Hayesville Boys finish Regular Season Undefeated with Win at Robbinsville

(Photo by Hilary Goodrich)

Seventh grader Olivia Ledford powers her way to a ninth-place finish at the mid-week meet.

By Travis Dockery

Sportswriter

Hayesville Middle School closed its cross country regular season with a statement on the boys’ side Wednesday, September 30, in Robbinsville, as the Yellow Jackets went undefeated and finished 50 points clear of the field on a course that started like fall and finished like summer.

The morning cool gave way to afternoon heat as runners opened on a paved hill out-and-back before dropping onto grass. Hayesville’s boys handled both, scoring 28 points for first place. Swain was second with 78, Cherokee third with 84, Hiwassee Dam fourth with 110, Carolina Mountain XC fifth with 120, Robbinsville sixth with 141, and Mountain Discovery Charter seventh with 167.

Eight Jackets landed in the top 15. Gage Jones led the pack in second at 12:00.10, with Eli Danico right behind in third at 12:15.50. Jackson Badger was sixth in 12:24.20, Caiden Curtis seventh in 12:35.13, Colton Crawford 10th in 12:56.26, Nash Carter 11th in 12:57.07, Deacon Dye 13th in 13:02.82, and Isaac Townes Lomauro 14th in 13:08.10.

The rest of the boys’ lineup kept coming. Ladyn Giddens finished 18th in 13:22.13, Bentley Smith 22nd in 13:48.00, Martin Ledford 42nd in 15:23.62, Jackson Hucks 51st in 15:56.83, Wyatt Smith 61st in 17:44.25, and Amos Reese Crowder 62nd in 17:44.81. Cherokee’s Uweluga Swimmer won the boys’ two-mile in 11:39.33.

The girls finished fifth with 107 points. Swain won the team title with 44, followed by Cherokee at 46, Carolina Mountain XC at 80, and host Robbinsville at 94. Murphy was sixth with 153.

Olivia Ledford paced the Lady Jackets in ninth at 14:51.01. Ava Burns was 17th in 15:32.21, Gracie Taylor 27th in 17:02.61, Savanna Frey 31st in 17:12.05, and Natalie Wilson 38th in 18:12.93. Ellie Brown closed the Hayesville girls’ group in 52nd at 20:08.02. Swain’s Kree Stephenson won the girls’ race in 12:54.13.

With the regular season complete, Hayesville turns to the Smoky Mountain Middle School Conference Championship on Saturday, October 10, at Swain.