Natalie Bitetti, Photo Skip Sickler, Courtesy of Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation.

LINVILLE — At the 68th-annual Grandfather Mountain Highland Games in 2024, track and field athletes secured their first Outstanding Men’s Athlete and Outstanding Women’s Athlete honors.

Samuel Cleek from Kingsport, Tenn., and Natalie Bitetti from La Crescenta, Calif., earned the respective titles.

Cleek placed first in five events, securing top scores in the men’s 100-yard dash, long jump, high jump, triple jump and pole vault. Bitetti placed first in the women’s 440-yard dash, 880-yard dash and 1-mile run, while placing second in the 2-mile run.

Cleek, 22, started competing in track and field in middle school and has continued for the past 12 years. He intends to coach track and field at his alma mater, Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City, Tenn. He last competed in the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games six years ago and did not have the success he achieved this year.

“Competing at the Highland Games is a really rewarding experience,” said Cleek. “I only placed second in the pole vault last time I was here, so it’s special for me this time.”

Blaine Metcalf from Powell, Tenn., placed in the top three in six events, including the men’s triple jump, 100-yard dash, 880-yard dash and 1-mile run. He placed first in the men’s 440-yard dash, finishing in 1:03, and the 2-mile run, finishing in 11:20.

In her first appearance at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, Bitetti excelled in distance-running events with a 1:10 finish in the women’s 440-yard dash, a 2:43 finish in the 880-yard dash and a 5:38 finish in the 1-mile run.

The 22-year-old began competing in track and field as a college sophomore just three years ago and now competes for the University of New Mexico, where she is a graduate physical therapy student. After hearing about the Highland Games for years, she made the trip from California to see it for herself.

“My boyfriend has been coming to the Highland Games since he was really young, and he wanted me to see it,” said Bitetti. “He’s part of the Macpherson clan, and they have a really big group here, so it’s been a lot of fun.”

Alongside Bitetti in the women’s events, returning competitor Dashia Canada (Salisbury) recorded top-three finishes in six events, including the women’s triple jump, long jump, 100-yard dash, 440-yard dash and 880-yard dash. She placed first in the women’s 220-yard dash, finishing in 34 seconds. Returner Kimora Chawlk (North Rowan), placed in the top three in four events, while Tai’lah Ward (Salisbury), another returning competitor, placed first in the women’s long jump and 100-yard dash.

For participating athletes, the Highland Games offer a chance to display their talents at a culturally significant event that has been in place at Grandfather Mountain’s MacRae Meadows for several decades.

“It’s special to see so many different people coming from near and far and spreading their Scottish heritage,” said Bitetti. “It seems like there are varying degrees of people’s knowledge of their heritage when they come here, but everyone spreads it to each other, and it’s really cool.”

Track and field results

Most Outstanding Men’s Athlete

Samuel Cleek, Kingsport, Tenn.

Most Outstanding Women’s Athlete

Natalie Bitetti, La Crescenta, Calif.

Men’s Triple Jump

Samuel Cleek, Kingsport, Tenn., 41’ 1’’

Ty Smith, Elizabethton, Tenn., 36’ 4’’

Blaine Metcalf, Powell, Tenn., 32’ 11’’

Women’s Triple Jump

Haley Kells, Laurinburg, N.C., 30’

Dashia Canada, Salisbury, N.C., 28’ 8’’

Kimora Chawlk, Salisbury, N.C., 28’ 1 ½’’

Men’s Long Jump

Samuel Cleek, Kingsport, Tenn., 19’ 2 ½’’

Ty Smith, Elizabethton, Tenn., 18’ 4’’

Ryan Monroe, Maiden, N.C., 15’ 10”

Women’s Long Jump

Tai’lah Ward, Salisbury, N.C., 16’ 5’’

Haley Kells, Laurinburg, N.C., 16’

Dashia Canada, Salisbury, N.C., 12’ 11’’

Men’s High Jump

Samuel Cleek, Kingsport, Tenn., 6’

Russell Bradley, Charlotte, N.C., 4’ 9”

Ryan Monroe, Maiden, N.C., 4’ 7”

Women’s High Jump

Haley Kells, Laurinburg, N.C., 5’ 1’’

Kimora Chawlk, Salisbury, N.C., 4’ 11’’

Jane Gray Zechini, Raleigh, N.C.

Men’s Pole Vault

Samuel Cleek, Kingsport, Tenn., 11’

Men’s 100-Yard Dash

Samuel Cleek, Kingsport, Tenn., :10.55

Blaine Metcalf, Powell, Tenn., :11.53

Russell Bradley, Charlotte, N.C., :12.31

Women’s 100-Yard Dash

Tai’lah Ward, Sailsbury, N.C., :10.47

Dashia Canada, Salisbury, N.C., :12.80

Kimora Chawlk, Salisbury, N.C., :13.40

Women’s 220-Yard Dash

Dashia Canada, Salisbury, N.C., :34

Kimora Chawlk, Salisbury, N.C., :34.4

Jane Gray Zechini, Raleigh, N.C., :41

Men’s 440-Yard Dash

Blaine Metcalf, Powell, Tenn., 1:03

Jordan Schilit, Charlotte, N.C., 1:13

Aaron Hale, Raleigh, N.C., 1:19

Women’s 440-Yard Dash

Natalie Bitetti, La Crescenta, Calif., 1:10

Dashia Canada, Salisbury, N.C., 1:17

Andrea Isenberg, Bean Station, Tenn., 1:44

Men’s 880-Yard Dash

Jordan Schilit, Charlotte, N.C., 2:29

Blaine Metcalf, Powell, Tenn., 2:37

Lee Bradley, Charlotte, N.C., 3:08

Women’s 880-Yard Dash

Natalie Bitetti, La Crescenta, Calif., 2:43

Veronica Cheechov, West End, N.C., 3:09

Dashia Canada, Salisbury, N.C., 4:32

Men’s 1-Mile Run

Jordan Schilit, Charlotte, N.C., 4:46

Rien Freeman, Boone, N.C., 4:47

Blaine Metcalf, Powell, Tenn., 5:12

Women’s 1-Mile Run

Natalie Bitetti, La Crescenta, Calif., 5:38

Veronica Cheechov, West End, N.C., 6:45

Andrea Isenberg, Bean Station, Tenn., 7:58

2-Mile Run

Blaine Metcalf, Powell, Tenn., 11:20

Natalie Bitetti, La Crescenta, Calif., 12:06

Brent Hale, Raleigh, N.C., 12:23

The 2024 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games took place July 11-14 at Grandfather Mountain’s MacRae Meadows in Linville, N.C. To learn more about the Highland Games, visit www.gmhg.org.

The nonprofit Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation strives to inspire conservation of the natural world through education, exploration and example. For more information, visit www.grandfather.com.