RAEFORD — Consistency has been a theme for the Richmond Senior High School boys’ swimming team this winter.
Closing out their final regular-season Sandhills Athletic Conference meet Wednesday, the Raiders placed third overall with 124 points.
In five meets this season, the Raiders have placed third each time. Winning Wednesday’s contest was Pinecrest High School (306 points).
The Leach Aquatic Center also played host to senior night, as senior swimmers from all of the conference’s schools were recognized.
Richmond, along with Hoke County and Pinecrest, were celebrated before the meet. At the halfway point, seniors from Scotland, Southern Lee and Union Pines were recognized.
The Raiders had five seniors this year — Brent Humann, Zaviar Lowry, Matteo Rubbiano, Zane Searcy and Chance Spivey.
“I’m very pleased with how the guys swam tonight,” head coach Andy Shuler said. “They have continued to lower their times all season and tonight was no exception. Consistently finishing in the top three in the standings is something we strive to do.
“Our seniors this year have been great,” he added. “Brent is a four-year swimmer who showed a lot of leadership. The other guys joined us for their first season and I’m proud of their accomplishments.”
Four swimmers recorded individual points for the Raiders — Rubbiano (25 points), Humann (22 points), Lowry (20 points) and Searcy (9 points). Rubbiano and Humann both tied their season-high total.
The Raiders’ other 48 points came in a pair of third-place finishes in the 200-yard medley relay and 200-yard freestyle relay (24 points each). Both relay teams set season-fastest times.
In the 200-yard medley relay, Rubbiano (backstroke), Matthew Leggett (breaststroke), Humann (butterfly) and Cole Thrower (freestyle) clocked in at 2:14.24.
The same four swimmers competed in the 200-yard freestyle relay, completing it in 1:54.42. Richmond took 0.47 seconds and 1.56 seconds off its times, respectively.
Rubbiano swam in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyles, setting new PRs in both events. He was second in the 100-yard race (56.47 seconds, 13 points) and third in the open 50 (25.45 seconds, 12 points).
Splitting his points between two events, Humann swam the 50-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle. In the longer race, Humann finished second for 13 points with a time of 7:31.14, followed by a 50-yard time of 28.09 seconds (sixth place, nine points).
Lowry had a pair of fifth-place finishes in the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyles, collecting 10 points in each event. He swam the 200 in 3:05.50 and the 500 in 9:02.87.
Swimming in the open 200 for the first time this season, Searcy recorded a season-high in individual points. He hit the wall in 3:18.60, recording nine points in the sixth-place finish.
The Raiders had seven swimmers compete in exhibition heats of the 50-yard freestyle, which saw five of them notch season-best times — Gavin Applewhite (33.81), Michael Jurzyk (35.38), Leggett (35.12), Spivey (33.21) and Thrower (28.14).
Searcy (34.73) and Connor Thrower (33.41) also swam in an exhibition race of the event.
Applewhite, Leggett, Searcy and Connor Thrower combined to swim an exhibition heat in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The four Raiders ended in 2:18.16.
The Sandhills Athletic Conference championship will be held Saturday in Raeford at the Leach Aquatic Center.
Below are photos from Wednesday’s swimming senior night taken by sports editor Kyle Pillar.
