ROCKINGHAM – Thomas Barbee, a sophomore on the Richmond Senior High School boys’ swimming team, has been named the Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week.
The Richmond swimming teams hit the pool for the first time in 2019 last Wednesday, the regular season finale, as Barbee was one of several swimmers to set new personal records in a meet that the Raiders finished sixth overall. This is Barbee’s first career Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week selection.
Athletic Profile
Age: 15
Birthday: May 17, 2003
Year: Sophomore
Winter Sport: Swimming
Events: 50-yard freestyle, 200-yard medley relay, 200 and 400-yard relays
Years on Varsity: 1 year
Height & Weight: 5-10, 175-pounds
Experience: 1 year
“IN THE POOL” WITH THOMAS BARBEE
RSHS Academics: An A/B student who currently has a 3.75 GPA, Barbee is enrolled in Richmond’s Band and Advanced Placement clusters. He will wrap up his Band cluster courses in the coming spring, and plans on continuing his work in his AP classes over the next couple of school years.
With the second semester set to begin Thursday, Barbee will be taking Concert Band Honors, Civics Honors, AP Human Geography and Psychology and English II Honors.
“I’m looking forward to Civics Honors with Mr. (Keith) Parsons,” Barbee said. “He’s a family friend and my favorite teacher at school. He’s always having a good time and makes school more fun. I’m just excited to be in a new class and I like history.”
RSHS Activities: Swimming is the only sport Barbee participates in, but he plays a big role in the Raider marching band. Since he started band in the sixth grade at Rockingham Middle School, his love for playing music has developed into playing four different instruments: the french horn, the mellophone, the trumpet and the alto saxophone.
On Friday nights during Raider football games, Barbee and senior bandmate Gabby Bellanger are the only two mellophones on the field, and he takes first chair.
“The mellophone is a bigger trumpet used in marching band,” he explained. “I’m first chair for that and the french horn.
“There are not many people in band this year, but being in it helps me moving forward,” he continued. “Reading and playing music helps me think quicker and process things. I like it because it’s always different every time I pull out my instrument.”
High School Aspirations: With two and a half more years before he graduates in June, 2022, Barbee has his sights set on getting better in the classroom and in the pool.
“I want to get my GPA higher, and apply myself more in the classroom,” Barbee said. “I’m going to continue to swim in high school, and I think I’m doing pretty good at it for my first year. I want to get better, and I enjoy being out here.
“My big goal is to beat Dakota (Locklear) in the 50-yard freestyle,” he added of Richmond’s top swimmer. “There’s a 30-pound difference between us, but I’m just three seconds behind him.”
He’s also thinking about college already, and is thinking of studying to become a biologist or geoscientist, which would allow him to study analytics and work outside. Barbee likes the idea of going to Duke, NC State or UNC, but wants to go somewhere that has a “good reputation for future employers.”
Athlete of the Week Stats: Barbee was the biggest surprise for Richmond in the water at St. Andrews University last Wednesday during his 50-yard freestyle race. Entering the night, his best time through the three previous regular season meets in that event was 33.31 seconds, which normally put him in the middle of Richmond’s pack.
But off the platform, Barbee got a fast start, and posted his fastest career time with a 29.84 second finish. His performance was nearly three and a half seconds faster than his previous best, and he finished 23rd overall in the event out of 58 total swimmers.
In the top 23 spots, Barbee was joined by Locklear (26.91). The two swimmers combined to add 12 points (Locklear) and four points (Barbee) to Richmond’s total team score.
RAPID FIRE – FAST RESPONSES
1) Name some things that you enjoy most about being a member of the Richmond swim team.
“Everyone is really friendly on the team,” Barbee said. “Not many people know we have a swim team, so it’s nice to be able to answer when people ask questions. I’m proud of myself for getting out here, the coaches are nice and I’ve found my sport.”
2) What’s was different about Wednesday’s meet that you were able to take so many seconds off your time?
“Honestly, my girlfriend Danielle Jackson showed up,” Barbee laughed. “I also broke my goggles five minutes before the meet — but instead of getting upset, I put that anger forward into my swimming.
“I hadn’t done that well in a meet all season because I would get nervous or didn’t want to mess up,” he continued. “I knew I could do it in practice, so it was more of having an ‘I got this’ mentality.”
3) Who is someone who has impacted your life positively such as a mentor, teacher or coach?
“Mike Ward always told me to try and be the best at everything I’ve done,” Barbee said of the former RSHS marching band director. Also, (swimming) Coach Mike Way has had a positive impact on me.”
4) What is a goal you hope to achieve while a high school swimmer?
“I want to get my 50-yard time down to 24 or 25 seconds,” Barbee noted. “I also want the program to grow and help build a name for myself so that when I swim everyone knows who I am.”
The Richmond swimming teams will be back in action when they participate in the Sandhills Athletic Conference championship meet on Saturday, Jan. 19, at 4 p.m.
