Ogana Swimmer, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and a senior member of the Tsalagi Anitsvyasdi (Cherokee Braves), crosses the finish line to win the 2A West Regional race which was held at Kituwah on the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 31. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photos)
By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
KITUWAH – Ogana Swimmer, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and a senior at Cherokee High School, made school history when he won the 2A West Regional meet held at Kituwah on the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 31. He became the first male runner to win regional for Cherokee High School (CHS) as he won the race by 28 seconds.
“It feels pretty good because last time I ran for Regional I came up short,” said Swimmer. “So, it feels good to actually win.”
On this training leading up to Regionals, Swimmer, who also won the Smoky Mountain Conference (SMC) boys title and was named SMC Boys Runner of the Year, noted, “More milage and taking easy days easy, and hard days hard. Staying consistent through the summer.”
When asked his mentality going into the 2A State Championship meet, he said, “I’ll just try to stay calm because I know I’m prepared. Just try to stay calm and run fast.”
Led by Swimmer, the Tsalagi Anitsvyasdi (Cherokee Braves) team qualified for the state meet with a sixth place team finish. Swimmer and Wanei Sneed, who finished 10th with a time of 17:37.4, were both named to the All-Regional team.
Two members of the Tsalagi Anata Anitsvyasdi (Cherokee Lady Braves) also qualified for state including Kyla Keel-Aguilera and Maya Lossiah who are both EBCI tribal members.
Livia Crowe, an EBCI tribal member and senior member of the Tsalagi Anata Anitsvyasdi, was unable to run on Saturday as she was playing in the 2A Volleyball State Championship match. Crowe previously won the SMC girls title and was named SMC Girls Runner of the Year.
Ahli-sha Stephens, CHS cross country head coach, spoke of the performances on Saturday.
“The boys team, they really have been working to improve their times, really working to improve their performances. Today, they qualified as a team so it just shows that their hard work is paying off. Ogana Swimmer has been training a tremendous amount, putting in a lot of miles. He was having 60- and 70-mile weeks – working on his speed, working on his distance – and it just showed today. So, we’re going into next week keeping him healthy, keeping him hydrated, and getting him across the finish line first.”
She added, “On the girls side, we were missing Livia today because she had volleyball, which it’s not her fault. She had to choose. But, they were conference champs. She was SMC runner of the year, as well as Ogana. We did miss her today. But, I think our girls did well. They’re really improving. Running is hard, but racing is even harder. So, I’m just proud of all the kids today – boys and girls.”
When asked about the team’s preparation leading up to the state meet, Coach Stephens said, “We’ll continue to focus on not just their training, but nutrition, hydration, and rest, because those three are key factors in performance. We will taper this week. And, basically, we’re just getting them to fulfill the work that they’ve put in so far because it all adds up. I always tell them, ‘when you get in the starting line, you’re going to hurt. It’s going to be hard, but don’t be the weak one. Your brother beside you is working hard and he’s working hard for you. So, you don’t be the weak one today. Push through for yourself and your teammates because that’s what you do for your brothers. That’s what a good teammate does’.”
Christ the King won the girls team event with 34 points, and Corvian Community took the boys title with 46 points.
Kyla Keel-Aguilera, a member of the Tsalagi Anata Anitsvyasadi (Cherokee Lady Braves), crosses the finish line in 20th place to qualify for the state meet.
The following results, per nc.milesplit.com, show the top seven finishers in each race plus all Cherokee High School runners:
Girls
1 – Shea Roche, Christ the King, 18:39.4
2 – Anasofia Morell, Community School of Davidson, 19:37.8
3 – Anna White, Christ the King, 19:52.9
4 – Samantha McMullin, Community School of Davidson, 20:34.4
5 – Makenna Belk, East Wilkes, 20:46.3
6 – Makenna Moss, Hayesville, 21:01.1
7 – Ayla August, Community School of Davidson, 21:24.7
20 – Kyla Keel-Aguilera, Cherokee, 22:27.3
29 – Mya Lossiah, Cherokee, 23:00.1
47 – Angelica A-Kwi-Na, Cherokee, 24:45.3
54 – Story Martens, Cherokee, 25:46.0
79 – Makeena Armachain, Cherokee, 31:22.8
Girls Team Scores
1 – Christ the King 34
2 – Community School of Davidson 58
3 – East Wilkes 103
4 – Bradford Prep 139
5 – Corvian Community 157
6 – Mountain Island Charter School 158
7 – Hayesville 181
8 – Cherokee 205
9 – Langtree Charter Academy 210
10 – Highland Tech 253
11 – Swain County 299
12 – Mitchell 303
Boys
1 – Ogana Swimmer, Cherokee, 16:03.0
2 – Brady Travis, Corvian Community, 16:31.4
3 – Bryson Calkins, Community School of Davidson, 16:37.4
4 – Charlie Baggett, Corvian Community, 17:00.5
5 – Oliver Vining, Community School of Davidson, 17:10.1
6 – Aaron Cox, Bradford Prep, 17:19.6
7 – Nathaniel Ingram, Langtree Charter Academy, 17:28.2
10 – Wanei Sneed, Cherokee, 17:37.4
35 – Vincent Walker, Cherokee, 19:14.0
46 – Jeshua Lossiah, Cherokee, 19:50.7
52 – Sean Schultz, Cherokee, 20:30.3
64 – Marek Brown, Cherokee, 21:35.4
74 – Trae Drakeford, Cherokee, 23:00.9
Boys Team Scores
1 – Corvian Community 46
2 – Community School of Davidson 81
3 – Mountain Island Charter 84
4 – Hayesville 120
5 – Christ the King 132
6 – Cherokee 141
7 – Bradford Prep 180
8 – Swain County 192
9 – Cherryville 253
10 – Langtree Charter Academy 264
11 – Avery County 310
12 – Mitchell 336
