RECAP: Swain County girls' title headlines WNC's 1A state championship track and field meet

GREENSBORO — In the first events of Friday's NCHSAA 1A track and field state championships, the Swain County girls team picked up a fifth-place finish in the 4x800 relay and a second-place finish from Natalie Stuckey in the discus.

In the final event, the Maroon Devils placed third in the 4x400.

In the interim, Swain County's athletes had continued littering the podium and points finishes, earning the program's second title since 2016 with 78 points coming from 11 events.

"We preached to the girls that we didn't have to be superhuman today," Maroon Devils coach Ian Roper said. "We just needed to come out and be us, and that was going to be enough. ... We had standouts, but we scored points everywhere. That's what got us where we are."

Two of the Maroon Devils' three individual champions were in the hurdles, and Jessie Lohmann's triumph in the 300 hurdles was the most dramatic of the day.

The senior quickly built a lead and held it throughout the race, until North Rowan freshman Tai'lah Ward seemingly came from out of nowhere to edge Lohmann by a nose, as the Maroon Devil fell across the line.

"I was in the front, and then all of a sudden this girl was right behind me," Lohmann said. "I was like, 'There's no way.'"

Lohmann's intuition was right.

Ward had crossed from lane No. 6 into lane No. 5, making her race closer to a 290-meter hurdles. After some initial confusion, Ward's lane violation was caught, causing her disqualification and restoring Lohmann's state championship.

"I've been working so hard to win this race, since freshman year," Lohmann said. "It's just amazing."

Monica Riordan's win in the 100-meter hurdles was much more straightforward, though the senior said she still felt the self-doubt she's grown accustomed to before big races.

But she left no question once the gun went off; her 15.13 won by more than 1.5 seconds.

"[In 2019] I false started in the 100 at regionals, so coming back and winning is awesome," Riordan said. "I'm definitely very proud of this outcome."

In the pole vault, top-seeded Amelia Rogers' qualifying height was 18 inches higher than the next-best qualifier, so she acknowledged she didn't have much worry about what the outcome would be entering the meet.

"I was pretty sure I was going to take home the gold," Rogers said, "but it was still just as awesome as I thought it was going to be."

It was the Maroon Devils' depth that earned them the banner at the end of the meet, though. Swain County earned points from every event group except sprints, had top-five finishes in each relay and had podium finishes in eight events.

Therefore, Roper said the title was a reflection of his coaching staff and the athletic department's investment in the program.

"There's so many disciplines that require specific training, specific workouts and somebody with them. I've been in a program before where I was the only coach," Roper said. "We have good people in every area, and I think you can see that in the success today."

Swain County beat second-place Pamlico County by 26 points.

"We have a great team of very powerful women," Riordan said. "I'm not surprised we pulled this out today, because we're all amazing athletes."

The Maroon Devils said they felt they would've been the team to beat last year, as well. That made Friday's triumph even sweeter.

"It feels like a dream," Lohmann said. "Like it would never happen, but it finally did."

Pullium's three-peat* for Murphy

Murphy senior Sarah Pullium made sure to get one more state championship in her final performance as a Bulldog. The UNC Charlotte signee was disappointed not to PR in the discus, but her 131-10 still beat the rest of the field by more than 20 feet.

"It was a pretty good day for me," Pullium said. "I'm proud of myself. I'm very blessed to be able to make it this far and compete this well."

Pullium also finished second in shot put with a 34-10.

She leaves the Bulldogs with seven state titles to her name — three discuss crowns, two track and field team titles and two basketball rings — and would have been a heavy favorite in last year's discus, as well. She said the unexpected nature of her first discus state championship makes it particularly memorable, but after losing the 2020 season, Pullium was sure to make the most of her final campaign.

"It's unique, because I didn't get that chance at a junior year," Pullium said. "I definitely made up for it this year. ... I'm very happy with how my career has gone throughout high school."

McTaggart (Hayesville) and Waddell (Polk) split throw crowns

WNC boys dominated the throws Friday.

Hayesville junior Jake McTaggart blew away the discus field with a 154-05 — his shortest legal throw would've been good enough for the title — and was second in the shot put.

"I was kind of disappointed with shot, but I'll take second," McTaggart said. "I was happy with it overall."

