ROCKINGHAM — All of the miles, the laps around Hinson Lake and Richmond Senior High School’s campus and sprints on the track are about to pay off.
The Richmond boys’ and girls’ cross country teams will officially kick off their respective seasons Tuesday after spending the last three months training. Like all public high school sports teams in the state, the cross country program saw its season pushed to a later start.
Jessica Covington, who is in her second year with the program and first as head coach for both teams, has put her runners to the test leading up to Tuesday’s meet. Now she feels that the efforts put in by her 20 student-athletes will produce positive results this year.
“We are so excited to be within a week of our first meet,” Covington said. “The athletes have worked so hard to get to this point and we are ready to compete.
“We have also had doubts about being able to get to this point with COVID, so now that it is here, we are even more excited about seeing how our efforts will pay off.”
Richmond will return several key runners on both teams this year, many of whom competed in the 4A Mideast Regional meet last season. For the boys, seniors Carson Jordan and Will Thompson highlight a strong core, flanked by fellow returners in sophomores Ethan McDonald and Kodie Simmons.
Following the graduation of former lead runner Airel Brown, junior Maylyn Wallace will step up and take on a leadership role for the Lady Raiders. Also returning for the girls’ team are seniors Alena Craddock and Zamiya McInnis, and sophomores Rylie Bohman, Andrea Ellerbe and Sheccid Heaton.
Jordan took 18th place in last season’s Sandhills Athletic Conference championship meet at the Carolina Horse Park, finishing the 3.2-mile run in 19:14. At the 4A Mideast Regional race, Jordan led the team by finishing 90th in a field of almost 150 runners.
Thompson, McDonald and Simmons also competed in the SAC championship meet, taking 39th through 41st place, respectively. This season, Thompson said he hopes the Raiders will continue to build the program, while he and Jordan serve as veteran leaders.
“Our goal as a team for 2020 is to improve our times as a whole from last year and build on what we accomplished last season,” he said.
“Being a senior this year is a great responsibility,” Thompson added. “There have been days where we don’t have practice, but I always make a commitment to run every single day and make it a priority so that I am prepared for when we compete.”
Brian Morales, Carson Jordan and Will Thompson run during a practice at Hinson Lake.
New this year to the boys’ team is Brian Morales, who Covington said has been a welcomed addition. Morales consistently runs toward the front of the pack and has shown promise to help the Raiders improve.
Rounding out the roster are newcomers Christian Alvarez, Kevin Dominguez, Samuel Hawks, Cain Hunsucker, Chase and Luke McCormick and Naamon Perakis.
“Carson is a senior and I feel like he will have a great year,” Covington said. “He is consistently coming in as our first male runner. While juggling previously working, schoolwork and cross country, he has been very busy this season.
“Brian is also a strong runner coming in at a very close second. He has been attending soccer workouts along with cross country and he should do really well this season,” she added. “Will is another senior who has made awesome strides. His times are looking great and has also shown great improvement.”
Kayleigh Cloninger and Gabby Lutz, both freshmen, are the only two new Lady Raiders this season. Wallace impressed last season by taking over six minutes off her race time from season’s start to finish, and placed 18th overall in the SAC championship meet with a time of 24:03.
“Alena is a senior and I feel like this is going to be her best year yet and I’m excited about the leadership she shows on and off the trails,” Covington shared. “She is a wonderful leader and always ready to put in 100 percent. Alena is always positive and striving to improve everyday.
“I am very pleased at the level Maylyn is running,” she added. “I feel like she will be our first finisher and will be very competitive. I have seen her time steadily improving and feel like she will beat her times from last year.”
Covington noted that Bohman is “also going to be one to watch.” She praised the sophomore’s confidence and dedication to getting better.
“The first meet has been all I can talk about for this entire week.” Wallace said. “I am beyond excited to start this season. The biggest motivation for the team is how hard we have been working during this preseason
“As a team, we have great mental strategies like pacing ourselves and not giving up. This year we have had a lot of team bonding and we love to have friendly competitions which ultimately makes us better.”
Of getting better, Covington said she’s also got a stronger grasp on coaching and where she wants to take both teams in 2020. Aside from being more involved in the planning of meets, Covington said her biggest benefit has been learning how to work with the athletes and learning what helps them to grow and improve times.
Because of COVID-19, the cross country season will be shortened to just five meets and a conference championship. The North Carolina High School Athletic Association is only allowing seven runners per team to compete, and unlike indoor sports, runners will not have to wear a mask while running.
“The shortened season will be a very good motivation for the athletes. They know that they only have a few times to shine and to put 110 percent into every meet,” Covington said.
“I would love to see our team go to regionals and state,” she closed. “This year is going to be more challenging because of COVID in terms of the numbers they are allowing to go to regionals. Having said that, I still think we could have a shot. I can’t wait to see how the team does at the first meet and I expect great things out of the Raiders this season.”
Richmond will compete against fellow SAC schools Purnell Swett (host), Scotland and Seventy-First on Tuesday at Luther Britt Park in Lumberton. Races will begin at 2:40 p.m.
