RACING: Austin San Souci (left), Swain Middle School, and Dalmon King, Cherokee Middle School, run hard near the one-mile mark of the two-mile middle school boys race at the Smoky Mountain Cross Country Championship at Cherokee Central Schools on the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 17. San Souci took first place with a time of 11:42.28 and King took second with a time of 12:00.53. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photos)
By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
ONE FEATHER STAFF
What started as a rainy, gloomy morning ended up as a sunny day full of wondrous clouds over the Cherokee Central Schools as they hosted the Smoky Mountain Conference cross country championship on the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 17. Cherokee Middle School’s boys and girls teams both took second place in their respective team events.
Dalmon King, CMS seventh grade, and Oz Swayney, CMS eighth grade, placed second and third respectively in the middle school boys race to lead the CMS Braves to their second place finish. Dvdaya Swimmer, CMS eighth grade, placed third and Jaylynne Esquivel, CMS eighth grade, was close behind in fifth to lead the CMS girls. For their efforts, each was named All-Conference along with Dacian Tafoya who came in seventh place in the boys race. Swain Middle School swept the boys and girls team championships.
“It was a dogfight for everything,” Eddie Swimmer, Cherokee Central Schools head cross country coach, said of the middle school team’s accomplishments. “I was impressed. It’s been a dogfight between us and Swain all season. The kids laid everything out there. They raced hard. They ran hard, and they’ve trained hard. I’m just excited about the future of the program. Everybody raced hard, and they lowered their time. It was just a good, hard run today.”
Darius Lambert, CHS senior, placed fourth in the high school boys race with a time of 18:12.03. By placing in the top seven, he earned All-Conference honors for the fourth straight year. Rosa Reyes, CHS sophomore, was the top finisher for the CHS Lady Braves with an eighth place finish and a time of 23:25.16. Aynsley Fink, an EBCI tribal member and freshman at Robbinsville, placed second in the high school girls race with a time of 21:45.14 and was named to the All-Conference team.
Murphy High School swept the boys and girls teams championships.
To view or purchase photos from the middle school races, visit: https://onefeather.smugmug.com/SPORTS/RUNNING/CROSS-COUNTRY/Smoky-Mountain-Conference-Championship-middle-school-October/
To view or purchase photos from the high school races, visit: https://onefeather.smugmug.com/SPORTS/RUNNING/CROSS-COUNTRY/Smoky-Mountain-Conference-Championship-high-school-October/
Following are the All-Conference runners in each race:
Middle School Girls: Arizona Blankenship (Swain), Kaysen Krieger (Hayesville), Dvdaya Swimmer (Cherokee), Gracie Monteith (Swain), Jaylynne Esquivel (Cherokee), Emma Beasley (Robbinsville), Montana Adams (Robbinsville)
Middle School Boys: Austin San Souci (Swain), Dalmon King (Cherokee), Oz Swayney (Cherokee), Andy Ledford (Swain), Connor Lambert (Swain), Connor Brown (Swain), Dacian Tafoya (Cherokee)
High School Girls: Sydney Bolyard (Tri-County), Aynsley Fink (Robbinsville), Anna Riddle (Robbinsville), Allison Thomas (Hayesville), Morgan Dudley (Hayesville), Georjah Allen (Murphy), Dakota Hogeback (Murphy)
High School Boys: Ryan Jenkins (Swain), Justin Race (Hayesville), Caleb Jones (Murphy), Darius Lambert (Cherokee), Jackson Burch (Hayesville), Alex Haines (Murphy), Luke Walters (Robbinsville)
Following are the top 15 runners in each race along with all Cherokee finishers per Big Kahuna Timing:
PACE: Dvdaya Swimmer, Cherokee Middle School, runs en route to a third place finish in the middle school girls race with a time of 13:23.88. The CMS girls team took second place overall, and she was named to the All-Conference team.
Middle School Girls
1 – Arizona Blankenship, Swain, 13:09.05
2 – Kaysen Krieger, Hayesville, 13:18.15
3 – Dvdaya Swimmer, Cherokee, 13:23.88
4 – Gracie Monteith, Swain, 13:24.15
5 – Jaylynne Esquivel, Cherokee, 13:26.94
6 – Emma Beasley, Robbinsville, 13:49.57
7 – Montana Adams, Robbinsville, 14:28.86
8 – Amelia Rogers, Swain, 14:31.97
9 – Lila Roberts, Hayesville, 14:32.45
10 – Corinne Cotton, Murphy, 14:43.81
11 – Karaline Silver, Murphy, 14:50.93
12 – Mya Burrows-Kurr, Swain, 14:51.59
13 – Aaliyah Reed, Cherokee, 14:56.25
14 – Phoebe Pietila, Hayesville, 15:13.03
15 – Alyssa Trantham, Murphy, 15:18.16
19 – Marilyn Swayney, Cherokee, 16:00.35
27 – Laura Martinez, Cherokee, 16:43.27
29 – Boie Crowe, Cherokee, 16:47.37
40 – Idalis Crowe, Cherokee, 18:33.40
Team Results
1 – Swain Middle 36
2 – Cherokee Middle 59
3 – Hayesville Middle 60
4 – Murphy Middle 64
RACE: Oz Swayney, CMS eighth grade, took third place in the middle school boys race with a time of 12:15.98. He was named to the All-Conference team for his efforts on Wednesday.
