FOXFIRE VILLAGE — A milestone was achieved by the Richmond Senior High School girls’ golf team during Wednesday’s match.
Shooting nine holes on their home course, the Lady Raiders finished fourth out of six teams at Foxfire Resort and Golf.
Posting a team score of 156, two strokes away from tying its season-low as a team from Monday’s round, Richmond edged Union Pines High School by one shot.
That marked the first time the Lady Raiders have finished ahead of the Lady Vikings since the 3A/4A Sandhills Athletic Conference was formed in 2021.
“I am so impressed with how we scored,” head coach Keith Parsons shared. “Foxfire is much longer than Sanford and generally considered more difficult, and we came within two strokes of where we were Monday.
“Huge round from Talley, matching her score from Monday, which helped us beat Union Pines for the first time since they’ve joined the conference,” he continued. “Ella had a solid day, as well, and Jacey, Tess and Bayden all were a little bit better than Monday. Their improvement – not only in score, but performance – has been wonderful to see.”
Golfers played the Red Fox Course and maneuvered the fairways and greens of the first five holes on the front nine. Making the turn, the final four holes were played between Nos. 15 and 18.
Talley Webb, a freshman, continued the impressive start to her high school career. Leading the Lady Raiders’ scorecard for the third time in three matches this fall, she shot a 46.
As Parsons noted, that tied her match score from Monday at Sanford Golf Club, which is currently her career best score in a high school match. She cracked the top 10 with a ninth-place finish.
Richmond’s other two top scorers who contributed to the fourth-place mark were seniors Ella Munn and Jacey McRae.
Both golfers hovered around their average score this season. Munn shot a 53 and McRae posted a 57.
Senior Tess Bryant and freshman Bayden Bendell were also in the mix for the Lady Raiders, shooting a 57 and 58, respectively. Both scores were career-lows for Bryant and Bendell.
Pinecrest High School led the field in team score (112) and the individual medalist went to Sydney Pomeranz of Lee County High School (36).
Just ahead of Richmond were Lee County (133) and Scotland High School (151). Union Pines finished with a score of 157 and Southern Lee High School (174) rounded out the standings.
Through three matches this season, the Lady Raiders have recorded seven points, putting them fifth in the standings.
“Now we finish with 18-hole matches, which will test the patience of everyone,” Parsons concluded. “I can’t wait to see how we continue to get better.”
From this point on, all of the Lady Raiders’ SAC matches will be 18-hole contests. Richmond returns to the course Monday at Deercroft Golf Club.
Golfers will begin teeing off in a shotgun start beginning at 2 p.m.
PHOTOS: A photo gallery of Wednesday’s match can be found by clicking here.
