Hannah Styles
hstyles@thesmokymountaintimes.com
You would have to be living under a rock to have not heard of Swain County High School’s running program’s successes in the past few years.
In June of 2021, Swain won the women’s 1A track and field state championship, followed by another state title in November 2021 for women’s 1A cross country. In February 2022, Swain competed not only against 1A but against 2A and won the indoor track and field state championship making Swain County the first ever 1A school to win the indoor state championship in 1A and 2A division. In May of 2022 Swain also won the women’s 1A outdoor track and field state championship and several Swain athletes won individual titles.
The Lady Devils are keeping their winning streak going with another state championship cross country title win this past Saturday, making them back-to-back state champions!
Swain placed first in the state championship meet at Kernersville with 59 points, significantly ahead of Eno River Academy with 114 points in second place, and Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy with 115 in third place.
For individual scores Swain’s Amaya Hicks placed 2nd with 20:45.01, followed by another Lady Devil in third, Annie Lewis with 20:54.13, Gracie Monteith placed 10th with 21:37.61, Marden Harvey in 28th with 23:00.76, Lilah Foster 48th with 23:52.72, and Sienna Hackshaw 94th with 26:42.59 out of 117 of the state’s best runners.
Maroon Devils
Swain’s boy cross country team took 7th at state out of 15 teams with 201 points.
For individual scores Maroon Devil Kane Jones placed 37th with 18:56.44, Connor Lambert 50th with 19:10.17, Carl Baird 51st with 19:18.63, Corey Wolf 57th with 19:32.75, Abhi Patel 66th with 19:56.03, and Jackson Pittard 114th with 21:56.80 out of 130 runners.