WINSTON-SALEM — Everything came together for the first time this season for the Richmond Senior High School boys’ and girls’ indoor track and field teams Saturday.
The program competed in its first team meet of the season, competing in the JDL Invitational at the JDL Fast Track.
Aside from some runners traveling out of state to run in other invitationals, Richmond’s teams were delayed all season due to rescheduling because of weather conditions.
Several of Richmond’s runners set season-best or personal-best times, including senior hurdler Aaron Coleman, who broke his own school record a week after breaking a time that held for 22 years.
With 121 schools participating, with the addition of unattached groups from four other states, Richmond had seven top-20 finishes in finals heats.
Coleman had the best placement of the day, taking second overall in the finals heat of the 55-meter hurdles, putting him as the No. 3 ranked runner in the state in that event.
Already qualified for states, he clocked in at 7.49 seconds, breaking his school record set last Saturday (7.58 seconds) in the same event by 0.09 seconds.
Junior Keonta Pegues had the next best finish for the team, jumping his way to seventh overall in the finals heat of the long jump. He landed at a season-best distance of 21 feet, 3 inches, which qualified him for the state championship next month.
Earning two of the seven top-20 finishes for Richmond was junior Ka’mora Watkins. She recorded season-bests of 32 feet, 2 inches in the triple jump (18th place) and 4 feet, 7 inches in the high jump (20th place).
The remaining top placements were courtesy of three relay teams — the Raiders’ 4x200-meter and 4x400-meter relay teams, and the Lady Raiders’ 4x400-meter relay team.
Taking 13th overall with a finals heat time of 1:36.85 was the Raiders’ 4x200 lineup. That was followed by a 17th place finish by the Raiders’ 4x400 relay team (3:49.80), both of which were season-fastest times.
The Lady Raiders’ 4x400-meter relay squad placed 15th overall in the finals, passing the baton in 5:10.02, another season-best time for the program.
Watkins broke the top-25 in the long jump, launching out to a final distance of 14 feet, 10.75 inches. That season-best put her in 23rd place. In the 55-meter dash preliminaries, Watkins ran the heat in 7.95 seconds.
Pegues also placed 18th in the 55-meter dash (6.68 seconds) preliminaries, but he didn’t qualify for the finals heat.
Junior Taylor Newton recorded new personal records in both of her events. She ran the 55-meter dash in 7.99 seconds (76th place, preliminaries) and the 300-meter dash in 47.38 seconds (82nd place, finals).
Following a career performance last weekend, senior sprinter Amariah Gibson ran in one preliminary heat (55-meter dash) and one finals heat (300-meter dash). She was 43rd overall in the open 55 (7.65 seconds) and had a season-best time of 45.89 seconds in the 300-meter (55th place).
Senior Anayjah Dumas rounded out the Lady Raiders’ efforts at the meet, taking 44th overall in the preliminary heat of the 55-meter hurdles. She ran a season-best time of 10.99 seconds.
A trio of Raider runners also recorded season-best times in their respective events. Senior Deshaun Ingram (6.98 seconds) and junior Cameron Gladden (3:04.30) both placed 64th in the 55-meter dash and 1,000-meter run, respectively.
Sophomore Nyjier Allen paced his way to a 91st place finish in the 300-meter dash, crossing the finish line in 42.05 seconds.
The Raiders and Lady Raiders will compete in the Sandhills Athletic Conference championship meet Friday at the JDL Fast Track.
