ONE FEATHER STAFF REPORT
The Cherokee Lady Braves Cross Country team placed second at an area meet held at Swain County High School on Wednesday, Sept. 7 and then placed sixth at the Western Carolina University Invitational meet held on Saturday, Sept. 10.
Kendall Toineeta runs to a second place finish at an area meet held at Swain High School on Wednesday, Sept. 7. (DENISE WALKINGSTICK/One Feather contributor photos
Kendall Toineeta, freshman, led the way for the Lady Braves at the Swain meet with a second place finish and overall time of 22:01. She was bested only by Nancy Ford, a senior at Smoky Mountain with a time of 21:27.
Avery Mintz, sophomore, and Shayna Ledford, senior, placed fifth and sixth respectively with times of 23:44 and 23:50.
Other Lady Braves at the meet included: Jordyn Thompson, 20th, 24:58; Priscilla Squirrell, 34th, 26:56; Alexis Maney, 47th, 34:41; Deija Burgess, 51st, 31:23; Bradley Welch, 55th, 32:41; and Miranda Smith, 56th, 32:47.
Smoky Mountain won the meet with a team score of 34 followed by Cherokee 67, Franklin 120, Hayesville 132 and Murphy 142.
At the WCU meet on Saturday, it was Toineeta leading the Lady Braves again. This time with an eighth place finish time of 21:05.61. Other Lady Braves at the meet included: Shayna Ledford, 18th, 22:05.18; Avery Mintz, 27th, 22:56.63; Priscilla Squirrell, 52nd, 25:14.14; Jordyn Thompson, 53rd, 25:15.76; Alea Tisho, 57th, 25:37.76; Deija Burgess, 72nd, 27:09.76; and Alexis Maney, 81st, 28:46.54. Ashlee Smith, Bradley Welch and Miranda Smith also participated, but times were not provided for these runners.
Avery Mintz took fifth place at the Swain meet.
The meet was won by Pisgah with a team score of 48 followed by West Henderson 68, Smoky Mountain 78, North Buncombe 83, Brevard 120, Cherokee 140, Hayesville 205, Asheville Christian Academy 215, Franklin 238 and Tuscola 250.
Boys Cross Country
The Cherokee Boys Cross Country team did not have enough to compete in the team competition at either meet, but they did field several runners. Levi Swearengin, sophomore, took 39th place at the meet held at Swain High School with a time of 22:17. Dylan Johnson, junior from Hayesville, took first place at that meet with a time of 17:44.
The other Braves runner at the meet was E.J. Carroll, sophomore, who took 52nd place with a time of 23:24.
Two Braves competed at the WCU meet including Gerald Mahan who took 51st place with a time of 20:46.85 and Swearengin who took 56th place with a time of 21:01.05.
Middle School teams
The Cherokee Middle School teams also did not have enough to compete in the team competition at either meet, but several runners did place.
At the Swain meet, two Lady Braves placed including Samantha Rouch, 15th, 17:33, and Devona Reed, 16th, 17:34. The meet was won by Shawna Martin, Robbinsville, with a time of 13:49.
Four Braves competed at the meet including: Isiah Davis, 15th, 15:19; Brack Powell, 19th, 15:37; Ethan Swearengin, 29th, 16:15; and Gabe Crowe, 50th, 20:45.
Rouch and Reed also competed at the WCU meet for the CMS Lady Braves. Reed took 10th place with a time of 14:53.64 and Rouch placed 18th with a time of 15:43.89.
The CMS Braves took fourth place overall at the WCU meet with a team score of 86. Canton Middle won the meet with a score of 17 followed by Macon Middle 59 and Asheville Christian Academy 79.
Five Braves placed at the event including: Brock Powell, 12th, 13:33.13; Shadrick Wolf, 16th, 14:08.05; Isaiah Davis, 18th, 14:24.82; Ethan Swearengin, 38th, 15:54.29; and Gabe Crowe, 42nd, 17:08.12.