The podiums cap a unique year for McTaggart, a Division I football recruit who transferred to Towns County (Ga.) in the middle of the fall semester, played football and won a basketball state title there before coming back home to Hayesville earlier this year.

"It's been different, but it's been a fun year," McTaggart said. "I had to adjust [to track at Hayesville] quickly. It took me a minute, but once I did I just fit right back in."

Polk County's Harrison Waddell prevented McTaggart from the double. The junior won the shot put with a 49-02, adding to a fourth-place finish in the discus.

"You don't have any nerves in practice, so I was just trying to get that same feeling," Waddell said. "I told myself in the pit that I just need to stay tight and pull fast, and that really helped."

Elsewhere on the throw podiums were Michael Winchester (Swain County, second, discus), Kenson Davis (Cherokee, third, discus) and Rashad Davis (Murphy, 43-03.5).

Adams (Robbinsville) surprises in the hurdles

Between last week's Regional meet and Friday's grand finale, Robbinsville sophomore Brock Adams and the Black Knights coaching staff had a mantra of sorts, repeating the distance between himself and the top seed in the 110 hurdles.

Adams' qualifying time put him in third but was just .32 seconds behind the leader.

"I just worked on it and worked on it and worked on it," Adams said, "and it paid off for me."

From the starting gun, it was clear Adams had adjusted the pecking order. He got off to a great start and never gave up control, racing to a state championship with a personal-record 16.35 despite a stumble over the final hurdle. He also finished on the 300 hurdles podium with another PR, a fourth-place 42.54.

"It's nerve-wracking, I was like, 'You only get one chance, man,'" Adams said. "I don't know why, but when I took off, it was on from there. It was crazy."

Gray makes it a Swain County pole vault sweep

Unlike his counterpart on the girls team, Maroon Devils pole vaulter Matthew Gray said he had some nerves before Friday's meet despite being the top qualifier.

The sophomore didn't show any signs of the jitters, though, setting a PR by clearing 14 feet, a top-10 height in the state (any classification) this year.

"I was going for the state record, but it just didn't happen," Gray said. "But I'm psyched to get first place. ... It hasn't really hit me yet. I'm excited, but it hasn't really hit me yet."

Other notes

Avery County had a gutsy performance in the boys 4x400 relay. With Troy Hoilman hampered significantly by a hamstring injury, the Vikings still finished second in 3:35.14.

Murphy also had some unfortunate injury luck. Senior distance runner Chase Pierce was hurt early in the meet, preventing him from competing in the 800, which is his best event.

WNC 1A track and field individual state champions

GIRLS

100-meter hurdles: Monica Riordan, Swain County (15.13)

300-meter hurdles: Jessie Lohmann, Swain County (48.26)

Pole vault: Amelia Rogers, Swain County (9-06)

Discus: Sarah Pullium, Murphy (131-10)

BOYS

110-meter hurdles: Brock Adams, Robbinsville (16.35)

Pole vault: Matthew Gray, Swain County (14-00)

Shot put: Harrison Waddell, Polk County (49-02)

Discus: Jake McTaggart, Hayesville (154-05)

WNC 1A track and field state championship podium finishes

GIRLS

100 meters: 4. Zoie Shuler, Robbinsville (12.55)

800 meters: 2. Olivia Overholt, Polk County (2:24.78)

1600 meters: 2. Olivia Overholt, Polk County (5:28.27)

100-meter hurdles: 4. Jessie Lohmann, Swain County (16.78)

4x100 relay: 2. Murphy (Calista Adams, Faith Ann Revis, Calista Rumfelt, Grace Nelson; 51.46), 4. Swain County (Mazie Helpman, Jenna Marr, Amaya Hicks, Monica Riordan; 53.06)

4x200 relay: 3. Swain County (Mazie Helpman, Jenna Marr, Jessie Lohmann, Monica Riordan; 1:49.04), 4. Robbinsville (Lina Pagan, Caylin Lunsford, Kensley Phillips, Zoie Shuler; 1:51.90)

4x400 relay: 3. Swain County (Emily Ulaher, Jenna Marr, Jessie Lohmann, Amaya Hicks; 4:14.83)

Long jump: 2. Zoie Shuler, Robbinsville (17-05.50)

Triple jump: 2. Zoie Shuler, Robbinsville (35-08.00), 4. Reah Dingle, Swain County (33-01.00)

Shot put: 2. Sarah Pullium, Murphy (34-10.00)

Wheelchair shot put: 2. Jordan Oliver, Murphy (7-05.5)

Wheelchair discus: 2. Jordan Oliver, Murphy (18-00).

