Bryson City – All year, Murphy cross country coach Davis Bryant has been holding his breath.
The COVID-19 delta variant was an issue in Cherokee County at the beginning of the school year, and though a temporary mask mandate got things under control, Bryant still had some runners quarantine throughout the season.
However, Murphy and other Smoky Mountain Conference runners were able to make it to the conference championship, which took place on a gorgeous afternoon Oct. 20 at the Kituwah Farm. Though the Bulldogs weren’t able to take home a trophy, Bryant still thought his kids ran well.
“All the boys did great,” Bryant said. “They stepped up. Then we had three girls, and all of them made honorable mention.”
Murphy High School’s boys finished in third, behind both conference champion Cherokee and second-place Swain County, though the Bulldogs could have made the margin closer if senior Caleb Rice was able to run. Rice is the team’s second-fastest runner this season, and will be able to run at Saturday’s regional meet.
Junior Clayton Laney led Murphy with a fourth-place finish to pick up an All-Conference nod, and sophomore Liam Cook finished ninth and was an honorable mention. Hiwassee Dam finished behind Murphy in fourth, with junior Preston Hyde and freshman Ethan Russell getting honorable mention nods after finishing 11th and 13th, respectively.
On the girls side, all three Murphy runners were named honorable mention. Sophomore Corrine Cotton finished in eighth, sophomore Breeze Hinton finished 13th and sophomore Alyssa Trantham finished 14th.
At the middle school level, Andrews O’Malley Salinas won the boys race with a time of 10:58.94. Myca Mustin finished fifth to join Salinas as an All-Conference selection.
Murphy Middle School was the top Cherokee County team, finishing second, eight points behind Hayesville. Bulldogs Robert Turner and Ryan Payne were both All-Conference selections by placing second and fourth, respectively, while Hiwassee Dam/Ranger’s Abel Penland finished 11th and was named honorable mention.
Murphy’s girls team finished fourth, with Halie Hill finishing fourth to be named All-Conference and Charlie Stalcup finishing ninth to pick up an honorable mention. Martins Creek’s Fern Crayton finished third.
High school runners will compete in the 1A West Regional on Saturday at Kituwah Farm. The top 25 percent of teams – or top four, whichever is greater – will qualify for the state meet Saturday, Nov. 6, along with the top seven individuals not on a qualifying team.
“The Smoky Mountain Conference, I still think it’s the toughest conference in North Carolina,” Bryant said. “You’ll see next week at regionals, I think there will be Smoky Mountain Conference teams on both the top of the boys and the girls.”