After the state 1A track and field championship concluded Monday afternoon, the 2024 spring sports season officially came to a close. This season saw everything among local schools, from nail-bitting games to conference champions.
Baseball
The ending results were a mixed bag for Cherokee County teams in the Smoky Mountain Conference. All but one team earned playoff berths this season.
Murphy had the best record out of the county teams at 6-11 overall and 6-6 in the conference, finishing in fourth. The Bulldogs, who had a run differential of -33 overall and -3 in the conference, ended their season with a loss in the first round of the state 1A playoffs.
The Bulldogs’ biggest win of the season came when they swept Robbinsville in their final conference series. They had three series sweeps this season against Cherokee, Andrews and Robbinsville.
On the mound, Colton Morgan led the team in strikeouts with 41 in 28.1 innings pitched in 11 appearances. Caleb Kephart led the team on the mound with a 2-1 record in six appearances, a 6.50 ERA in 14 innings pitched and 11 strikeouts.
At the plate, Adam Cook led the team with a .411 batting average and 22 RBI in 17 games, scoring 18 runs on 23 hits. Tommy Crapse led the team with 23 runs scored on nine hits in 17 games.
Hiwassee Dam finished just behind the Bulldogs, good enough for fifth with a 5-12 overall record, 5-7 in the conference. The Eagles had an overall run differential of -72 and a conference run differential of -37.
The Eagles had two series sweep this season against Andrews and Murphy. Their season ended on May 8 with a first-round loss to Christ the King.
Clay Davis, who will continue his baseball career at Brevard College, led the Eagles on the mound this season with a 2-4 record in eight appearances and 3.50 ERA. In 42 innings pitched, he struck out 55 batters.
Kyle Taylor and Dawson Headley both had 1-2 record for the season. Taylor had an ERA of 3.76, while Headley had an ERA of 6.18. At the plate, Headley had a team-best .391 batting average and team-best 18 hits. Taylor and Davis were just behind him, with Taylor batting .354 percent and Davis batting .349 percent.
Davis led the team with two home runs and five doubles, while Abel Penland led the team with 13 runs scored and nine stolen bases. Taylor also had nine stolen bases.
The Andrews baseball team ended their season with a 1-14 overall record and 1-11 in the conference, missing the playoffs. Their lone win of the season came in their final series in a doubleheader against Cherokee on May 2.
The Wildcats had an overall run differential of -100 and a conference run differential of -72. They are a young team and will not lose any seniors heading into next season.
Golf
The 2024 men’s golf season was a success for Murphy, which won the conference for the fourth straight season. The Bulldogs showed their dominance on the course by winning numerous tournaments.
While their season came to an end in the of the 1A West Regional tournament, Brady Golden and Andrew Barolet were named All-Conference this season. Will Joyner, Xander Wachacha and Conner Golden were honorable mentions.
The Andrews golf team had a positive season, but did not score team points at many of the tournaments because the Wildcats did not have five golfers compete. This was due to multiple golfers on the team being multiple sports athletes and having crossover with the tournaments, which were on Tuesdays. They are a young team and are not losing any seniors next season.
Softball
The Murphy softball team finished in second at 13-6 overall and 9-3 in the conference. They had a +50 overall run differential and +49 in the conference. Their season ended in the second round of the playoffs with a 12-6 loss to rivals Robbinsville on May 10.
Paisley Johnson led the way on the mound for the Lady Bulldogs with a 12-3 record. In 115.1 innings pitched, she had an ERA of 2.31, with 184 strikeouts in 18 appearances.
At the plate, Julia Dockery and Emma Hensley led the way. Dockery had a batting average of .453, while Hensley batted .424 percent on the season. Dockery had 19 runs on 29 hits with 10 doubles, one triple and a home run. Hensley scored 13 runs on 25 hits with four doubles, a triple and a home run.
Dockery had 18 RBI, while Hensley had 12. Johnson led the team in home runs with four. Dockery led the team with 14 stolen bases, and Hensley had 10.
Hiwassee Dam finished fifth with a 7-10 overall record and 5-7 in the conference. They had an overall run differential of +19 and +29 in the conference. The Lady Eagles’ season came to an end in the first round of the state 1A playoffs, when they lost 10-0 to Eastern Randolph on May 7.
Olivia McNabb led the Lady Eagles both on the mound and at the plate. On the mound, she had a 5-4 record in 15 appearances, posting a 2.71 ERA in 64.2 innings pitched with 111 strikeouts. At the plate, She had 25 runs on 32 hits with a batting average of .571, 26 RBI, seven doubles, five triples and four home runs.
Brinkley Payne led the team in home runs with six. She also had 16 runs on 19 hits, 21 RBI, three doubles and one triple. Katie McNabb had 17 runs on 24 hits with a .429 batting average. She had 20 RBI, four doubles, one triple and two home runs.
