ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Observer sports department is happy to announce it will be returning its “Top Sports Stories” feature series this summer.
With Richmond Senior High School’s classes finished, and the class of 2026 set to graduate Friday night, I think it’s appropriate to take a look back on the year of Raider and Lady Raider athletics that was.
Similar to last summer’s series, a top sports story for each of Richmond’s varsity athletic programs will be spotlighted.
To be clear, there is no ranking or official countdown to the “best” moment, and the order of release will not have any bearing on that either.
A lot of times it’s apples and oranges, and I like to leave those debates to the fans and readers to decide.
What will be featured in this series is my personal pick of each team or program’s top moment from their respective season. I’ve attended hundreds of events this year and more than likely covered the top picks in person.
Some may be exciting wins or comeback victories. Others may feature individual achievements by a student-athlete.
Richmond entered the 2025-26 school year as a member of the newly formed Mid-South Conference, a mish-mash of schools from around the sandhills and Fayetteville.
Successful across the board, nearly two dozen athletic programs at Richmond competed against a host of non-conference schools and the five other MSC schools for a shot at the inaugural conference title.
For the first time since 1997, Richmond won the conference championship in baseball, football and boys’ basketball in the same school year.
Those were also the three MSC titles earned this year and each of those programs made it to the third round of the NCHSAA 7A state playoffs.
Other programs like the softball team and girls’ bowling team finished second in the final conference standings.
The 2025-26 school year also introduced a lot of new things around campus – a Daktronics video board used for football and track and field, the complete renovation of the baseball field, a brand new track, as well as the resurfacing and repainting of the hardwood floor in the gymnasium to feature the outline of Richmond County.
The school even opened its new auxiliary gym in August, which saw volleyball and basketball played in it this year. The JV volleyball team broke it in with a victory in the first match ever held in the new gym.
A special treat near the end of the school year saw athletic trainer Mitch Hadinger return to school and work after several years away while battling cancer.
It’s easy to see the successes or shortcomings of teams, players and coaches when they’re written about or discussed on social media. Stats and scores tell the stories. Quotes and articles elaborate on said information.
But what I think fans and readers often forget is what goes on well before game time, and for most student-athletes, well after a game or match has ended.
Richmond’s athletic department is filled with so many dedicated, hard-working student-athletes who balance the rigor and chaos of playing high school sports with their own high expectations in the classroom.
If there is to be a “best” moment celebrated from this school year, or any school year for that matter, it’s the fact that our local youth are excelling in the classroom while also representing the Raider diamond on so many playing surfaces.
It’s usually not easy to achieve. It involves late nights and early mornings. It takes sacrifice, grit and sometimes selfishness. But at the end of the day, Richmond County is well-represented on and off the field or court by so many wonderful young men and women.
And the community is ultimately better from each student-athlete’s commitment.
Beginning with fall sports, the first “Top Sports Story” of this series will be published Monday.
