CAMERON — The Richmond Senior High School boys’ indoor track and field team opened its season with a tie for third place on Saturday.
Held at Union Pines High School, the Viking Polar Bear meet featured 10 programs from around the Sandhills.
The Raiders and head coach John Rich notched 57 points, tying them with E.E. Smith High School. Winning the meet was Pinecrest High School (146 points) followed by the Vikings (136 points).
The bulk of Richmond’s points came in jumping events, where the Raiders secured 22 points. They added 14 points in hurdles, 13 points in sprints and 8 points in throws.
All of the Raiders points in jumps came in the long jump, which was won by sophomore Keonta Pegues. Competing in the event for the first time, Pegues launched to 20 feet, 7 inches to lock in 10 points.
Junior Nicholas Griggs and sophomore Chamaure Shaw combined for 11 points when they tied for third with a distance of 19 feet, 6 inches.
Junior Jordan Bostick added a point with an eighth-place mark of 18 feet, 8.5 inches. All four jumpers recorded personal record distances in the long jump.
Griggs and junior teammate Aaron Coleman went second and third, respectively, in the 55-meter hurdles. Clearing the hurdles in 8.73 seconds, Griggs notched eight points.
Coleman was right behind Griggs, finishing his heat in 8.75 seconds for six more points. Both times were PRs for Griggs and Coleman.
Pegues added six more points with a third-place finish in the 55-meter dash, completing the race in 6.73 seconds. Senior Jaliel Green took eighth in the same event (7.00 seconds) for one more point.
Junior Travion Smith was the lone Raider to place in the 300-meter sprint, using a time of 37.77 seconds to finish third overall and tack on six points. All three sprinters set new personal best times.
Combining for the team’s final eight points were Smith and freshman Elijah Ingram in the shot put, both of whom threw for a new PR.
Ingram’s throw of 35 feet, 9.5 inches landed him in fourth place (five points), and Smith took sixth (three points) with a mark of 32 feet, 6 inches.
The Raiders will get back to action next Saturday, Dec. 9, at Pinecrest High School. The meet is tentatively set to start at 10 a.m.
The Richmond Observer will publish a photo gallery of Saturday’s meet soon.
