RAEFORD — Consistency has been the name of the game for the Richmond Senior High School boys’ swimming team this season.
The Raiders and head coach Andy Shuler competed in their third Sandhills Athletic Conference meet of the season on Wednesday. And for the third straight time, Richmond finished third overall as a team.
Despite a disqualification in one of the team’s two relay events, the Raiders managed to secure 90 points, well ahead of fourth-place Scotland High School (63 points).
Pinecrest High School’s 309 points landed the Patriots in first place, while Union Pines High School placed second (225 points). Rounding out the five-team meet was Southern Lee High School (55 points).
Three senior swimmers amassed large chunks of individual points — Matteo Rubbiano (24 points), Brent Humann (21 points) and Zaviar Lowry (21 points).
“Not getting points in the medley relay because of the disqualification early on made things a little shaky,” Shuler said. “We rely on those points to keep us toward the top of the points standings.
“Luckily we were able to use strong performances by a lot of the guys to get points and distance ourselves into third place,” he continued. “The fight we showed tonight was encouraging, especially since we were missing a few swimmers.”
An early takeoff in the 200-yard medley relay disqualified what would have been the Raiders’ best time this season (2:16.04).
Lowry put Richmond’s first 10 points on the board with a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle. His final time of 3:04.56 was a new personal record, which was 5.93 seconds better.
The only Raider competing in the individual 500-yard freestyle, Lowry earned fourth overall (8:50.18) to add his additional 11 points.
Rubbiano and Humann swam in the same finals heat in the 50-yard freestyle, finishing third and fifth, respectively. Notching 12 points was Rubbiano (25.74 seconds) and Humann added 10 points (28.32 seconds).
Swapping the 500-yarder for the 100-yard butterfly for the first time this winter, Humann placed fourth in the event for 11 more points. He clocked in at 1:21.10.
Rubbiano rounded out Richmond’s individual scoring with a third-place time in the 100-yard freestyle (56.81) for 12 points.
Humann, Cole Thrower, Connor Thrower and Rubbiano secured 24 points with a third-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay.
The four Raiders completed the race in 1:57.10, which was 0.73 seconds faster than their previous best time this season.
Four other swimmers swam exhibition heats in the 50-yard race. Senior Matthew Leggett (32.59) and junior Gavin Applewhite (34.31) posted new PRs, while Cole and Connor Thrower timed in at 28.59 and 33.47 seconds, respectively.
Applewhite, Leggett, Lowry and freshman Michael Jurzyk competed in an exhibition 200-yard freestyle relay. They ended the night with a time of 2:20.20.
The Raiders will return to competitive action on Jan. 10. That meet will be held in Raeford and start at 6:15 p.m.
PHOTOS: To view a photo gallery of Wednesday’s swim meet, click here.
