LAURINBURG — The Richmond Senior High School girls’ swimming team kicked off its new season with a fifth-place finish on Wednesday.
Competing against the other six Sandhills Athletic Conference programs, the Lady Raiders earned 47 points while competing in three different events.
Swimming at St. Andrews University, it was the first time in nearly two years the conference held a meet locally. Last year’s venue was moved to Smithfield to follow COVID-19 protocols.
Mike Way, who is in his fifth season coaching the program, noted the Lady Raiders “did a great job” getting back in the pool and competing for points.
He added that the mixture of veteran swimmers and newcomers will help the team succeed this winter.
Richmond had several swimmers compete in three events: the 50-yard, 100-yard and 200-yard relay, all using the freestyle stroke.
Per the SAC’s rules, a team’s top two swimmers in each individual event were able to score points, while others participated in exhibition races.
Winning the meet was Pinecrest High School with 271 points, and Union Pines High School took second with 161 points.
Six Lady Raiders swam in the 50-yard freestyle, with seniors Ellie Buck and Paxlee Faircloth collecting points in the process.
Faircloth, who is a first-year swimmer, won her heat in the 50-yard freestyle and took seventh overall with a time of 34.68 seconds (7 points). Buck, who returns as Richmond’s most experienced swimmer, clocked in at 36.63 seconds, good enough for 10th overall and 4 points.
Senior Ellie Buck, who scored in all three of her events, competes in the 200-yard freestyle relay at St. Andrews. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Also swimming in the 50-yard freestyle were newcomers junior Bobbie Faircloth (37.74 seconds, 12th), freshman Alivia Webb (39.61 seconds, 14th), senior Meghan McKenzie (41.41 seconds, 18th) and freshman Nelly Madrigal (47.52 seconds, 26th).
Freshman Jamison Hubbard made her debut in the pool with the team’s best finish in the 100-yard freestyle, swimming the two laps in 1:21.68. Winning her heat, that mark was good enough for a sixth-place finish and 10 more points.
Buck was the other Lady Raider to earn points in the open 100, hitting the end wall in 1:30.94, taking 12th place and 2 points. Juliane Weigand also swam the event in her first meet, finishing just behind Buck in 13th place (1:31.85).
Richmond recorded its final 24 points in the 200-yard freestyle relay, which saw Buck, both Faircloths and junior Karter Walker compete. The four Lady Raiders finished with a time of 2:32.03, which put them in third place.
Buck opened the race with a time of 37.97 seconds, followed by Walker (41.78 seconds) and Bobbie Faircloth (37.34 seconds). Paxlee Faircloth anchored the race and swam her lap in 34.94 seconds.
Freshman Jamison Hubbard prepares to make a turn in the 100-yard freestyle. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
A second relay team, made up of sophomores Emma Altman and Katie Way, along with seniors Kiersten Gibson and Kassie Smith, also competed. They finished fifth overall with a mark of 2:48.22, but didn’t register any points.
Richmond will return to the pool next Wednesday for another SAC match at St. Andrews, with events getting under way at 6:15 p.m.
