SANFORD — For the second weekend in a row, the Richmond Senior High School girls track and field team earned a runner-up finish behind Hugh M. Cummings High School.
Competing in the Pepsi Invitational at Southern Lee High School, the Lady Raiders racked up 103 points for the second-place finish. Just ahead of them was Cummings, which led the way with 113 points.
Last week, Richmond posted a score of 72 points in the Viking Relays at Union Pines High School to Cummings’ 78 points. Of the 20 teams in Saturday’s competition, Union Pines took third (57 points) and Rocky Mount High School was fourth (45 points).
Helping the Lady Raiders to their finish was the 4×200-meter relay team and sophomore high jumper Jakerra Covington, which each won first-place in their respective events.
The relay team of Monasia Kearns, Dymond McNeal, Maddisyn Diggs and Briauna Wall sprinted their way to a win in a time of 1:47.81. That was just .05 seconds faster than second-place East Chapel Hill High School.
Covington, who competed in several events, was the lone high jumper to clear the bar at 4’-10”, and was followed by teammate Taliah Wall in second place with a height of 4’-6”. Richmond’s Kibreeana Stewart placed fourth in the event.
Taliah Wall also earned a runner-up finish in the 100-meter hurdles, racing to a time of 17.52 seconds. She was just behind race winner Kendall Jordyn (Cummings), who bested the field with a posting of 15.02 seconds.
Sophomore Jamaya Bryant (18.28 seconds) and Stewart (18.46 seconds) took sixth and eighth place, respectively, in the 100 hurdles.
Richmond also earned top-two finishes in the 4×100-meter relay and the long jump. The Lady Raiders took second in the shorter relay race with a time of 59.79 seconds, just .24 seconds behind Knightdale High School (59.55 seconds).
Covington leapt out 16’-6” in the long jump, an entire foot behind Cummings’ Jydia Faucette. Wall earned seventh place (14’11.5”).
The Lady Raiders would also grab five other top-five finishes. Stewart took fourth in the triple jump (32’-5”), and the 4×400-meter relay team also finished fourth with a time of 4:35.35. That team was comprised of Sierra Ramsay, Aniya Robinson, Briauna Wall and Jocelyn Hunter.
Other notable finishes for Richmond were three fifth-place marks: Covington in the 100-meter dash (13.04 seconds), Jaleah McKinnon in the 300-meter hurdles (50.98 seconds) and Jardai Tillman in the shot put (28’-11.5”).
The Lady Raiders will return to action on Thursday at Jack Britt High School. The Sandhills Athletic Conference meet will feature Richmond, Jack Britt, Pinecrest and Scotland high schools. Events will start at 4 p.m.
