Lady Devils are 3x state champions in track & field

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Maroon Devils take second

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  • Lady Devils are track & field champions- for the third year running!
    Lady Devils are track & field champions- for the third year running!
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Larry Griffin

lgriffin@thesmokymountaintimes.com

 

Swain County High School’s boys’ and girls’ track and field teams brought home high marks from the NCHSAA State Championships held Friday, May 19 in Greensboro. The Lady Devils took first place while the Maroon Devils got second.

The Lady Devil win made for a “threepeat,” as it’s now the third time in a row they’ve taken the gold prize in the state championships. The girls won with 63 points, 17 points ahead of the second-place contenders, Mountain Island.

“They had a target on their backs the entire season as every team wanted to challenge the champions,” Coach Ian Roper said. “Our ladies consistently responded with grit and determination.”

Meanwhile, the boys’ team, which has never been in contention for a team state championship, got 22 points, coming in second to Union Academy’s 26.5 points. Roper said the team knew they were one of the top two in the running even before Friday’s event, which “in and of itself brings a tremendous amount of pressure.”

“We not only met the challenge but performed ahead of our seeds and expectations,” he said. “Unfortunately, Union Academy also outperformed their projections and edged us out for the state championship in the final event of the day. I was heartbroken for our boys, but I was beyond proud of their performance under immense pressure.”

 

State records set

Three Swain athletes set state records in their individual performances – Arizona Blankenship won the 3,200-meter run with a time of 10:56, Amelia Rogers won pole vault with 11 feet and a quarter inch, and Matthew Gray won pole vault with 16 feet and five inches.

Also in the pole vault, Hannah Wingate and Alden Thomas tied for third with nine feet each.

Blankenship also got first in the 1,600 meter, which was also a personal record for her.

Meanwhile, other wins came in the relays, with the girls’ 4x800 won by Blankenship, Amaya Hicks, Annie Lewis and Gracie Monteith, and the boys’ 4x800 won by Connor Brown, Kane Jones, Connor Lambert and Abhi Patel.

Finally, Annie Lewis won 2023 Sportsmanship Winner at the state championships.

“Both teams put in the work during countless hours of practice to achieve these results,” Roper said. “They earned every bit of all the accolades they have received.”