Home Local Sports Jessi Graham: The Official Richmond County Female Athlete of the Week

Jessi Graham: The Official Richmond County Female Athlete of the Week

Senior Jessi Graham has been named the Official Richmond County Female Athlete of the Week.
Kyle Pillar — The Richmond Observer.

ROCKINGHAM — Jessi Graham, a senior on the Richmond Senior High School soccer team, has been named the Official Richmond County Female Athlete of the Week.

Graham had a big week, starting with being recognized on senior night last Tuesday against Seventy-First High School. One of 11 seniors on the team, Graham helped Richmond and head coach Chris Larsen win both Sandhills Athletic Conference games last week. She led the team in goals, helping her earn her second career recognition. 

Athletic Profile

Age: 17

Birthday: May 12, 2001

Year: Senior

Spring Sport: Soccer

Position: Forward

Height & Weight: 5-0, 118 pounds

Years on Varsity: 3 Year

Experience: 13 Years

“SCORING THE FACTS” WITH JESSI GRAHAM

RSHS Academics: Graham will graduate in less than two months from Richmond, as she’s already completed two career clusters: Health Science and Richmond Community College. This semester, she’s taking three online courses at RichmondCC and two at RSHS.

At RichmondCC, Graham is enrolled in Intro to Criminal Justice, Art Appreciation and Sociology 210. At the high school, she’s taking Fundamental of Gerontology with Ms. Elizabeth McDougald and helps intern in the media center with Ms. Shanda Robeson.

“I really like Ms. McDougald’s class because there’s a lot online learning,” Graham said. “I enjoy learning how to care for people. Ms. McDougald works with us and makes the class more enjoyable.”

Graham is currently ranked 27th in the class of 2019 and has a 4.5 GPA. She’s also an A Honor Roll student who is a part of Beta Club and National Honor Society. She was a three-year varsity cheerleader, and participated in golf and bowling this year.

Future Plans: Following graduation in June, Graham will attend RichmondCC for another year and and a half to earn her Associate’s Degree in business. From there, she plans to transfer to North Carolina State University to earn her Bachelor’s Degree in the same field.

“I really like the campus, and I like what they offer,” Graham said of NC State. “I’m not sure what I want to do yet, but business is a really open field and I can do a lot of things with that degree.”

Athlete of the Week Stats: The Lady Raiders beat Seventy-First and Scotland high schools in both games last week, helping secure a second-place finish in the SAC regular season standings. On senior night, Richmond defeated the Lady Falcons by mercy rule, 10-1, scoring all of their goals in the first half.

Graham netted a hat trick in the win, scoring the first two goals of the game in front of the net in the fifth and eighth minutes. She tacked on her final goal in the 23rd minute, beating Kaliyah Cotton.

Two nights later at rival Scotland, Graham scored one goal in a 4-1 victory. On the season, Graham has a team-high 15 goals.

“I’ve been winning the ball on crosses from the outside, and sometimes using through balls in the box to help myself score more lately,” Graham said. “I don’t think about scoring, I just try to be in the right spot and the right time. Then the goals will come.”

Jessi Graham (15) leads Richmond with 15 goals this season. 

RAPID FIRE – FAST RESPONSES

1) What has been the key to the team’s success this season in clinching the No. 2 spot?

“We work together so well,” Graham explained. “This group of girls has been playing together for such a long time, and we have really good chemistry on the field.”

2) If you could use one word to describe this year’s team, what would it be and why?

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“We’re definitely ‘amusing’,” Graham smiled. “We always have fun when we’re together and there’s never a dull moment. There’s always something to talk about.”

3) Name an interesting fact about yourself that many people don’t know about you.

“I like crazy socks,” Graham said. “They’re so cute and I like to be different. I have about 30 pairs, and my favorite pair are really cute pancakes stacked up with syrup that is fuzzy and butter on top.”

Coach’s Corner: Larsen, who is in his first season as the head varsity coach, noted Graham’s scoring spell and how it’s helped the team wind down the regular season.

“Jessi has come on lately and put the ball in the back of the net toward the end of season,” he said. “By her doing that, she’s given herself confidence as the single forward, and that’s helping trickle down do allow other girls to score.

“She’s set the tone by scoring goals early in games, which builds momentum and got us going on the hot streak before break,” he added. “It’s what you expect to see out of a girl like Jessi, who is in her third year on varsity. She’s showing that leadership to keep us competitive in games.”

Richmond will end its regular-season schedule Monday, April 29, at Jack Britt High School.



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Kyle Pillar is a 22-time North Carolina Press Association award-winning sports editor with The Richmond Observer. Follow the sports department on X @ROSports_ for the best in-depth coverage of Richmond County sports.