SWANNANOA – (Special from Philip Latter) The Lady Devils advanced to the NCHSAA 1A State Championship for the third consecutive year after a record-setting performance at the 1A West Region in Swannanoa. For the first time in school history, four girls ran faster than 22 minutes in the same meet. That kept Swain in contention for second place throughout the race. They would end up finishing third by a point. Community School of Davidson won the race with 49 points, followed by Pine Lake Preparatory with 77 and Swain County with 78. Robbinsville earned the final qualifying spot with a score of 118.
“That was absolutely our race of the year,” said head coach Philip Latter. “The girls came in confident and fresh. I told them that getting top four and advancing to State was as good as winning the meet, but you could see they wanted more and they got after it. Everything we’ve done the last two weeks has been designed to really sharpen them up for these last two races. So far, so good.”
Freshman Emma Pindur led the Lady Devils with a 5th place finish of 20:36. Junior Shelby Hyatt placed 10th in 21:11, followed closely by freshman Lynsey Hicks in 21:12. Junior Madison Travitz ran 21:56 for 22nd place in only her third race of the year, while sophomore Kylie Pond ran 23:07 in 36th place to round out the scorers. Junior Serina Holt (45th – 24:17) and sophomore Jenna Crutchfield (63rd – 25:47) also competed well for Swain.
“This was really a breakthrough race for Emma,” said Latter. “When Shelby got sick with pneumonia, she really took her racing to the next level and as a result we haven’t skipped a beat. Now with Shelby starting to recover, Lynsey flashing the potential we’ve known she’s had all along, and Madison getting healthier, we’re able to race at a different level.”
The boys cross country team will also be represented at State after Parker Chatham advanced. His time of 17:43 was a 30-second personal best and earned him the final individual qualifier position.
“I don’t have a hard worker on my team than Parker,” said Latter. “He has been so totally devoted to making State since we started summer workouts in June. That single-minded focus paid off today.”
Behind Chatham, the boys had their best race of the year en route to a 6th place overall finish, their highest in nearly a decade. Senior Sam Dickson ran 19:00 for 32nd place, with sophomores Darren Blankenship (33rd – 19:03) and Brett Treadway (35th – 19:08) close behind. Raine Bradley, also a sophomore, rounded out the scorers with a time of 19:47 in 52nd place. Bryce Ledford was the final Swain finisher in 19:56, good for 57th place.
“Our top six runners all set personal bests,” said Latter. “You can’t ask more of a team. They went out and executed to the very best of their abilities on this day. What’s exciting is that they’re a young team with a lot of potential, and I think being so close to making State will prove to be a strong motivator moving into track and next cross country season.”
Community School of Davidson won with 52 points, followed by Hayesville (84), Lincoln Charter (105), and Pine Lake Preparatory (127). Robbinsville (130) and Swain County (141) were the next two teams. In all, thirteen schools fielded full squads.