3 individuals, 2 teams to be enshrined
This year's Graham County Athletics Hall of Fame inductees both made history and left an indelible mark on the local sports scene.
Seth Adams, Ronnie Waldroup and Kaleb Williams are the individual honorees, while the 1992 football team and 2009 girls cross country collaboration will take their respective, rightful place in the hallowed hall.
Seth Adams
Whether it was football, basketball, track & field or baseball, Seth Adams made a splash whenever he stepped onto the field of competition.
A member of the Robbinsville High School Class of 1994, Adams mastered the 300-meter hurdles in track and won both the Smoky Mountain Conference as well as the 1A/2A Western Regional championship as a sophomore.
During his junior year, Adams was a member of the 1992 football team that won the state championship; as well as the 1992-93 Black Knights basketball team, which claimed a conference title that season. He also repeated as the divisional and regional 300-meter hurdles champion.
Adams was selected All-Conference and All-Western North Carolina for his gridiron accomplishments in 1993, which saw Robbinsville win the league title once more. He also won conference and regional championships as part of the 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams, but finally cleared the obstacle to capture the 1994, 1A titles in both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles. Adams was the inaugural track & field state champion for Robbinsville.
He went on to graduate from Western Carolina University with a degree in sports management and in 2003, took over as the Macon County Parks and Recreation Director – a position he still holds today. Seth is married to Nikki Adams and together, the couple has two children: Grant, a junior at UNC-Charlotte; and Shelby, a sophomore at Franklin High School.
Adams also coaches as a member of the Franklin football staff, which will prevent him from attending the induction ceremony itself. Grant will accept the honor on his behalf.
Ronnie Waldroup
When the championship tradition of Black Knights’ football began, the late Ronnie Waldroup was right in the thick of the success.
A member of both the 1969 and 1970 state title teams, Waldroup played a pivotal role in Robbinsville's magical 1969 season – particularly in the playoffs. The state semifinals pitted the Knights against St. Paul's and when Dale Walsh went down due to injury, Waldroup muscled his way into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown. Robbinsville won 33-26, to punch a ticket to the finals.
Facing a tough Manteo ensemble, the Knights found themselves tied 8-8 in the fourth quarter. Competing with two cracked ribs, Waldroup pushed his way across the goal line with 4:21 left in the game to seal Robbinsville's 14-8 win – and "Title Town's" first state championship.
Waldroup rekindled the grit once more in the 1970 semifinals, scoring the Black Knights' lone touchdown in an 8-6 rally over North Duplin. Robbinsville went on to pick apart Saratoga 28-6 and repeat as 1A state champions. He was voted All-Conference and the Best Offensive Player during his senior year, as well.
Ronnie's two sons – Jared and Jeremy – will be accepting their father's induction on his behalf, and will wear his No. 42 as a tribute. Both submitted their thoughts on the honor.
"I visited Dad's football coach (the late Bob Colvin) a few years back and he told me what a privilege it was to coach my dad," Jared said. "He said that, 'He always gave it 110 percent every time his foot hit the field,’ and that my dad held a special place in his heart."
"Growing up, my father always modeled for me and my brother what it looks like to be a Christian man," Jeremy added. "Now that I am older, I understand it was scripture lived out in the life of my dad, and it is because of my dad that I know who my father is. I look forward to the day that we will all be together again."
Kaleb Williams
A decorated five-sport athlete, Kaleb Williams was a natural at every sport he played.
Williams graduated from Robbinsville in 2000, after nine combined All-Conference selections in football, basketball, baseball, golf and track & field. He was also voted All-Western North Carolina seven times between four different sports; and was an All-State football selection as a defensive back in 1999, as well as All-State track & field in both 1999 and 2000.
During his senior year, Williams had 13 interceptions – which tied a state record – and also tossed 12 touchdown passes for the Knights in the playoffs. Five of those came in the second round of the postseason against East Surry, which tied a school record for most touchdowns in a single game.
