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Lady Devils Melanie Linton (lead) and Kinsley Hyatt participating in one of the hurdle relay events at the SMC Track & Field Championships on May 3.
Larry Griffin
lgriffin@thesmokymountaintimes.com
The Smoky Mountain Conference Track & Field Championships were held Wednesday, May 3 at Cherokee Central School, and athletes ran, threw and jumped on the windy but warming afternoon. The final scores for the day saw Swain triumphant, with the Maroon Devils getting 205 points and the Lady Devils with 231.
Both wins were well ahead of the second-place contenders – the Maroon Devils easily outpaced Cherokee’s 121-point finish, while the Lady Devils’ score was comfortably ahead of Hayesville’s 125 point finish.
Eleven different schools participated, and the field was aglow with the athletes and their families and peers cheering them on, mingling in the nice weather and waiting for the gunshots to signal when a new race might start.
The Lady Devils took high places at the distance events, with Arizona Blankenship winning the 800 meter and 1600-meter events. Amaya Hicks, Audrey Monteith, Cora Watkins and Mya Burrows-Kurr took first in the 4x400, while Hicks, Blankenship, Gracie Monteith and Annie Lewis took first in the 4x800 event.
Meanwhile, the Maroon Devils saw some wins with Josiah Glaspie finished first in both the 200-meter dash and 400 meter dash.
Connor Brown did well at distance events, taking first in the 800 meter and 1600 meter.
Head Coach Ian Roper said the Swain team, of which both the boys’ and girls’ teams were in 1st place as of Wednesday’s match, was comfortable in their standing.
“We’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing,” he said. “We know we could come in and not have to reach or overperform. We could just come out and play.”
He said they were doing some different things such as trying different relay combinations.
“A lot of our sprinters are soccer players,” Roper said. “So, we only get to work with them a few times a week.”
As Roper spoke, a young freshman student pole vaulted behind him. Roper said this was Evan Hawke, who is new to the team and was just starting pole vaulting.
“He’s going to be a good one,” Roper said.
Early in the game, Amelia Rogers got a conference record in pole vault of 10’6. Rogers said she was happy with the record – though, notably, not surprised.
“It’s pretty cool,” she said. “Not gonna lie – I was kinda expecting it. I’ve cleared 10’ pretty much every meet this season.”
Her mother, standing nearby, asked if 10’ was the record, to which Rogers replied, “It was 10’. Now, it is not.”
Nearby, discus throwing finished up, with Swain’s Nse Uffort getting first place. He took second in shotput, as well.
“I feel well,” Uffort said. “Though I wish I would’ve executed more in the shotput.”