Sports

Maroon Devil Joshua Collins drives the ball up the court.

Maroon Devil Joshua Collins drives the ball up the court.

Maroon Devils beat Wildcats in the first SMC round

News Staff
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Larry Griffin lgriffin@thesmokymountaintimes.com   Swain County’s Maroon Devils varsity basketball team beat the Andrews Wildcats in a tight 51-48 match on Friday, Feb. 10 in the first round of the SMC Basketball Tournament.
Swain County High School Athletic Director Neil Blankenship is now a member of an exalted club for his profession, as he’s been added to the 29th class of the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association (NCADA) Hall of Fame. But he’s too busy and too humble, to spend time gloating. “It’s not my cup of tea,” Blankenship said. “I’m not in it for the awards.” At many—if not all—of Swain High’s sporting events one can find Blankenship night after night, he takes time to do things some athletic directors mig

Swain County High School Athletic Director Neil Blankenship is now a member of an exalted club for his profession, as he’s been added to the 29th class of the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association (NCADA) Hall of Fame. But he’s too busy and too humble, to spend time gloating. “It’s not my cup of tea,” Blankenship said. “I’m not in it for the awards.” At many—if not all—of Swain High’s sporting events one can find Blankenship night after night, he takes time to do things some athletic directors mig

Swain's Neil Blankenship added to NC Athletic Directors Hall of Fame

News Staff
Thursday, February 9, 2023
Larry Griffin lgriffin@thesmokymountaintimes.com   Swain County High School Athletic Director Neil Blankenship is now a member of an exalted club for his profession, as he’s been added to the 29th class of the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association (NCADA) Hall of Fame.
Maroon Devil Saunooke earned his team there points in the dual against Robbinsville.

Maroon Devil Saunooke earned his team there points in the dual against Robbinsville.

Maroon Devils drop to Black Knights in team duals

News Staff
Thursday, February 9, 2023
The NCHSAA 1A West Regional team duals on Wednesday, Feb. 1 saw the Avery County Vikings coming out on top with a 39-34 win over Robbinsville. Robbinsville’s Black Knights, earlier in the night, beat the Maroon Devils 41-24. The Vikings beat Mt. Airy’s Granite Bears earlier in the night as well.

Lady Devils out in championship quarterfinals

News Staff
Thursday, February 9, 2023
Larry Griffin lgriffing@thesmokymountaintimes.com   The women’s wrestling team for Swain County High School suffered some setbacks at the NCHSAA opening rounds of the 2023 Women’s State Wrestling Invitational, with coach Adam Jaimez saying they “lost some matches they should’ve won.
Swain senior soccer player Landon Matz will be taking his talents to Mars Hill University in the fall

Swain senior soccer player Landon Matz will be taking his talents to Mars Hill University in the fall

Matz signs to play soccer at Mars Hill

News Staff
Thursday, February 9, 2023
Swain senior soccer player Landon Matz will be taking his talents to Mars Hill University in the fall after he participated in a ceremonial signing at Swain County High’s gymnasium on Feb. 7. Matz told the Smoky Mountain Times he was excited for the future.

Swain wrestlers place high in weekend duals

News Staff
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Larry Griffin lgriffin@thesmokymountaintimes.com   The Swain County High School wrestling team had a great weekend, according to coach Adam Jaimez, with numerous wrestlers finishing in first. The team as a whole placed second in the 2023 Smoky Mountain Conference held in Robbinsville.
The Lady Devils won the WNC Polar Bear Championship this weekend.Credit: Submitted photo

The Lady Devils won the WNC Polar Bear Championship this weekend.Credit: Submitted photo

Devils stand out at WNC Polar Bear Championships

News Staff
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Toby Burrell Maroon Devils Network   On the boys side, the 4×800 team, Connor Brown, Connor Lambert, Carl Baird, and Kane Jones better their seed time and finished 2nd.
Ray Bradley (left) and Josiah Glaspie of Swain County High's varsity basketball team try and intercept the opposition at the Jan. 24 home game.Credit: Larry Griffin/SMT

Ray Bradley (left) and Josiah Glaspie of Swain County High's varsity basketball team try and intercept the opposition at the Jan. 24 home game.Credit: Larry Griffin/SMT

Devils basketball coach optimistic about rest of season

News Staff
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Larry Griffin lgriffin@thesmokymountaintimes.com   Swain County’s Maroon Devils had a good night at basketball on Tuesday, Jan. 24, with the boys varsity team beating Robbinsville 71 to 67 and the girls varsity team beating them 43 to 33. In another game on Friday, Jan.
Swain County High's Austin Jenkins goes up against Willie Riddle from Robbinsville, with Riddle coming out on top in the end.

Swain County High's Austin Jenkins goes up against Willie Riddle from Robbinsville, with Riddle coming out on top in the end.

Swain wrestling loses to Robbinsville in dual match

News Staff
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
The Robbinsville Black Knights had a blowout win over Swain County Maroon Devils at Thursday night’s dual wrestling. The score was 53 points for the Black Knights and 15 for the Maroon Devils. Swain was victorious in just three of the 14 matches.