State Champion has a nice ring to it
Owen cross country team sparkles in special ceremony
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
June 6, 2023
Owen cross country head coach Bob Sadlemire and his team receive rings, June 5, commemorating the Warhorses 2022 NCHSAA 2A Cross Country State Championship. Photo by Fred McCormick
While the grueling work of delivering a state title to the Swannanoa Valley was completed by the Warhorse cross country team last fall, there was unfinished business, June 5, as the athletes stepped on the stage in the Owen auditorium.
The 2022-23 NCHSAA 2A Men’s State Champions gathered for a final time at the school, where they received one more piece of hardware before the summer.
Owen, which would go on to collect several championship trophies this year, recognized the team that started this year’s unprecedented title run with a ring presentation ceremony, led by principal Dr. Samantha Sircey and attended by Buncombe County Schools Superintendent Dr. Rob Jackson.
“This is all about celebrating and lifting up these gentlemen, and reminding them of just how proud we are of their accomplishments,” Sircey said, as she introduced the team. “We just can’t get rid of these smiles on our faces.”
Owen senior Elijah Jones, who finished third in the 2022 NCHSAA 2A Cross Country State Championship meet, receives a ring commemorating his team’s state title from principal Dr. Samantha Sircey. Photo by Fred McCormick
Spirits have been high around Owen Athletics since seniors Elijah Jones, Jaheem O’Hara, Tad Sloan-Westmoreland and their teammates began their push to the top of the state. The Owen cross country program entered the season having been to the title meet in three of the last four years, but 2022 was special, according to fifth-year head coach Bob Sadlemire.
“This is a great group of guys, and we have three seniors who have been with the team for four years,” he said. “These are all really smart kids, and they’re friends. It’s really a good experience to be around them.”
The champion Warhorses, who won the school’s first state title in 14 years, were “like a big family,” Sadlemire added.
“I believe that’s what makes good teams, being close and supporting each other,” the coach continued. “These guys spend time together outside of school, and I think the best part about this team is that they’re just a bunch of friends.”
A trio of seniors - Elijah Jones, Jaheem O’Hara and Tad Sloan-Westmoreland - formed the core of the Owen cross country team, which placed six of the top seven runners in the 2022 Western Highlands Conference Championship meet. The Warhorses then claimed the NCHSAA 2A West Regional title in Swannanoa, last November, with a first-place finish by Jones, who was followed closely by his teammate and second-place finisher, O’Hara.
Yet, as they entered the state championship meet as the top-seeded team, Owen faced a significant challenge in its quest for a title, Sadlemire recalled.
“The whole team was sick in the week leading up to that meet,” the coach said. “When we woke up in the morning, I opened their doors and thought these guys wouldn’t be able to finish the race.”
The 2022-23 NCHSAA 2A Cross Country State Champion Owen Warhorses were presented with rings, June 5, in a ceremony in the school’s auditorium. Photo courtesy of Chasity Simpson
Jones, who won nine races in 2022 before committing to UNC Charlotte in April, overcame illness to finish third in the state. O’Hara, a UNC Asheville commit who won an individual state title in the 800 meter run in May and was named the Owen Male Athlete of the Year, finished eighth.
“Tad stepped up, and when I saw him coming out of the woods with a half-mile to go, I told him ‘you’re the guy who has to finish well,’” Sadlemire said of the senior, who will join the program at Queens University of Charlotte after graduation. “He was the reason we won in the end.
“I’m so proud of how all these guys pulled through to get it done,” he added, as he thanked the parents for their support throughout the season.
"They really helped us get through this,” Sadlemire said.
Sircey presented each of the runners and their coach with championship rings, which were purchased through the fundraising efforts of the Owen Athletics Booster Club. The nonprofit organization raised $6,200 for the jewelry and a large team photo that will hang in the school’s cafeteria.
“One the things principals do at principal meetings is wear our rings,” said Sircey, who is in her first year as Owen principal. “I didn’t have one yet, but now I do.”
The school also presented first-year BCS superintendent and Swannanoa Valley native Jackson with an Owen State Championship ring.
“Having grown up in the Valley, I’m especially proud that the first championship I had the opportunity to celebrate as I returned home was right here at Owen High School,” Jackson said. “I’m so very proud of you.”