Murphy – The cross-country teams in the Smoky Mountain Conference ran their fourth meet of the season Saturday at Murphy High School.
The cool morning air led to the first meet this season not held in the heat of the afternoon.
The Hiwassee Dam boys got their fourth straight team points win with 61 points. They edged out Swain County, which made its season debut in a conference meet, by eight points.
Ethan Russell of Hiwassee Dam came in third place with a time of 16:13.38, with Oscar Page behind him in fourth. Maverick Hawley came in 10th with a time of 18:05.04. Hiwassee Dam were the only team with three boys runners in the top 10.
Myca Mustin of Andrews was the only other Cherokee County runner in the boys top 10.
Murphy’s highest finisher was Braden Edwards in 14th with a time of 19:00.10. Landon Spies of Tri-County Early College was its highest finisher in 16th with a time of 19:10.74.
Following Hiwassee Dam’s 61-points first-place finish in boys points, Murphy came in seventh with 143 points and Tri-County eighth with 180. Hiwassee Dam’s average time was 18:10, Murphy’s was 20:37 and Tri-County’s was 24:25.
On the girls side, Fern Crayton of Tri-County came in third with a time of 21:11.07. She was just behind two runners from Swain County.
Kennedy White of Murphy came in seventh with a time of 22:15.54, while Murphy’s Corrine Cotton came in ninth with a time of 22:34.60 to round out the Cherokee County girls’ top 10.
Andrews and Hiwassee Dam had girl runners, but neither school had a team of five, so they did not score any points.
Khloe Mayfield of Andrews finished 24th, Hiwassee Dam’s Maria Page finished in 31st, Avery Freemon finished 33rd and Hailee Barney finished 51st.
In team points totals for the girls, Murphy finished in third wit 75 points and Tri-County finished in fifth with 106 points. Murphy’s average time was 24:09 and Tri-County’s was 28:52.
Saturday, the cross-country teams will head to Swain County for the Keith Payne Memorial Invitation. The middle school teams will run at 9 a.m., with high school running at about 10 a.m.
Following that meet, teams will head to McNabb Farm in Hiwassee Dam on Wednesday, Sept. 25. Middle school will run at 4 p.m., with high school running at about 5 p.m.