of the race. With a time of 2 hours, 58 minutes, and finishing 67 out of 73 participants – an hour and a half behind the winner – Dewight crossed the finish line with a smile on his face and a newfound passion in his life. He went on to compete in three more triathlons that summer showing improvement with each race.
He immediately began setting goals for his future. Being a football player and a wrestler, he was very accustomed to Swain’s motto “Our Best and Then Some,” but he would soon discover that triathlon training would require a greater level of grit, commitment and self-discipline than he had ever known, giving “Maroon Strong” a whole new meaning for him. His training schedule consisted of swimming 6 miles in the pool, riding over 100 miles on his bike and running 30-50 miles each week. By the end of 2016, Dewight realized that the many hours of hard work had paid off. After competing in 10 races, 6 of which he won his age group, he was named the Xterra Southeast Regional Champion, qualifying him for the Xterra Pan Am Championship in Ogden, Utah and the Xterra World Championship in Maui, where he finished 5th and 17th respectively.
In 2017, he picked up where he left off, competing in races in California, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama winning 4 more races. Again, he became the Xterra Southeast Regional Champion. On June 4, 2017 at the USAT Off-Road National Championships in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, Dewight had his best performance ever and reached his ultimate goal, becoming the 2017 USAT Off-Road 19 and Under National Champion, outperforming his closest competitor by 13 minutes. This win qualified him to represent Team USA in the ITU World Championships in 2018 in Denmark.
One of the most important and impactful pieces of Dewight’s training was his Tri-Coach, Sonni Dyer, who coaches both the men and women’s collegiate tri teams at Queens College in Charlotte. He had the following message to add for Dewight this evening and regrets that he could not be here.
“Often do I have the opportunity of meeting w/ student-athletes who share their national-championship goals with me. Rarely do I get to see them overcome all odds to make those dreams a reality. The single greatest quality that Dewight has exhibited in his pursuit of excellence is a natural understanding that we focus on the process……. and let the results take care of themselves. So many youth/juniors and students have that backwards these days. They drive hard for “the result”…. but are undisciplined w/ their “process”. Dewight gets it. He intuitively understands that process leads results. And as a 20+ year “coach”, I can assure you that character leads the process. Well done, Dewight.”
Although Swain does not have an official Triathlon team, Dewight has always proudly represented his school, wearing maroon and white when racing and always making certain to put on his Swain hat before hopping onto the podium. Therefore, in his mind, he is the sole member of the Unofficial Swain Tri-Team.