The 2022-23 school year is officially in the books. Local schools wrapped up the year at the track and field state championships on May 19, and the N.C. High School Athletic Association wrapped up the year last weekend by crowning state champions in baseball, softball and girls soccer.
With another year over, here’s a look back the best moments within the Cherokee Scout’s coverage area from the 2022-23 school year.
Boys soccer is back
For the first time in Cherokee County history, three high schools had boys soccer teams. Murphy returned after a one-year hiatus, Andrews had a team for the first time in five years and Tri-County Early College had its first-ever squad.
The Bulldogs managed to finish fourth in the Smoky Mountain Conference, with senior Mann Barot and freshman Jerry Bui being named All-Conference. Andrews junior Joshua Hernandez and Tri-County senior Domenic Calascione were also named to the All-Conference team.
Lady Dogs stay on top
After graduating four starters from last year’s 1A West runner-up, the Murphy volleyball team wrapped up a sixth straight conference championship with a dramatic come-from-behind victory against Robbinsville in the conference tournament final. The Lady Bulldogs dropped the first two sets against the Lady Knights, but rallied to win the last three to wrap up a title.
Murphy experienced early growing pains, starting 1-2 in conference play before winning their last seven games in conference play to force a tie with Robbinsville for the regular-season crown. The conference tournament win gave them the outright title. That was part of a 17-game win streak for the Lady Bulldogs, who would fall in the third round of the state playoffs. Senior Liv Payne was named the conference’s Player of the Year, while Jordan Lovingood was named the Coach of the Year.
Cats football dominates
Excitement for the 2022 football season had been growing in Andrews since the senior class was playing in Pee-Wees. The group had won at every level along the way and saved their best for last, going 13-1 while winning the program’s first Smoky Mountain Conference championship since 1983.
Until a fourth-round playoff loss to Draughn, the Wildcats were dominant, winning by an average of 34.8 points per game, which included a 42-12 win over Murphy in the regular season to clinch the conference title and a 50-23 win over the Bulldogs in the third round of the state 1A playoffs. Seniors Isaac Weaver and Drew Martin were named conference Back of the Year and Lineman of the Year, respectively, leading the team’s eight All-Conference selections. Head coach James Phillips was not only named conference Coach of the Year, but also the Citizen-Times western North Carolina Coach of the Year.
Salinas runs into history
Andrews freshman O’Malley Salinas wasted no time making an impact at the varsity level. Salinas won the Smoky Mountain Conference Championship, 1A West Regional and then became the first men’s cross-country state champion in Cherokee County history on Nov. 5.
The race played out at a slower pace than Salinas expected, and he saved his typical finishing move at the last mile to closer to the last half mile, finishing 15 seconds clear of the field. Salinas joined Kristy Whitaker, who won the women’s 1A/2A state championship representing Murphy in 1994, as the only individual cross country state champions in county history. Hiwassee Dam’s Ethan Russell and Tri-County’s Fern Crayton also competed at the meet, with Crayton overcoming a health scare midseason to finish fifth in the girls race.
Hawks’ triumphant return
After a year off due to low numbers, the Nantahala School gym was rocking on Nov. 16, when the Hawks opened the season with a 79-68 win over Victory Christian.
Nantahala played at head coach Josh Taylor’s known frenetic pace, with Cole McCoy leading the way with 27 points and Dylan Baldwin adding 26. McCoy was eventually named All-Little Smoky Mountain Conference as a freshman, averaging 20.6 points per game.
Eagles continue reign
The Eagles were once again the class of the Little Smoky Mountain Conference, going undefeated against conference competition on its way to a fourth straight regular-season title. Add in a title in the Little Smoky Mountain Conference tournament, and Hiwassee Dam finished undefeated against conference opponents in the regular season and postseason for the second straight year.
The Eagles have won 19 straight games against Little Smoky Mountain Teams. Preston Hyde was named conference Player of the Year, while head coach Mark Raper was named Coach of the Year.
Two 1,000 point scorers
While both Hiwassee Dam teams were competing for Little Smoky Mountain Conference tournament championships on Feb. 16, two players crossed the 1,000 point threshold.
