
LYNCHBURG, Va. — Three sprinters represented Richmond Senior High School Saturday at a major indoor track and field event, and all three of them made impressions on the program’s record book.
Seniors Aaron Coleman and Amariah Gibson, along with junior Keonta Pegues, competed for Richmond at the Walter Bass Invitational at Liberty University.
Coleman set two new school records, while Gibson and Pegues each set personal records and moved up in the standings in Richmond’s all-time performances.
All three sprinters ran in the 55-meter dash, while Coleman also ran in the 55-meter hurdles.
“I’m so proud of these three,” head coach John Rich said. “They showed out in Virginia. The scary part is (Saturday) was their season opener with two of our meets being canceled this indoor season.”
In the 55-meter hurdles, Coleman completed the race in 7.58 seconds, which placed him third overall. Winning the heat was Rance Springs (Mount Tabor) and second place went to Filipo Toelau (Harrisonburg).
Coleman’s time set a new school record that was previously held by Richie Houston, who ran the event in 7.82 seconds in 2003.
No. 3 was Coleman’s lucky number Saturday, as he also finished third overall in the 55-meter dash finals. He coasted to a final time of 6.48 seconds, another school record, behind winner Dontrae Walls Jr. (6.36 seconds, Woodside) and Keaten Pegues (6.47 seconds, Pinecrest).
With that time, Coleman surpassed former teammate Taye Spencer in the school’s record books. During the 2023 season, Spencer set the previous fastest time of 6.67 seconds.
Gibson and Pegues both ran in the 55-meter dash preliminaries but didn’t finish in the top eight spots to qualify for the finals heat.
However, both sprinters set new personal records. Pegues ran the race in 6.68 seconds, placing him third all-time in Richmond’s record book behind Coleman and Spencer. He was 11th overall in the preliminary race.
Gibson just missed out on a chance to run in the finals, sprinting to a ninth-place time in the prelims with a final of 7.53 seconds.
Also a new personal best for Gibson, she became the second-fast Lady Raider in the event in Richmond’s history. Her race time was third-best behind former sprinter Isis Covington, who ran the event in 7.49 and 7.50 seconds in 2023.
Sports editor’s note: School record information provided by head coach John Rich.