Olivia Williams and Bella Stiles also hit home runs this season. Olivia McNabb led the team in stolen bases with 14, Avery McNabb had six stolen bases and Payne had five. Williams, Katie McNabb and Sky Taylor all had four stolen bases.
Andrews finished seventh with a 1-14 overall record and 1-11 in the conference. They had an overall run differential of -213 and -171 in the conference.
The Lady Wildcats’ season came to an end in the first round of the state 1A playoffs with a 20-0 loss to East Wilkes on May 8. This was their first season under head coach Regan Holder.
Track & field
The Murphy track and field team had a strong season with good results in each meet. Standout athletes include Corrine Cotton, Breeze Hinton, Jordan Oliver, Camden Breazeale and Cale Harger.
Cotton has the team’s season best in the 200-meter dash, 400m and 800m. Hinton has the season best in the 300m hurdles and high jump. Jordan Oliver has the season best in the wheelchair 100m dash, wheelchair shot put and wheelchair discus. She also holds the school records in each of those events.
Breazeale has the season best in the 110m hurdles and 300m hurdles. Harger has the season best in the 200m dash and the long jump.
The Andrews track and field team had a strong season, with multiple good finishes. Some of their standout athletes include Kylie Donaldson, Kaiya Ellis, Samuel Preston, O’Malley Salinas and Logan Shuler.
Donaldson has the team’s season best in the 100m dash, long jump and triple jump. She holds the school record in the long jump. Ellis has the team’s best in the 100m hurdles and high jump. She holds the school record in the 100m hurdles.
Preston has the season best in the 100m dash, long jump and triple jump with the school record in the triple jump. Salinas showed his strength in the distance events with the season best in the 800m, 1,600m and 3,200m runs. He holds the school record in all three events. Shuler has been dominant this season in the high jump with a season-best and school-record jump of 6 feet, 6 inches.
The Tri-County Early College track and field team had a good season with strong finishes in multiple events, especially in the distances events. Fern Crayton stood out for her strong finishes in the 400m, 800m, 1,600m and 3,200m runs. She holds the school record in the 1,600m and 3,200m runs.
On the boys side, Landan Spies, Sebastian Clevez and Andrew White had standout seasons. Spies has the season best in the 1,600m and 3,200m runs. Clevez has the season best in the 200m and 400m runs. This season, he set the school record in the 200m and 400m, but also holds the school record in the 100m dash.
White has the season-best time in the 100m dash and discus. He set the school record in discus at the conference championship on May 1 at Cherokee.
The Hiwassee Dam track and field team is small, but mighty. They only have a handful of athletes, but what they lack in quantity, they make up for in quality.
Ethan Russell stood out this season with his dominance in the distance running events. He has the season best and school records in the 800m, 1,600m and 3,200m runs. Aiden Weaver also stood out with season bests in discus and shot put.
On the girls side, Miranda Landon stood out for season-bests in discus and shot put.
Women’s soccer
The Murphy women’s soccer team finished the season third with a 11-4-2 overall record and conference record of 8-2-2. Their two conference losses and ties were against Swain County and Highlands, with a loss and draw against both teams.
The Lady Bulldogs had an overall goal differential of +40 and a conference goal differential of +43. Their biggest wins of the season came in their two mercy rule wins against Hayesville. Their season ended May 14 with a 5-0 loss to Highland Tech in the first round of the state 1A playoffs.
Lailee Holloway led the team with 33 goals and averaged 2.2 goals per game. Holloway, a senior, finished her high school soccer career with 102 goals. She is the second player in Murphy soccer history the surpass the 100-goal mark and the first women’s player to do so.
Kadence Walton led the team in assists with 10, while Haile Hill had nine. Isabel Parker led the team in steals with 181. Five players had over 100 steals this season: Parker, Hill had 133, Tyra Nelson had 130, Tina Bui had 114 and Breeze Hinton had 108.
Goalkeeper Emma Ledford had a strong senior season, with 75 saves and 13 goals against in 16 games. She also had seven clean sheets this season, including four straight against Tri-County Early College, Smoky Mountain, Hayesville and Blue Ridge Early College. In the Hayesville match on March 18, she was subbed out at halftime to play defense and Shyla Serrano Coleman played the second half in net, so they are both credited with the shutout.
Tri-County had a successful season and earned the team’s first four wins since the program returned three years ago. They finished the season with a 4-9 overall record and 4-7 in the conference.
The Lady Jaguars notched two shutout wins over Blue Ridge Early College and Hayesville. This was their first season under head coach Chris Blanton, who also coaches the men’s soccer team at Tri-County.
With spring sports concluding, fans can look forward to the fall with football, volleyball, cross country and men’s soccer.