Senior Kiera Taylor hit the mark first on a three-pointer early in the second quarter of the girls championship game, while fellow senior Preston Hyde did the same on a free throw with 3:27 left in the second quarter of the boys championship. Both hit the coveted barrier despite shortened sophomore seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dogs hoops best in years
After showing flashes of potential the previous season, the Murphy boys basketball team took a big step forward in 2022-23. The Bulldogs’ 17 wins were their most since the 2010-11 season. Murphy started the season just 2-5, but wins over Swain County and Franklin were the start of a 14-3 stretch that turned the season around. The Bulldogs finished second in the Smoky Mountain Conference, then played in the conference tournament championship for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
However, the high point of the season came in the first round of the state 1A playoffs. Hosting their first postseason game since the 2010-11 season, Murphy had two players suspended for the entire game and another two for the first half, yet still found a way to hang on for a 64-60 win over Winston-Salem Prep. Junior Zach Skogen was named conference Player of the Year,while senior Dillian Brown and junior Dominick Rummler were both named all-conference.
More state titles for Jordan Oliver
Murphy junior Jordan Oliver continued to inspire many throughout the state, adding five more state championships to her impressive haul. She won both the wheelchair shot put and 55-meter wheelchair dash at the 1A/2A indoor track and field state championship, then won the wheelchair shot put, wheelchair discus and 100-meter wheelchair dash at the 1A outdoor track and field state championships.
Oliver, who has used a wheelchair since being involved in a bad car accident in 2011, has won seven state championships over the last two years. She’ll be back for more when the 2023-24 indoor season starts in November.
Lady Eagles softball stops Knights’ streak
If one team has been the thorn in the side of Hiwassee Dam softball over the past two seasons, it’s Robbinsville. After beating the Lady Eagles three times in 2022, including a season-ending loss in the second round of the 1A playoffs, Hiwassee Dam took down the conference’s top dog in the two teams’ first meeting this year, beating the Lady Knights 8-7 in a nine-inning thriller at Robbinsville on April 25.
The Lady Eagles led 5-3 before Robbinsville tied the game in the bottom of the seventh, then answered by scoring three in the top of the ninth before limiting a Lady Knights rally in the bottom of the inning to snap their 32-game conference win streak. Though Hiwassee Dam’s season ended on a sour note with a first-round playoff loss, four players were named All-Conference and sophomore Olivia McNabb was named conference Pitcher of the Year.
Coach Brownlee returns to pitch
In 2022, Kim Brownlee couldn’t coach the program she founded due to having surgery to remove a brain tumor in January that year.
This season, she returned to her old position as the head coach of Murphy girls soccer, continuing to develop and inspire the next generation of Lady Bulldogs. Murphy finished 7-7-2 this season, with junior Lailee Holloway being named conference Player of the Year.
Murphy golf 3peats
The Bulldogs returned its entire lineup from the 2022 Smoky Mountain Conference champions, then ran it back in 2023 to win a third straight title, beating second place Robbinsville by 102 strokes in the two-day, 36-hole event.
Senior Wyatt Simmons won the tournament and was named conference Golfer of the Year for the second time, while sophomores Bradey and Conner Golden and junior Andrew Barolet were named to the All-Conference team by finishing as one of the top six individuals.
School records ‘outdoors’
Local athletes went out with a bang at the final competition on the athletic calendar, the 1A outdoor track and field state championships. Four athletes set school records, with three being freshman and one a sophomore.
Andrews freshman O’Malley Salinas set a new school record in the 3,200-meter run in a time of nine minutes, 58.89 seconds and finished third in the event. Fellow freshman Logan Shuler re-broke his school record by jumping 6 feet, 2 inches in the high jump on his third and final attempt at that height. Hiwassee Dam sophomore Ethan Russell set a new school mark with a time of 4:39.89 in the boys 1,600-meter run, while Tri-County Early College freshman Fern Crayton did the same in the girls 3,200-meter run with a time of 11:56.49.