SOUTHERN PINES — Competing for the second time this season, the Richmond Senior High School girls’ indoor track and field team placed in the top five again on Saturday.
The Lady Raiders and head coach Reggie Miller participated in a field of 11 teams and finished fifth overall in the Pinecrest Polar Bear meet. Richmond had 48 points across four categories.
Winning the event was Union Pines High School with 142 points, defeating fellow Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent and host Pinecrest by a single point.
The Lady Raiders secured a bulk of their scoring with 20 points in jumps. They added 11 points in relays, nine points in hurdles and eight points in throws.
Four individuals recorded points, led by sophomore Ka’mora Watkins (19 points) in three events.
Sophomore Ella Parker had eight points (shot put) and junior Anayjah Dumas (hurdles, long jump) and Fallon Little (hurdles) both had five points.
Richmond also placed in the 4×200 and 4×400-meter relay races, which the Lady Raiders ran for the first time this season.
Watkins had a successful day, starting by qualifying for the state championship meet in the high jump. She cleared the bar at 5 feet, 0 inches, a new personal record, and collected eight points with her second-place finish.
In the long jump and triple jump, Watkins combined for 11 more points. She set a new PR in the triple jump (32 feet, 0 inches), which placed her third with six more points.
The sophomore jumper closed out her performance with a distance of 14 feet, 8 inches in the long jump, which was fourth overall (five points).
Parker, Richmond’s only thrower to place, impressed with a new PR in the shot put. She launched her farthest throw to a mark of 29 feet, 9.5 inches, good enough for second place and eight points.
Across two events, Dumas secured five points. She finished fifth in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 10.58 seconds (four points) and landed in eighth place (one point) in the long jump with a jump of 13 feet, 8 inches.
Little was awarded fourth place in the 55-meter hurdles, as she tied Dumas with a final time of 10.58 seconds in the same heat. That gave the Lady Raiders five more points.
A trio of sophomores set the pace in both relay races — Brooklyn Jemison, Taylor Newton and Kymaria Wall. Running the additional legs were juniors Amariah Gibson (4×200) and Mariana Mendez (4×400).
In the 4×200-meter relay, the Lady Raiders passed the baton around the two laps of the track in 1:55.47 for a third-place finish. Running that race were Gibson, Jemison, Wall and Newton in the anchor.
Collecting six points, that group of Lady Raiders was just 0.20 seconds behind second-place Union Pines (1:57.27).
Mendez, Jemison, Newton and Wall ran the 4×400-meter relay and locked up fourth place. The team finished in 5:05.31 for the Lady Raiders’ final five points.
Richmond will compete again on Friday, Dec. 29, at Pinecrest High School. The Richmond Observer will publish a photo gallery of Saturday’s meet soon.
