NCHSAA state championship top performers: WNC wins 4 XC titles, tennis dynasty continues
The NCHSAA cross country and dual team tennis state championships were decided Saturday, and WNC came home with lots of hardware.
Cross country: History-making SMC freshmen, Swain and Owen win team crowns
After producing five state champions last season, WNC won four plaques Saturday at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville.
Andrews freshman O'Malley Salinas won the 1A boys race in 16:46, becoming the first cross country state champion in school history. That feat was matched by Cherokee freshman Dvdaya Swimmer, whose 20:08 won the 1A girls race and made her the first Braves runner to win a cross country crown.
In the 1A girls team competition, Swain County repeated as champions, even without defending individual champion Arizona Blankenship, who missed this season recovering from knee surgery. The Maroon Devils had a second-place finish from senior Amaya Hicks (20:45), followed by freshman Annie Lewis (20:54) in third, leading a 59-point effort as a team.
The Cherokee boys were part of a three-way tie for first but were bumped to second place on the tiebreaker.
Led by a third-place finish by senior Elijah Jones (16:19), the Owen boys won the 2A team championship with 83 points, edging out Lincoln Charter (91). Senior Jaheem O'Hara (17:00) finished in eighth, making the Warhorses one of two teams with multiple top-10 finishers.
Scroll down for a list of other top WNC finishers in each race.
Girls tennis: Hendersonville dynasty continues
The Hendersonville girls tennis program continued its unmatched recent success with a fourth consecutive dual team state championship Saturday, beating Raleigh Charter 5-4 at the Burlington Tennis Center.
The teams were tied 3-3 after the singles matches (No. 1 Eliza Perry, No. 2 Ramsey Ross and No. 4 Reese Redden won their matchups), putting the pressure on the doubles pairs. The 2A individual doubles championship team of Perry/Ross won the No. 1 doubles match, and Redden/Raleigh Prichard took the No. 2 match to clinch another Bearcats ring.
Perry was named the tournament's MVP.
The Bearcats are on a type of run rarely seen in WNC — the last area program to win four consecutive NCHSAA state championships in any sport or classification was Roberson girls cross country, which won five in a row from 2004-08.
Full tennis results
SINGLES
#1 - Eliza Perry (Hendersonville) d. Sarayu Brundavanam (0-6, 6-0, 10-6)
#2 - Ramsey Ross (Hendersonville) d. Krisha Avula (6-2, 6-3)
#3 - Keerthi Avula (Raleigh) d. Raleigh Prichard (6-2, 7-5)
#4 - Reese Redden (Hendersonville) d. Carlisle Hedrick (6-2, 6-2)
#5 - Ginger Wagner (Raleigh) d. Anna MacDowell (6-4, 6-4)
#6 - Abby Moomaw (Raleigh) d. Katherine Graham (7-6(4), 4-6, 10-7)
DOUBLES
#1 - Perry/Ross (Hendersonville) d. Brundavanam/Wagner (8-1)
#2 - Prichard/Redden (Hendersonville) d. Avula/Hedrick (8-3)
#3 - Avula/Moomaw (Raleigh) d. MacDowell/Graham (8-1)
Cross country top finishers
1A
BOYS
1. O'Malley Salinas, Andrews (16:46)
9. Jaylan Bark, Cherokee (17:31)
15. Tyce Hogner, Cherokee (17:54)
GIRLS
1. Dvdaya Swimmer, Cherokee (20:08)
2. Amaya Hicks, Swain County (20:45)
3. Annie Lewis, Swain County (20:54)
5. Fern Crayton, Tri-County (21:08)
Team: 1. Swain County (59)
2A
BOYS
3. Elijah Jones, Owen (16:19)
8. Jaheem O'Hara, Owen (17:00)
9. Leo Murray, Brevard (17:06)
19. Max Bailey, Brevard (17:26)
GIRLS
5. Lucy Murray, Brevard (20:45)
Team: 2. Brevard (130)
3A
BOYS
6. Hudson Rice, West Henderson (16:43.51)
7. Caleb Phillips, Smoky Mountain (16:43.71)
16. Eli Clonch, West Henderson (17:16)
17. Logan Russo, Franklin (17:17)
Team: 9. West Henderson (235)
GIRLS
2. Noelle Houlihan, West Henderson (19:11)
3. Breanna Budzinski, West Henderson (19:12)
7. Katie Johnson, North Buncombe (19:36)
11. Lauren Sochia, West Henderson (20:09)
14. Eva Rinker, Tuscola (20:25)
17. Avery Mays, North Buncombe (20:30)
19. Eden Barnwell, North Buncombe (20:45)
Team: West Henderson (68)
4A
BOYS
34. Nicholas Gibson, Roberson (16:33)
39. Kevin Cordero, Roberson (16:36)
70. Josiah Kaiser, Roberson (17:01)
72. Will Fiore, Roberson (17:03)
73. Tyler Gordon, Roberson (17:04)
82. Ryan Chong, Roberson (17:10)
GIRLS
58. Evva Hamilton, Reynolds (20:11)
66. Hannah Caudill, Asheville (20:20)
83. Clare Pollick, Roberson (20:38)
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: NCHSAA XC, tennis state championship top performers from WNC
