SANFORD — The Richmond Senior High School boys’ track and field team finished near the middle of the standings in Saturday’s Sandhills Athletic Conference championship.
Competing against the six other SAC teams at Southern Lee High School, the Raiders notched a fourth-place finish.
Earning 70 points, the Raiders finished 13 points ahead of fifth-place Lee County High School. Winning the conference championship was Pinecrest High School, which collected 199 points.
Just like the Lady Raider track and field team, the Raiders had one individual conference champion. Also adding points were three second-place marks and two fourth-place finishes.
Senior Javares Stanback had an impressive day, and finished as the SAC champion in the long jump. Not making the competition close, Stanback soared to a distance of 21 feet, 0.5 inches, which was 15 inches farther than second-place Noland Chappel (19 feet, 9.5 inches).
Stanback also picked up one of the second-place marks, taking runner-up in the high jump. He cleared the bar at 6 feet, 3 inches, just two inches shy of winner Shaun Thomas (Pinecrest).
Richmond picked up points in the open 100-meter dash, using a second and fourth-place finish by a pair of senior runners. Cason Douglas crossed the finish line in second with a time of 10.89 seconds, nearly beating Hoke County’s Jamari Dortch-Johnson (10.86 seconds).
Fellow senior Jaylen McDonald picked up fourth place in the same event, posting a time of 11.31 seconds.
The Raiders’ 4×100-meter relay team contributed to the point total with a runner-up finish in the one-lap race around the track. Richmond had a time of 43.50 seconds, just behind Pinecrest (42.12 seconds).
Running in the 4×100 relay were Douglas, McDonald, junior Taye Spencer and senior Kelay Lindsey. The four runners were over a half a second faster than third-place Scotland.
Lindsey helped round out the meet with a fourth-place throw in the discus, registering a distance of 116 feet, 4 inches.
Richmond also had three fifth-place finishes, two coming from senior Trey Thomas (110-meter hurdles and triple jump). The 4×400-meter relay team also took fifth.
The Raiders and head coach Reggie Miller will now prepare for the NCHSAA 4A Mideast regional meet, which will be held on May 14. The regional event will be held at Apex Friendship High School.
