News

All Cherokee’s Alexis Smith could do was look on as Desta Trammell took flight for a second-half bucket Tuesday at Cherokee. Trammell had 42 points at Swain County on Jan. 19 and her 23-point evening at Cherokee pushed her to 1,603 career points. Photo by Kevin Hensley/sports@grahamstar.com

All Cherokee’s Alexis Smith could do was look on as Desta Trammell took flight for a second-half bucket Tuesday at Cherokee. Trammell had 42 points at Swain County on Jan. 19 and her 23-point evening at Cherokee pushed her to 1,603 career points. Photo by Kevin Hensley/sports@grahamstar.com

Lady Knights left with questions, very few answers

Kevin Hensley
Thursday, January 26, 2023
Cherokee – The only Smoky Mountain Conference team that has had the Lady Knights’ number this year is the Cherokee Braves. Robbinsville (10-7, 4-2) entered Tuesday’s rematch with the first-place Braves, full of optimism that the Knights had the right game plan in place after the first outing Dec.
Lina Pagan (left) and Yeika Jimenez Diaz’s love for basketball has came full circle, with both playing against each other at the collegiate level – something neither could have dreamed would be a reality while growing up in Puerto Rico. Photos by Kevin Hensley/sports@grahamstar.com

Lina Pagan (left) and Yeika Jimenez Diaz’s love for basketball has came full circle, with both playing against each other at the collegiate level – something neither could have dreamed would be a reality while growing up in Puerto Rico. Photos by Kevin Hensley/sports@grahamstar.com

Aprovechando el momento

Kevin Hensley
Thursday, January 26, 2023
Athens, Tenn. – They competed against each other before coming to the United States. So it is only appropriate that Yeika Jimenez Diaz and Linaysha Pagan dress out in opposing uniforms today. Their story is unlike any you have ever heard.
Exhausted, Koleson Dooley (220) rises to a knee after securing a 3-2, sudden-death overtime win over Swain County’s Blake Sain on Jan. 19. Dooley went to overtime with Sain during the James Orr Invitational on Jan. 14 and went to ultimate-tiebreaker in Saturday’s conference Tournament. Dooley triumphed on all three occasions. Photo by Kevin Hensley/sports@grahamstar.com

Exhausted, Koleson Dooley (220) rises to a knee after securing a 3-2, sudden-death overtime win over Swain County’s Blake Sain on Jan. 19. Dooley went to overtime with Sain during the James Orr Invitational on Jan. 14 and went to ultimate-tiebreaker in Saturday’s conference Tournament. Dooley triumphed on all three occasions. Photo by Kevin Hensley/sports@grahamstar.com

Conference conquered

Kevin Hensley
Thursday, January 26, 2023
Robbinsville – When a program has won 25 Smoky Mountain Conference titles in just 46 years of existence, the term “powerhouse” is certainly applicable. But this year was supposed to be different, critics said. Of the six state champions Robbinsville Wrestling produced last year, just two returned.
Donovan Carpenter glances down at his handiwork in the closing seconds of Tuesday’s comeback victory at Cherokee. Carpenter’s dunk resoundingly affirmed a 58-48 win for the Black Knights. Photo by Kevin Hensley/sports@grahamstar.com

Donovan Carpenter glances down at his handiwork in the closing seconds of Tuesday’s comeback victory at Cherokee. Carpenter’s dunk resoundingly affirmed a 58-48 win for the Black Knights. Photo by Kevin Hensley/sports@grahamstar.com

Slow and steady wins the race

Kevin Hensley
Thursday, January 26, 2023
Cherokee – It was time to take the Braves to school.

Santeetlah council has not met since mid-November

Randy Foster
Thursday, January 26, 2023
Lake Santeetlah – The Town of Lake Santeetlah Town Council is having a hard time getting together. The council has cancelled every meeting since November, either because of procedural issues, prior commitments, illness, scheduled vacations, or combinations of these.
Crews begin to extract a Toyota Highlander from Lake Santeetlah around 5 p.m. Jan. 19, after the SUV crashed into the water during the early-morning hours. Jose Alfredo Moreno-Romero, 23, passed away in the accident, while the driver and a rear-seat passenger managed to escape. Photo by Randy Foster/news@grahamstar.com

Crews begin to extract a Toyota Highlander from Lake Santeetlah around 5 p.m. Jan. 19, after the SUV crashed into the water during the early-morning hours. Jose Alfredo Moreno-Romero, 23, passed away in the accident, while the driver and a rear-seat passenger managed to escape. Photo by Randy Foster/news@grahamstar.com

County rocked by fatal SUV crash into lake

Randy Foster
Thursday, January 26, 2023
In this photo from the Feb. 9, 2017 edition of The Graham Star, Freddy Romero erupts in jubilation after securing the state dual-team, championship-clinching pin for the Robbinsville Black Knights. Romero was honored before Jan. 19’s match against Swain County and Andrews.

Don't adjust your sets; that's a basketball score

Kevin Hensley
Friday, January 20, 2023
Murphy – Well, that’s one way to send a message to the rest of the field. Robbinsville (No. 3 seed, 9-4) shutout Swain County (No. 6) in the first half of the Smoky Mountain Conference Middle School Tournament quarterfinal Monday, heading into the locker room with a 35-0 advantage at the break.
Brock Adams takes flight Monday at Highlands. Robbinsville’s senior point guard was one of three Black Knights to reach double digits in the victory. Photo by Kevin Hensley/sports@grahamstar.com

Brock Adams takes flight Monday at Highlands. Robbinsville’s senior point guard was one of three Black Knights to reach double digits in the victory. Photo by Kevin Hensley/sports@grahamstar.com

Ain’t no mountain high enough

Kevin Hensley
Friday, January 20, 2023
Highlands – From the opening tip, it was all Robbinsville. With Friday’s trek to Hiwassee Dam postponed due to inclement weather, the Black Knights’ only action of the week came at another Little Smoky Mountain Conference school Monday: a trip to Highlands.
Robbinsville senior Desta Trammell launches an outside shot Monday at Highlands. Trammell hit a pair of 3-pointers in the Lady Knights’ loss to the Lady Highlanders. Photo by Kevin Hensley/sports@grahamstar.com

Robbinsville senior Desta Trammell launches an outside shot Monday at Highlands. Trammell hit a pair of 3-pointers in the Lady Knights’ loss to the Lady Highlanders. Photo by Kevin Hensley/sports@grahamstar.com

Too little, too late

Kevin Hensley
Friday, January 20, 2023
Highlands – To begin Monday’s road game, seniors Desta Trammell and Kensley Phillips hit respective 2- and 3-point shots, to give Robbinsville the opening salvo. From there, Highlands proved to be rude hosts.
An SUV was pulled from Lake Santeetlah around 5 p.m. today, after crashing into the water overnight. The N.C. Highway Patrol confirmed to The Graham Star on Thursday evening that 23-year-old Robbinsville resident Jose Alfredo Moreno-Romero passed away in the accident. Photo by Randy Foster/news@grahamstar.com

An SUV was pulled from Lake Santeetlah around 5 p.m. today, after crashing into the water overnight. The N.C. Highway Patrol confirmed to The Graham Star on Thursday evening that 23-year-old Robbinsville resident Jose Alfredo Moreno-Romero passed away in the accident. Photo by Randy Foster/news@grahamstar.com

Local man passes away, two survive wreck into Lake Santeetlah

Randy Foster
Thursday, January 19, 2023
Lake Santeetlah – A Robbinsville man was killed – but two others survived – when an SUV crashed into Lake Santeetlah off Thunderbird Mountain Road early Thursday morning.