Sports

Photo by Kevin Hensley/Graham Star Lady Maroon Devil Savannah Smith fends off a Robbinsville Lady Knight and takes a shot.

Photo by Kevin Hensley/Graham Star Lady Maroon Devil Savannah Smith fends off a Robbinsville Lady Knight and takes a shot.

Swain girls basketball takes one of two in back-to-back games

News Staff
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Playing games on consecutive nights is nothing new to the veteran Swain County High School girls’ basketball roster, but with an abbreviated 2020-2021 schedule, the Lady Devils were not supposed to see any back-to-backs this season.
Lady Devil Mazie Helpman, junior, drives the ball and shoots and scores in the away 68-51 loss against Murphy on Friday night.

Lady Devil Mazie Helpman, junior, drives the ball and shoots and scores in the away 68-51 loss against Murphy on Friday night.

Early lead over Lady Devils gives Lady Bulldogs the win

Jarrett Van Meter
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
While the final score might not indicate as much, Swain girls’ basketball played Murphy tight for most of the night on Friday. The Bulldogs used a press defense to blitz to a large early lead and were able to maintain the cushion the rest of the game en route to a 68-51 victory.
Maroon Devil Carter Kirkland, junior, advances the ball down the court in the Murphy away game that ended as a loss for the Devils despite the team scoring 79 points.

Maroon Devil Carter Kirkland, junior, advances the ball down the court in the Murphy away game that ended as a loss for the Devils despite the team scoring 79 points.

Murphy overthrows Swain in high scoring game

News Staff
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Swain County High Schoolboy’s basketball team scored 79 points and had five players notch double-figure point totals on Friday night.
Swain County Maroon Devils cross country team is pictured with other competing teams at the regional match held Saturday at Kituwah Mound amid cold temperatures, wind and snow.

Swain County Maroon Devils cross country team is pictured with other competing teams at the regional match held Saturday at Kituwah Mound amid cold temperatures, wind and snow.

Maroon Devils cross country teams qualify for state

News Staff
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Both of the Swain County High School cross country teams qualified for the state cross country meet with top-three finishes in Saturday’s regional meet. The teams have grown accustomed to the course at Kituwah Mound, but the wintery conditions added a new challenge to the event.
Gracie Monteith was the individual conference champion for the SMC cross country.

Gracie Monteith was the individual conference champion for the SMC cross country.

Lady Devils CC are SMC conference champs

News Staff
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
The Swain girls’ cross country team claimed the Smoky Mountain Conference championship and the boys finished in second as both teams secured berths in the field of Saturday’s regional meet at Kituwah Mound last Wednesday, Jan. 6.
Lady Devil Amaya Hicks makes a 3 point shot in the home win against Andrews Saturday.

Lady Devil Amaya Hicks makes a 3 point shot in the home win against Andrews Saturday.

Close Lady Devils season opener goes to Lady Braves

News Staff
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Basketball, as the old coaching cliché goes, is a game of runs. All it took was one hot-shooting quarter from Cherokee to nullify an otherwise solid night from the Lady Devils for their season opener on Jan. 5.
Maroon Devil takes a shot at the basket

Maroon Devil takes a shot at the basket

Maroon Devils basketball defeat Andrews Wildcats

News Staff
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Prior to Saturday, the Swain County boys basketball team last defeated Andrews in January of 2018. The Maroon Devils topped the Wildcats over the weekend to end the skid, but more impressive than what was how, as the Devils grouped skated to a 77-49 blowout victory.
The Swain County Maroon Devils wrestling team had a victory walk through town after returning from the state championships.

The Swain County Maroon Devils wrestling team had a victory walk through town after returning from the state championships.

2020: Looking back on a most unusual, unforgettable year of Swain sports

News Staff
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
Swain County with no football is like March without Madness: Unconscionable…until it isn’t. No Maroon Devil football was played in 2020. Like the NCAA basketball tournament, the 2020 fall gridiron season was a casualty of COVID-19 pandemic.
Lady Devils Gracie Monteith and Emily Ulaner were among the top two runners in the recent meet Dec. 30 at Kituwah Mound.

Lady Devils Gracie Monteith and Emily Ulaner were among the top two runners in the recent meet Dec. 30 at Kituwah Mound.

Lady Maroon Devils take it easy ahead of conference meet

News Staff
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
It was the final meet of 2020 and the final regular season race for the Swain girls’ cross country team, but the team paced itself and kept its collective focus trained toward its big-picture goal. After a week off of racing for the Christmas holiday, Jennifer Chatham opted to use the Dec.
Swain County Maroon Devils cross country team finished second in recent meet.

Swain County Maroon Devils cross country team finished second in recent meet.

Maroon Devils cross country finishes second

News Staff
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
In the final tune-up ahead of the postseason, the Swain boys cross country team was able to get a final glimpse of conference frontrunner Murphy and its dynamic duo of Chase Pierce and Caleb Jones.