CAMERON, N.C. — The Richmond Senior High School boys’ track and field team placed third out of four teams in Thursday’s meet at New Century Middle School.
Hosted by Jack Britt High School, the Sandhills Athletic Conference meet saw the host Buccaneers take first place with 102 points, 39 points better than second-place Scotland High School (63 points).
The Raiders finished with 48 points, as Pinecrest High School rounded out the group with 40 points.
Leading the day for the Raiders were the jumpers, as the high jump and long jump athletes collected a team-high 22 points. The best showing was in the high jump, as Richmond took the top four spots for 15 points.
Senior Christopher Quick Jr. out-jumped the entire field, clearing the bar at 6’-0”. He was followed by teammates sophomore Caleb Hood, senior Xavier Pettigrew and junior Antron Miller, who placed second through fourth, respectively. The trio surpassed the 5’-10” mark.
In the long jump, Richmond earned second and third-place finishes. The sophomore duo of Jakolbe Baldwin and Dalton Stroman jumped 19’-1” and 19’-0”, respectively. Winning the event was Scotland’s Jumarius McLean (20’-3”).
“I’m really happy with how our high jumpers have done,” head coach Chris Campolieta said. “As a group, they’re progressively gotten better every week.
“The meet went well for what we wanted to accomplish,” he added. “A lot of young guys had a chance to compete and kind of finish their season. Wednesday’s (upcoming) meet will be for the guys competing at the conference championships.”
The only other first-place finish on the afternoon for the Raiders came in the 4×200-meter relay. The team of Jaron Coleman, Taveon Ellerbe, Justin Morman and Xavion Lindsey raced to a 1:35.4 finish (six points), a full second and a half faster than Scotland (1:36.9).
In the 4×100-meter relay, the Raiders placed second behind Jack Britt’s time of 43.8 seconds. Baldwin, Stroman, Coleman and Morman clocked in at 44.5 seconds for four more points.
Sophomore Trevor Moss would grab the team’s only other second-place finish, competing in the 400-meter dash. Moss crossed the finish line in 54.6 seconds (four points), just a second and a half behind Jack Britt’s Ar’Mariyon Monroe (53.1 seconds). Fellow Raider Zachieria Hamilton took third (55.1 seconds).
In sprints, junior Jahiem Covington picked up a pair of fourth-place finishes. He was less than a second off from 200-meter dash winner Chancellor Johnson (Jack Britt), posting a time of 23.1 seconds. In the 100-meter dash, Covington was just two-tenths of a second off from the top spot, racing to an 11.1 second finish.
Hood took fifth place in the open 100-meter, running it in 11.2 seconds. Covington and Hood combined for three points in the event.
Sophomore Bryant Coll represented the team well in the distance events, running the 1600-meter run in 5:26.6 seconds, good enough for fifth place and one point. Pinecrest’s Cody Leuenberger placed first (5:19.9).
Fellow sophomore Carson Jordan also took fifth place in his middle distance race, running the 800-meter run in 2:25.7. He was just six-tenths of a second off from taking third place.
Rounding out the Raiders’ points total was sophomore Derrick Everette in the discus throw. The 10th grader hurled his discuss 99’-9” for fifth place. Jack Britt’s Jeremiah Hamilton took first, throwing 126’-2”.
Campolieta and his track and field team will return to action for their final SAC meet of the spring at Hoke County High School on Wednesday. Richmond will compete against the host Bucks, as well as Pinecrest and Purnell Swett high schools. Events will begin at 4 p.m.
