Hayesville’s Wood Leads Jackets at Western Regional Cross Country Meet

BRYSON CITY, N.C. — Hayesville High School’s cross country team turned in strong performances Saturday at the NCHSAA 2A Western Regional Championship in Bryson City, highlighted by senior Raelynn Wood’s 13th-place finish in the girls’ 5,000-meter run.

Wood clocked a time of 21:28.00, leading the Lady Yellow Jackets and narrowly missing a top-10 finish in a competitive field. Her performance capped a consistent season for the veteran runner, who has paced Hayesville in nearly every meet this fall.

Freshman Marlo Joyce followed with a 42nd-place finish in 24:26.70, while Annie Godfrey placed 51st (25:27.30) and Amyna Denton finished 73rd (29:58.30) to round out Hayesville’s scoring runners.

The girls’ race was dominated by Swain County’s Annie Lewis, who won the regional title with a blistering 18:02.90, followed by Shea Roche of Christ the King Catholic (19:00.40) and Ella Kleinheksel of Elkin (19:54.80).

Christ the King Catholic claimed the team championship behind a deep lineup that placed five runners in the top 15.

Hayesville’s runners will now await official qualification results to see who advances to the NCHSAA 2A State Championship Meet, set for next weekend in Kernersville.