Hiwassee Dam – For the fifth consecutive race, Hiwassee Dam sophomore Oscar Page secured the win in the boys 5K.
Smoky Mountain Conference cross-country teams, as well as teams from the surrounding area, traveled to McNabb Farm for the fifth meet of the regular season.
In his home race, Page crossed the finish line in 16:43.81 to secure first place. His teammate, Maverick Hawley, crossed the finish line in fourth place with a time of 18:07.57.
Murphy’s top runner crossed the finish line in sixth place, as Braden Edwards ran the course in 18:44.20. Xavier Johnson of Hiwassee Dam crossed the finish line in eighth place with a time of 19:41.46 to round out Cherokee County boys runners in the top 10.
In team points, Hiwassee Dam boys came in second place with 38 points and Murphy came in third with 83 points. Robbinsville boys won the meet with 27 points, as all five of their scoring runners finished in the top 10.
Also scoring for Hiwassee Dam’s boys team were Travis Allen in 12th place and Jonah Dockery in 14th.
Also scoring for Murphy’s boys were Josiah Niblea in 15th, Cruz Yarbro in 22nd, David Hickey in 23rd and Reyden Galarza in 24th.
Brandon Bishop and Brock Hyde also raced for Hiwassee Dam. Bishop came in 33rd and Hyde came in 36th.
In the girls race, Hiwassee Dam came in second place with 70 points in their first race earning team points this season.
Leading the pack for the Lady Eagles was Leah Taylor in ninth place. Brooklyn Hyde finished just behind her in 13th place.
Also scoring team points for the Lady Eagles were Avery Freemon in 16th, Kaitlyn Lecoq in 25th and Ashlin Anderson in 32nd.
Murphy’s girls team also competed in the meet, but did not have enough runners for a team score.
Emory Ricks led the Lady Bulldogs and finished in 14th place. Hadley Rider finished in 18th place, while Anna Leatherwood finished in 20th.
Andrews and Tri-County Early College’s cross-country teams did not race in the local meet.
Nantahala’s cross-country team also did not run in the meet.
Cross-country teams will head to Robbinsville today for the final regular season meet. Middle school will race at 4 p.m. starting with the boys. High school will begin at about 5 p.m. starting with the boys.
Smoky Mountain Conference teams will then head to Bryson City for the SMC championship meet Saturday, Oct. 18. At the meet, All-Conference, male and female runners of the year will be announced.