"The brotherhood I had with my teammates was unlike anything I had ever experienced before," Williams said. "I am glad to say that it is a bond that I still cherish today."
Later in his senior year, Williams connected for a pair of buzzer-beaters in the same week to defeat Murphy and Swain County on the hardwood. He was also a member of the 2000 team that won the school's only conference golf championship to date.
After high school, Williams attended Western Carolina University. He later returned to his hometown and served the public at Robbinsville City Tire. Today, Williams is the supervisor for Bulloch County Parks & Recreation in Statesboro, Ga.
1992 football
The 1992 Robbinsville Black Knights brought home the first state championship for the storied program in nine years – and would also be the last football team to win it all for the next 22 years.
The Knights rattled off five dominant wins to begin the season, including a 49-0 shutout at Tellico Plains, Tenn., in which the Bears were limited to just three offensive yards. Following this, Robbinsville suffered a 30-24 setback against Hayesville and turned in a lethargic first half against Swain County the following weeks – netting just eight yards in the first two quarters.
With the Maroon Devils leading 21-9 at halftime, Robbinsville went into the locker room and threw out its strategy, completely switching its offense and catching the visitors off-guard as a result. Behind five touchdown passes from Brandy Jones, the Black Knights rallied to win 34-27.
Robbinsville finished the regular season 8-2 and ran through the playoffs relatively unscathed, downing Edneyville, 35-21; Tar Heel, 40-6; Henderson, 14-6; and Rosman, 35-3 to reach the 1A title game against the Lakewood Leopards. The Black Knights set three state records that still stand today, in the 35-0 blanking of Lakewood on Dec. 12, 1992: fewest total yards allowed in a championship game (49); fewest passing yards allowed (0); and most touchdown receptions (Brandy Jones caught three).
Head coach Dale Smallen told The Graham Star after Robbinsville wrapped up the school's 13th state championship, “I’ve had a lot of guys, former Robbinsville players, come up to me tonight as I was walking off the field and say, 'Coach, that's probably as good an example of dominating football as I've seen in quite some time,’ and makes us feel good."
2009 girls cross country
To date, only one female Robbinsville team has ever gathered atop the awards podium as state champions: the 2009 Lady Knights cross country team.
After missing out on a 2008 crown by a mere five points, Robbinsville saw all its runners come back with an extra drive to overcome a 3rd-place finish the year prior. Though reigning, individual state champion Faith Trammell was included as part of the returning class, she spent most of the season injured – but would factor in when it mattered most.
Fueled by a desire for top billing in the state, the team went undefeated during the regular season. At the Sept. 30, 2009, meet in Murphy, the Lady Knights recorded the first perfect score (15 team points) in school history when Tacey Trammell, Kristi Burchfield, Lindy Cronk, Chantal Collins and Lauren Griggs all crossed the finish line in succession, to wrap up the top five spots. Faith Trammell returned one week later at Hayesville and the Oct. 21, 2009, Smoky Mountain Conference title meet at Hiwassee Dam showed just how serious a threat Robbinsville was to a state crown.
Tacey won the race with a time of 20:42, while Faith came across the line at 21:44. Griggs, Collins, Burchfield and Crisp went on to account for six of the first seven finishers in the race.
Even a regional runner-up trophy could not deter their spirit. The Lady Knights reported to Tanglewood Park in Winston-Salem on Nov. 7, 2019 and promptly knocked off regional rival Hendersonville by 15 points: Robbinsville scored 62, while the Lady Cats had 77. Tacey placed third at the meet, while Faith was eighth.
The middle of the pack clinched it, though – as the Knights jockeyed for position while running through a wooded area and emerged for the final 150-meter sprint to the promised land with Griggs, Burchfield, Collins, Madison Williams and Lynsey Crisp making sure the 2009 championship would be delivered to Robbinsville.
The team will be recognized on the field during the 2025 induction ceremony.