For sports fans who like scoring, the place to be was Ray Kinsland Stadium in Cherokee, N.C. on the evening of Friday, Sept. 20.  The Cherokee Braves (3-2) topped the Mt. Zion Might Warriors (2-3) by a score of 54-40.

The Cherokee Middle School (CMS) Lady Braves team won the Keith Payne Memorial Invitational meet held at Kituwah on the morning of Saturday, Sept. 21.  Led by Austin Fourkiller-Raby, who won the middle school girls race with a time of 12:08.43, the CMS Lady Braves won with a score of 33 followed by Smoky Mountain at 59. 

The Cherokee JV Braves traveled to Hayesville on the evening of Thursday, Sept. 19 and came away with a 28-18 victory over the JV Yellow Jackets. 

Aaron Ira Smart soared into the air, grabbed his board, and did a keen trick mid-air between rounds at an annual event that astounds me each year.  Smart, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation with heritage from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) as well, did this at last year’s Cherokee Skate Jam. 

The Cherokee Middle School (CMS) Lady Braves continued their winning ways with a team victory at a meet in Murphy, N.C. on Saturday, Sept. 14.  The team won with a score of 30 followed by Murphy with 62. 

The Tsalagi Cougars are the regional cheer group competing in the North Carolina Senior Games. Beginning last year and earning a second-place medal, the team, representing the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, has grown in numbers and excitement, gunning for first place at the 2024 Senior Games happening in Raleigh Sept. 16-22.

Covering Lady Braves Volleyball was one of my very first beats when I began as a reporter with the One Feather in October 2023.

Cherokee Central Schools hosted a cross country meet on the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 4, and both the Cherokee High School (CHS) and Cherokee Middle School (CMS) Lady Braves won their team contests.