PEMBROKE — The Richmond Senior High School boys’ track and field team put forth a strong effort in Wednesday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference championship meet, but some missing runners saw the Raiders place seventh out of eight teams.
The eight SAC teams reported to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke for the championship event, as Pinecrest High School took the 2019 crown with an impressive 194 points. Coming in second was Hoke County High School (138.5 points), while the Raiders earned 43 points.
Second-year head coach Chris Campolieta explained that two of his top sprinters were pulled from the meet due to minor injuries. Seniors Preston Coker and Malik Stanback, both of whom have dominated regular-season races, didn’t participate in several events.
The pair of seniors did well in the preliminary round of the 100-meter dash, posting times of 10.89 seconds (Stanback) and 10.99 seconds (Coker). But that would be it for them, as they both didn’t run in the 100-meter and 200-meter finals, and Coker missed out on the 400-meter final.
“When they told me about their minor injuries, I decided to pull them,” Campolieta explained. “They are both future college athletes and I didn’t want to risk further injury. But I think they could have gotten us at least 15 points in their events.”
Another hiccup that the Raiders encountered was the 4×100-meter relay team’s disqualification. Its time of 42.6 seconds was the first-place time, but the DQ saw the 10 points forfeited.
The Raiders’ best finish in the 18 scored events was junior Antron Miller’s second-place posting in the high jump. He cleared the bar at 6’-0” for eight points, while senior teammate Christopher Quick Jr. took third at 5’-10” and collected six points.
Fellow senior high jumper Xavier Pettigrew finished fifth, adding four points after leaping 5’-8”.
Richmond picked up three fourth-place finishes, starting with sophomore Trevor Moss in the 400-meter dash. His time of 53.69 seconds earned the Raiders five more points, and was just two seconds off from taking first.
Junior discus thrower Joerail White also took fourth in his event, hurling his discus 120’-4”. The Raider 4×200-meter relay team finished its race in 1:36.15, as it and White combined for 10 points.
Other notable placements for the Raiders were fifth place in the 4×400-meter relay (3:47.22, four points), and sixth place in the 4×800-meter relay (9:43.48, three points). Junior Gavin Russell earned sixth overall in the shot put, collecting a distance of 41’-6”.
Campolieta noted that several of his team members aren’t finished with their respective seasons, and he should know more regarding the regional track and field meet early next week.
