Swain County
Swain County won the 2023 1A Girls Cross Country state championship vs Thomas Jefferson, 44 at Ivey Redmon Complex.
| Year | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Sport | Girls Cross Country |
| Classification | 1A |
| Champion | Swain County |
| Runner-Up | Thomas Jefferson |
| Score | 44 - 100 |
| Venue | Ivey Redmon Complex, Kernersville |
Box Scores
Notes
In the women’s race, Christ the King junior Nicole Alfers crossed the finish line first, 32 seconds ahead of second-place finisher and defending champion Dvdaya Swimmer, a sophomore from Cherokee. Alfers and Nicholson are the first Crusaders to win NCHSAA Cross Country Individual Championships in school history. Swimmer ran nearly one minute faster than she did in 2022 when she won the title, as she posted a 19:09.73 this year. Voyager Academy senior Elizabeth Lalor finished in third, four seconds ahead of Christ the King freshman Shea Roche. Swain County’s Annie Lewis and 2021 champ Arizona Blankenship finished in fifth and sixth, respectively, and Angelina Lomeli came in eighth. Those finishes helped push the Maroon Devils to their third consecutive team state championship. Swain County scored 44 points, the best 1A team score since Franklin Academy’s 36 in 2017. Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy finished in second place with 100 points and Christ the King took third with 110 points. The NCHSAA is committed to recognizing outstanding sportsmanship in each of our State Championship events. The Association has partnered with the North Carolina Farm Bureau to award a pair of Sportsmanship Awards at each championship event, recognizing players who have demonstrated the ideals of outstanding character and sportsmanship throughout the 2023 season. The winners of the 1A Men’s Cross County Sportsmanship awards were Brandon Burrows from Lejeune and Chris Villegas from South Davidson. The winners of the 1A Women’s Cross Country Sportsmanship awards were Audrey Friedman from Thomas Jefferson Academy and Lily Bjerkness from Swain County.