RAEFORD — The Richmond Senior High School wrestling team’s regular season came to an end Wednesday.
Facing host Hoke County High School and Scotland High School for the first time this season, the Raiders suffered a pair of Sandhills Athletic Conference losses.
Richmond fell to the Bucks 68-12 and came up short 47-30 against the Fighting Scots. Like in many of their matches this season, the Raiders forfeited points due to a limited roster.
Despite the tough outing, head coach Andre’ Ellerbe said the team has grown throughout the season and put that to the test.
“This was our last conference match of the season and our guys showed that they have learned a lot and made progress over the season,” Ellerbe shared. “We matched up well against Scotland. If we could have had a full team we could’ve made it more competitive.
“We had tough losses at 215 and heavyweight against Hoke,” he added. “We’ll make some slight adjustments and we’ll be ready with our best lineup for the conference tournament. Our wrestler of the week is Jason Gainey.”
Raiders get two wins against Bucks
Junior Adam Estridge and sophomore Jason Gainey were the lone Raiders to pick up a victory against Hoke County.
Richmond surrendered 36 points due to forfeits and allowed another 36 points in pinfall defeats. Hoke County added points in a decision victory.
Estridge (144-pounds) pinned Arthur Jones within the first minute of the second round. Gainey (190-pounds), who went 2-0 on the night, also earned a pinfall victory early in the second round, defeating Timothy Holton.
Junior K’Mauri Morgan battled all three rounds but lost a close 7-6 decision to Geronimo Oxendine. Senior Demonte Martin suffered a rare defeat in the heavyweight bout.
Six Raiders earn points against Scotland
Four pins and two decisions accounted for all of Richmond’s points against the Fighting Scots. Scotland used 36 points in forfeits to edge the Raiders.
Gainey, the only Richmond wrestler to win twice during the meet, battled to another pinfall victory. This time he held Wyatt Locklear to the mat.
Also adding pins and bouncing back from tough losses against Hoke County were Morgan (215-pounds) and Martin (285-pounds).
Morgan defeated Vinny Butera and Martin made quick work against Joshua Stone. Senior Jesus Castro (165-pounds) joined the win column with a pin over Devin Ellerbe.
Earning three points apiece in decision victories were sophomore Jayden Scott (138-pounds) and junior Joseph Patterson (150-pounds). Scott won 11-8 over Treyvon Brigman and Patterson outlasted Anthony Pate 11-8.
The Raiders (6-15, 1-5 SAC) will compete in the SAC championship Saturday at Pinecrest High School.
