Murphy – After months of waiting for the opportunity to race, Cherokee County’s high school cross country programs kicked off the start of the season on Nov. 18 at the Bulldog XC Meet 1.
Runners from Hiwassee Dam, Murphy and Tri-County Early College took to the slightly altered Murphy High School Cross Country Course on a day that saw solid times up and down the board.
“I mean since March, when we lost track and then going into this season with high expectations, I have honestly just waiting, waiting, waiting for it to be jerked out from under us because we never know day to day what’s going to happen, what they’re going to change, what we are going to have to do,” Murphy cross country coach Davis Bryant said of the teams finally getting a chance to compete against each other after months of uncertainty.
“I was so happy that everything went smooth, everybody complied with what we had to do, parents and fans and everyone else,” Bryant added. “You just about can’t put it into words, to be able to see these kids get to run after all of the work that they’ve been putting in, there’s no words for the joy and the relief that it brings that we’ve gotten started. Now let’s just hope that we can keep going.”
On the high school girls’ side of the race, Murphy’s Ashlyn Stroupe brought home the victory for the Lady Bulldogs by a margin of more than 20 seconds.
Hiwassee Dam’s Kiara Anderson finished in second place and was the top runner for the Lady Eagles, while Murphy’s Adalynn Hall finished out the top-three finishers at the meet.
“Georjah (Allen) unfortunately twisted her ankle, but I’m looking forward to seeing what she can do this year but Ashlyn and Adalynn stepped up and both had a great day,” Bryant said. “I’m excited for where we are. I see our kids where they need to be to finish this season out in January. I was very pleased with how they reacted to finally being able to run.”
Tri-County Early College’s Ever Joy Templeton was the top-finisher for the Lady Jaguars, placing sixth in the race.
On the boy’s side, Murphy’s pair of stand-out seniors Chase Pierce and Caleb Jones ran neck and neck for the entirety of the race, with Pierce narrowly out-kicking Jones down the final stretch to bring home the win.
“A lot of it’s going to fall on me keeping them motivated,” Bryant said of Pierce and Jones not having the chance to compete at high-level invitational this season.
“Because all of the work that they’ve put in, it’s just been those two running against each other,” he added. “And you could see it in the finish, neither of them want to beat each other and they finished pretty much side-by-side. They both put in over a thousand miles just this summer alone but its going to take a lot from me and a lot from them to keep them driven and motivated for conference and regionals.”
Tri-County Early College’s Will Crayton was the top finisher for the Jaguars, placing third at the meet before Pierce and Jones.
Preston Hyde was the top finisher for Hiwassee Dam, finishing in sixth place.