Middle School Boys
1 – Austin San Souci, Swain, 11:42.28
2 – Dalmon King, Cherokee, 12:00.53
3 – Oz Swayney, Cherokee, 12:15.98
4 – Andy Ledford, Swain, 12:21.12
5 – Connor Lambert, Swain, 12:21.76
6 – Connor Brown, Swain, 12:35.65
7 – Dacian Tafoya, Cherokee, 12:47.18
8 – Xander Wachacha, Robbinsville, 12:49.93
9 – Rider Mattox, Swain, 12:55.31
10 – Evin Fields, Hayesville, 12:55.76
11 – Cavan Reed, Cherokee, 13:00.67
12 – Owen Craig, Swain, 13:01.45
13 – Ethan Russell, Hiwassee Dam, 13:09.21
14 – Landon Matz, Swain, 13:11.54
15 – Cameron Gray, Hayesville, 13:17.44
20 – Tanin Esquivel, Cherokee, 14:01.33
28 – Jaylen Bark, Cherokee, 14:47.62
29 – Ayden Thompson, Cherokee, 14:52.14
Team Results
1 – Swain Middle 25
2 – Cherokee Middle 43
3 – Hayesville Middle 82
4 – Robbinsville Middle 115
5 – Hiwassee Dam/Ranger Middle 117
6 – Martins Creek Middle 167
STRONG FINISH: Rosa Reyes, Cherokee High School sophomore, was the top Lady Braves runner with an eighth place finish and time of 23:25.16.
High School Girls
1 – Sydney Bolyard, Tri-County Early College, 20:49.02
2 – Aynsley Fink, Robbinsville, 21:45.14
3 – Anna Riddle, Robbinsville, 23:01.65
4 – Allison Thomas, Hayesville, 23:07.20
5 – Morgan Dudley, Hayesville, 23:08.60
6 – Georjah Allen, Murphy, 23:10.79
7 – Dakota Hogeback, Murphy, 23:21.03
8 – Rosa Reyes, Cherokee, 23:25.16
9 – Lucy Crayton, Tri-County, 23:39.73
10 – Brigitte Hernandez, Murphy, 23:53.98
11 – Caroline Burch, Hayesville, 24:06.33
12 – Rebecca Duncan, Swain, 24:09.59
13 – Natalie Graves, Murphy, 24:09.84
14 – Jennifer Hernandez, Murphy, 24:16.19
15 – Grace Hill, Murphy, 24:17.71
18 – Dalericka King, Cherokee, 24:48.03
19 – Dorian Reed, Cherokee, 24:49.45
30 – Betty Lossiah, Cherokee, 26:15.52
33 – Makala McGaha, Cherokee, 27:12.23
44 – Abigail Taylor, Cherokee, 32:11.91
Team Results
1 – Murphy 50
2 – Hayesville 61
3 – Tri-County Early College 91 (broke tie on sixth runner)
4 – Robbinsville 91
5 – Cherokee 107
6 – Swain County 116
7 – Blue Ridge Early College 189
ALL-CONFERENCE: Darius Lambert, a senior at Cherokee High School, runs strong in the high school boys race in which he took fourth place with a time of 18:12.03. He earned All-Conference honors with his top seven finish, a feat he accomplished each year of his high school career.
High School Boys
1 – Ryan Jenkins, Swain, 16:57.93
2 – Justin Race, Hayesville, 17:27.06
3 – Caleb Jones, Murphy, 17:57.88
4 – Darius Lambert, Cherokee, 18:12.03
5 – Jackson Burch, Hayesville, 18:15.67
6 – Alex Haines, Murphy, 18:18.44
7 – Luke Walters, Robbinsville, 18:28.34
8 – Ethan Barnett, Robbinsville, 18:32.86
9 – Chase Pierce, Murphy, 18:47.88
10 – Dhruv Senghani, Swain, 18:53.06
11 – Sage Sorensen, Tri-County, 18:58.04
12 – Andrew Bryson, Murphy, 19:08.40
13 – Brenden Ulaner, Swain, 19:15.31
14 – Caleb Rice, Murphy, 19:18.35
15 – Emmanuel R. (last name not provided), Swain, 19:29.60
24 – Nathaniel Crowe, Cherokee, 20:16.73
31 – Josiah Lossiah, Cherokee, 21:46.16
32 – Braylon Arch, Cherokee, 21:47.25
45 – Timothy Woodard, Cherokee, 26:24.64
Team Results
1 – Murphy 44
2 – Swain 57
3 – Hayesville 59
4 – Robbinsville 92
5 – Cherokee 127
6 – Tri-County Early College 138
