Swain County Lady Devils were named the 1A Women's Cross Country Champions for 2023 this weekend in Kernersville, N.C., earning the title for the third year in a row. The Maroon Devils took third place at state.
Larry Griffin
lgriffin@thesmokymountaintimes.com
The Swain County Lady Devils cross country team has won its third in a row NCHSAA 1A state championship taking place in Kernersville last Saturday, Nov. 4.
The Maroon Devils boys’ team came in third in their race, meanwhile.
Coach Keith Payne said the Lady Devils’ “grit, their dedication, and their focus are beyond reproach.”
The girls reportedly had an average time of 20:30, making it the lowest team average on the current state course.
They got 44 points overall, the second-lowest of all time on the course and the lowest of any team this year. They defeated the second-place team, Thomas Jefferson Classical, by a difference of 56 points.
Sophomore Annie Lewis was the first finisher for Swain. She came in fifth place overall in the race with a time of 19:53, while junior Arizona Blankenship was right behind her in sixth place, with a time of 20:05. Sophomore Angel Lomelli was not far behind either, coming in eighth place with a time of 20:13.
“They have learned over the past few years how to focus on the race and not get lost in the atmosphere,” Payne wrote in an email. “That is the mark of a champion, and that is why they have been so successful. They knew the game plan, they understood the assignment, and they keep upping the ante. I mean I had one upset over not breaking 20, and another upset that someone passed her in the final 100 meters. They were so upset you would have thought we lost. That shows their attitude towards racing."
Of the boys’ team, Payne said they “put on a show as well,” with an average time of 17:30 being the 12th fastest of all time.
Payne said that time would have won many previous years, but “unfortunately, they ran into a buzzsaw of a team who was still harboring ill feelings about our boys beating them in the 4x800 in track in May.”
The boys’ team got 93 points overall, losing to first place Lejune with 55 points and South Davidson with 85 points in second place.
Sophomore Carl Baird was again the frontrunner for the boys’ team, as he has been in numerous other competitions this season. Coming in 11th place overall, he finished with a time of 16:58. Senior Connor Lambert was next up for the Devils, finishing 20th overall with a time of 17:26, and fellow senior Kane Jones followed in 23rd with a time of 17:31.