Discus: 2. Natalie Stuckey, Swain County (102-08).

BOYS

400 meters: 2. David McCollum, Avery County (51.18), 4. Paul White, Hayesville (51.57)

300-meter hurdles: 4. Brock Adams, Robbinsville (42.54)

4x400 relay: 2. Avery County (Mason Thomas, Troy Hoilman, Ty Smith, David McCollum; 3:35.13)

4x800 relay: 4. Murphy (Clayton Laney, Caleb Rice, Caleb Jones, Chase Pierce; 8:51.49)

High jump: 2. Ryelan Snowden, Hayesville (6-02)

Pole vault: 3. Braxton Edwards, Polk County (11-00), 4. Dakota Siweumptewa, Cherokee (10-06)

Shot put: 2. Jake McTaggart, Hayesville (46-10), 4. Rashad Davis, Murphy (43-03.50)

Discus: 2. Michael Winchester, Swain County (130-00), 3. Kenson Davis, Cherokee (126-11), 4. Harrison Waddell, Polk County (122-09)

Other WNC 1A track and field state championship point earners

GIRLS

Shot put: 5. Jersey Schwalm, Murphy (32-6), 6. Alanna Jergensen, Polk County (32-0.25)

High jump: T-5. Mazie Helpman, Swain County (4-8)

Pole vault: 6. Anna Gray, Swain County (7-6), 7. Cayden Waters, Avery County (6-6), 8. Tori Thompson, Polk County (6-6)

Triple jump: 7. Kiara Anderson, Hiwassee Damn (32-1.5)

4x800 relay: 5. Swain County (Gracie Monteith, Lily Bjerkness, Emily Ulaner, Amaya Hicks; 10:36.10), 8. Hayesville (Star Shelton, Lila Roberts, Emma Shook, Kaysen Krieger; 11:04.74)

100-meter hurdles: 5. Emma Shook, Hayesville (17.05), 6. Kaylin Ellis, Andrews (17.14)

4x200 relay: 7. Avery County (Carter Peterson, Regan Hughes, Marisol Guzman, Lillie Ward; 1:53.60)

800 meters: 7. Faith Ann Revis, Murphy (1:02.49)

200 meters: 7. Grace Nelson, Murphy (26.38)

4x400 relay: 6. Hayesville (Star Shelton, Lila Roberts, Emma Shook, Kaysen Krieger; 4:30.15)

BOYS

Shot put: 7. Kenson Davis, Cherokee (41-5.75)

High jump: T-5. Hunter Laney, Murphy (5-10), T-5. Brady Shook, Hayesville (5-10)

Triple jump: 7. Brady Shook, Hayesville (39-4.75)

4x800 relay: 8. Swain County (Landon Matz, Connor Lambert, Kane Jones, Connor Brown; 9:00.93)

100 meters: 5. Chandler Wood, Murphy (11.58), 7. Harrison Horney, Mitchell (11.65)

1600 meters: 7. Chase Pierce, Murphy (4:45.60)

4x100 relay: 7. Polk County (Vincent Twitty, Nate Henderson, Shaquan Wingo, Gage McSwain; 46.36)

800 meters: 6. Braxton Edwards, Polk County (2:04.31)

200 meters: 7. Jonathan Frday, Cherokee (23.514), 8. Harrison Horney, Mitchell (23.517)

3200 meters: 5. Caleb Jones, Murphy (10:37.96)

4x400 relay: 7. Hayesville (Ryelan Snowden, Brady Shook, Cable Krieger, Paul White; 3:41.42)

WNC 1A track and field state championship team totals

MINIMUM 10 POINTS

GIRLS

1. Swain County (78)

6. Murphy (36)

11. Robbinsville (26)

14. Polk County (20)

18. Hayesville (12)

BOYS

4. Hayesville (38.50)

T-7. Polk County (26)

9. Murphy (23.50)

14. Swain County (19)

16. Avery County (16)

T-17. Cherokee (15)

T-17. Robbinsville (15)

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: WNC 1A track and field recap: Swain County girls win NCHSAA state title