With only one event left to determine the boys NCHSAA 1A state track and field champions on Monday, Swain County coach Ian Roper was beyond nervous.
For the second year in a row, the event was down to the 1,600-meter relay. A season ago, the Maroon Devils were beat out for the race and the state title. This season, despite needing to finish only fourth, the relay team left no doubt, winning the race and clinching Swain County’s first-ever boys track and field state championship.
“They’ve really been bought in to what we’ve been doing,” Roper said. “Really strong senior group. To have them close out their athletic career here at Swain County the way that they did, to be able to be the first boys team to ever win that track and field state title, it was special.”
The 1,600-meter relay team of Josiah Glaspie, Josh Collins, Connor Brown and Abhi Patel ran a time of 3:28.16, finishing less than a second ahead of the second- and third-place teams. With Swain County winning the girls state title, too, the Maroon Devils become the first 1A school to sweep.
The boys championship brought a different feeling for Roper, who has gotten used to winning state championships the past few years with the girls team — the title was the fourth in a row and fifth since 2016. It also marked the 10th consecutive running title with cross country, indoor track and outdoor track.
“It was not just my emotion, but the emotion of everybody in our program,” Roper said. “I think our girls were more excited for the boys' victory than they were for their own.”
Swain County’s success has come in part to junior Arizona Blankenship. On Monday, she won both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs, with times of 5:06.64 and 11:00.45, respectively.
While the girls have been dominant in long distance — sophomore Angelina Lomelli finished second and third in the 1,600 and 3,200, respectively — Roper said the team is well-rounded. They proved it Monday.
Sophomore Annie Lewis won the 800 meters and helped the Maroon Devils claim the title in the 3,200-meter relay. Junior Gracie Sutton earned a third-place finish in the high jump; junior Melani Linton picked up third in the 300-meter hurdles; junior Samantha Woodard was third in the shot put, and junior Alden Thomas was second in the pole vault.
Junior Nse Uffort claimed the boys state title in the shot put with a state meet-record throw of 61 feet, 9.5 inches, over 11 feet better than the next mark.
Uffort, who is ranked nationally in the shot put and discus, set a 1A state record in discus at the regional meet, but had an off day at the state meet. He finished third with a throw of 141-9, roughly 50 feet shorter than his regional mark.
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The Maroon Devils also picked up big points from Glaspie’s third-place finish in the 400 meters, Brown’s third-place finish in the 1,600 meters and senior Owen Craig’s third-place pole vault. Sophomore Carl Baird took second in the 3,200 meters.
“It’s a great day for all of our athletes and everybody who invests so heavily into our program,” Roper said. “I feel blessed to be a part of it and I’m happy for our kids that they can see all their hard work come to fruition.”
Evan Gerike is the high school sports reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email him at egerike@citizentimes.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanGerike. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
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