The N.C. High School Athletic Association’s 2021-22 sports season wrapped up June 4 with the baseball, softball and girls soccer state championships.
Fall practice for the 2022-23 sports season starts in 32 days, though it’s not time to completely turn the page. Instead, it’s time to look back on the best moments that happened in the last year.
With all sports in the 2020-21 school year ending in 2021, the Cherokee Scout looked back at the best moments of 2021 as a whole to reflect that. With the sports calendar hopefully staying the same in the future, this list will wrap up the 2021-22 school year. Despite no state championships for local teams, there was still a lot to be proud of.
Eagles basketball makes
wild comeback vs. Murphy
On Jan. 27, Hiwassee Dam found itself trailing Murphy by 23 points with 3:23 left in the third quarter, then by 17 with six minutes to go. Head coach Mark Raper hoped his team would just make the final score competitive.
The Eagles did much more than that, rallying to beat their county rival 85-83 in a double overtime thriller. Hiwassee Dam rallied to make the final minutes of regulation a back-and-forth battle, and the two teams traded punches in the first and second overtime period before junior Tanner Taylor drained the go-ahead jump shot with 3.7 seconds left.
It was the opposite of the Eagles win over the Bulldogs on Dec. 10, when they almost blew a 22-point lead against Murphy before holding on for a 70-69 win. Hiwassee Dam had a memorable season, going 3-1 against Cherokee County competition and undefeated against Little Smoky Mountain Conference competition for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
Lady Dogs basketball
takes conference crown
After losing all but two players who saw major playing time from the 2021 state championship team, Murphy girls basketball had some questions to answer heading into the 2021-22 season. Led by Richmond commit Torin Rogers, the Lady Bulldogs answered most of them, finishing the year 26-4 and taking both the Smoky Mountain Conference regular season and conference tournament crown.
Murphy beat runner-up Robbinsville three times during the season, including a 56-49 win in the conference tournament final. In Ray Gutierrez’s six seasons at the helm, Murphy has won four regular-season conference titles and five conference tournament titles.
Rogers and fellow senior Amber Martin were named All-Conference and helped lead the Lady Bulldogs to their sixth straight Elite Eight appearance. Murphy’s run ended there, falling to eventual state champion Bishop McGuinness, 45-35.
Conference has first
indoor track champions
Numbers weren’t great for indoor track this year, though the Smoky Mountain Conference did make history by holding its first ever conference championship for the sport on Feb. 2. Cherokee, Murphy, Swain County and Robbinsville all participated, with the Murphy boys placing second and the girls placing third. Cameron Grooms took first in the boys 55-meter and 300-meter dashes, while the Murphy boys also won the 4x200-meter relay.
On the girls side, Faith Ann Revis took first in the shot put, and Jordan Oliver won both the 55-meter wheelchair dash and shot put. Revis and Oliver would later compete in the 1A/2A state meet, with Revis taking eighth in the triple jump, and Oliver taking first in the 55-meter wheelchair dash and second in the shot put.
Murphy baseball takes
share of conference title
In 2021, the Bulldogs had a shot to keep their conference hopes alive in a game at Hayesville late in the season. They led 5-3 going into the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Yellow Jackets rallied for three runs to win the conference championship.
One year later, Murphy had a similar opportunity. Beat Hayesville in the final regular-season game, and they would clinch at least a share of the conference championship with Swain County. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 10-3 lead, then held on as the Yellow Jackets rallied in the later innings for a 12-9 win.
It was Murphy’s first conference championship since 2018. Four Bulldogs were named All-Conference, while two more were honorable mention and head coach Adam Clonts was named SMC Coach of the Year. Though the Bulldogs had a tough playoff draw and fell to Eastern Randolph in the first round, it was a nice way for the team’s seniors to end their career after finishing second in the conference in both 2019 and 2021.
Murphy golf SMC champs;
Simmons qualifies for state
After winning the conference championship for the first time in 15 years in 2021, Murphy boys golf was dominant again in 2022. They won the 36 hole event by 123 strokes over second-place Robbinsville.
Freshman Conner Golden won the event with a two-round score of 162, while junior Wyatt Simmons and sophomore Andrew Barolet were named all conference. Simmons would go on to qualify for the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A state championship, where he placed 28th out of 82 competitors.
With its top five golfers returning, the Bulldogs could make it three conference championships in a row next spring.
Andrews track & field
duo breaking records
A pair of Andrews track and field records fell at this year’s N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A West Regional championships at East Burke High School in Connelly Springs. Senior Kaylin Ellis set a new mark in the girls 100-meter hurdles (16.36 seconds), while Kylie Donaldson did the same in the girls long jump (16 feet, 6 inches).
Both qualified for the state championship, which took place the next week at N.C. A&T in Greensboro. Ellis got on the podium by finishing third, while Donaldson placed eighth. It was a fitting end to Ellis’ athletic career, as she placed sixth in the event as a freshman and junior. Donaldson, meanwhile, has three more years to take the record to new lengths.