APEX, N.C. — Two teams represented Richmond Senior High School at the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4A Mideast cross country regional over the weekend.
Sending five runners each, the Raider and Lady Raider cross country teams wrapped up their seasons with one final 3.2-mile race at WakeMed Soccer Park.
Lady Raiders place 16th overall
In a field of 22 schools, the Lady Raiders earned 16th place in a competitive regional race with 488 points.
Running for Richmond were senior Sheccid Heaton, sophomores Mariana Mendez, Ella Munn and Alivia Webb and freshman Presley Dawkins. A total of 136 runners ran in the meet.
Crossing the finish line first for the Lady Raiders was Mendez, who placed 71st overall with a time of 22:20.79. Munn was the second-fastest runner for Richmond, clocking in at 24:45.14 for 98th place.
Heaton was the next to finish for the team in 98th place (25:17.56), followed by Dawkins in 109th place (26:06.59) and Webb in 110th place (26:09.10).
Elizabeth Healy of Riverside High School won the individual regional title (18:53.67) and East Chapel Hill High School took first as a team with 77 points.
Raiders take 20th place at regionals
Two of Richmond’s boys earned personal record times in their final race of the season, which was made up of 23 schools and 143 total runners.
As a unit, the Raiders took 20th overall with 633 points, just behind Pine Forest High School (619 points).
Competing for the Raiders were seniors Naaman Perakis, Christian Sanchez and Kodie Simmons, along with freshmen D.J. Gainey and Jake Richardson.
Leading the Raiders was Sanchez, who placed 122nd overall with a time of 20:42.20. Just behind him was Simmons, who completed the race in 21:33.63 and took 126th place.
Richmond’s next two finishers, Richardson and Perakis, both set new PRs. Richardson took 128th place with a time of 21:46.23, shaving over 19 seconds off his previous record set at the Sandhills Athletic Conference championship.
Perakis crossed the finish line in 22:23.56, earning 130th place. That mark was over 24 seconds quicker than his SAC championship run.
Rounding out Richmond’s efforts was Gainey, who clocked in at 24:47.49 and 138th place.
Pinecrest’s Zack Gilbertson won the individual title (15:23.50) and Green Hope High School’s 51 points clinched the regional championship.
Neither Richmond team, nor any individual runners, qualified for the NCHSAA 4A state championship meet.
