PEMBROKE — The Richmond Raider wrestling team returned to its normal conference schedule Wednesday, traveling to host Purnell Swett High School for a two-match event.
It was the first Sandhills Athletic Conference meeting for Richmond in nearly a month, when they dropped two matches to Pinecrest and Hoke County high schools. Things were a little better this time around for the Raiders, as they split with the Rams and Lumberton High School.
Richmond rolled past Purnell Swett by a final score of 57-18, before coming up short 21-49 against a tough Lumberton squad.
On the season, the Raiders sit 1-3 against SAC opponents. The Raiders were also without one of their captains, senior Austin Gallops (160-pound), who sustained an upper body injury over the holiday break.
“We wrestled really well tonight,” head coach Earl Nicholson said. “Without Austin, we still managed to control the Purnell Swett match, and we showed big improvement against Lumberton.”
To open against the Rams, Richmond used four pinfall victories to collect 24 points, as well as five forfeit victories for another 30 points. Senior Joey Nicholson (120-pound) got things started with a first-round pin over Zane Kelly, and was followed by sophomore Dante Baldwin (126-pound), who pinned Christian Smith.
The other two pins came via sophomore Monte Gilmore (195-pound) and junior Evan Ingram (220-pound), who took care of Jayden Kegler and James Tyner, respectively.
Earning forfeit victories against the Rams were Andres Sanchez (113-pound), Carson Jordan (145-pound), Ethan Owens (152-pound), Nathaniel Parker (160-pound) and Uriah McDonald (heavyweight).
Collecting the final three points against Purnell Swett was freshman Christian Sanchez (106-pound), who battled three rounds to pick up a 13-8 decision over Albert Reyes.
Facing a much more experienced Pirates team, the Raiders only earned two pinfall victories in their second match. Mikey Baldwin (170-pound) pinned Devon McLean, while Ingram was the only Raider to have two pins, grabbing another against Bryson Striblin.
The other nine points for Richmond against the Lumberton came in the lightweight classes, starting with Christian Sanchez defeating Brock Chavis 7-0 for three points. His older brother Andres Sanchez followed suit with a 7-6 decision over Justin Kelly, and Nicholson outlasted Curran Bendell for a 4-1 decision.
With his two wins, Joey Nicholson improved to a team-best 22-3 overall record and improved to 4-0 against SAC opponents. Other notable season records include Andres Sanchez (16-10), Christian Sanchez (16-8), and Dante Baldwin (12-12).
“Andres defeated Justin Kelly, who was ranked sixth in the state,” Nicholson explained. “And Joey defeated a previously undefeated Curran Bendell.
“I’m very proud of the guys who wrestled through injuries to help the team,” he closed.
The Raiders will travel to East Montgomery High School on Saturday for another non-conference dual. Matches will begin at 9 a.m.
