KERNERSVILLE – Darius Lambert, a junior member of the Cherokee High School cross country team, finished 15th in the boys 1A state cross country championship at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville on the morning of Saturday, Nov. 4. Lambert, who qualified for the meet with a ninth place finish at the 1A West Regional Meet, finished Saturday’s race with a time of 17:24.96.
Conrad Philips, Pine Lake Prep, won the boys race with a time of 16:09.70 followed by Lucas Brown, Queens Grant, 16:36.89 and Drew Zink, Lincoln Charter, 16:44.91. Bishop McGuinness won the boys state team title with a score of 51 followed by Lincoln Charter 95 and Franklin Academy 103. Hayesville came in fourth with a score of 132 and Robbinsville finished sixth with a score of 181.
Caitlyn Burkett, Franklin Academy, won the girls state championship with a time of 19:16.94 followed by Abigail Hemric, North Stokes, 19:46.39 and Emy Cloutier, East Carteret, 20:14.40. Franklin Academy won the girls state team title with a score of 36 followed by Lincoln Charter 74 and Murphy 123. Robbinsville placed seventh with a score of 187.
Other top 50 finishers in the boys race from the Smoky Mountain Conference included:
6 – Gavin Morgan, Hayesville, 16:55.22
13 – Jonathan Ray, Rosman, 17:22.08
24 – Luke Walters, Robbinsville, 17:39.10
31 – Justin Race, Hayesville, 17:50.51
34 – C.J. Anderson, Hiwassee Dam, 17:56.34
36 – Tucker Price, Robbinsville, 18:02.27
39 – Gunnar Ruthig, Robbinsville, 18:08.71
40 – Ryelan Snowden, Hayesville, 18:10.10
Other top 50 finishers in the girls race from the Smoky Mountain Conference included:
8 – Peyton Wood, Murphy, 20:28.80
16 – Emma Pindur, Swain County, 20:59.47
21 – Ava Barlow, Robbinsville, 21:14.09
23 – Natalie Graves, Murphy, 21:35.05
24 – Anna Riddle, Robbinsville, 21:37.70
46 – Abigail Knight, Robbinsville, 22:20.59
47 – Grace Hill, Murphy, 22:21.41
– One Feather staff report
