SOUTHERN PINES — It was a competitive day on the course for the Richmond Senior High School boys’ and girls’ cross country teams Wednesday.
Concluding their regular season at the Mid-South Conference championship meet, the Raiders and Lady Raiders each finished at or near the bottom of the final standings.
The three-mile race was held at Pinecrest High School. The Lady Raiders placed fifth out of six teams with 132 points, while the Raiders were sixth out of six teams with 188 points.
Pinecrest’s boys’ team (22 points) and girls’ team (21 points) swept the conference titles on their home course.
Ahead of the Lady Raiders were Jack Britt (57 points), Overhills (80) and Hoke County (120) high schools. Pine Forest’s girls’ team was sixth overall with 142 points.
Finishing between the Patriots and the Raiders in the boys’ race were Jack Britt (60 points), Hoke County (61), Pine Forest (119) and Overhills (132).
Lady Raiders 5th in MSC championship
Pacing the Lady Raiders was junior Emily Valencia, who finished 21st overall out of 41 runners. She placed 18th amongst runners qualifying for points with a time of 24:10.86.
Sophomore Jazlyn Garcia was second to finish for Richmond, crossing the finish line in 24:28.90. She was 24th overall and the 21st runner qualifying for points to end the race.
The Lady Raiders’ next two finishers — senior Melanie Garcia and junior Janet Morales — each recorded new personal record times.
Melanie Garcia was right behind Jazlyn Garcia in 25th place with 22 points, and took over nine seconds off her previous best time. She clocked in with a mark of 24:51.15. Morales ended the race in 27:23.50, a full 15 seconds faster, and was 38th overall for 35 points.
The Lady Raiders’ final points qualifier was sophomore Karen Zamora, who ran a race time of 28:24.51. That put her in 39th place with 36 points.
Also running for Richmond to help offset Pine Forest’s final runners were junior Madyson Cloninger (28:42.89) and senior Jada Scott (29:07.19). They did their part by finishing ahead of five Lady Trojans to clinch fifth place.
Raiders finish season in 6th place
Facing a tough field of 56 runners, the Raiders saw all eight of their competitors finish in the final 12 spots.
Senior Jake Richardson was the fastest Raider during the meet, clocking in at 23:27.68. That put him 45th overall and 35th amongst runners qualifying for points.
Sophomore Eliott Samuel was on Richardson’s heels in 46th place, collecting 36 points with a time of 23:43.42.
Next in Richmond’s lineup were sophomore Jaron Gainey (26:03.57) and freshman Angel Vega (26:23.89). Those two runners were 50th and 51st, respectively, combining for 77 points.
Senior Elijah Shaw was the final point-getter for the Raiders, taking 53rd place with a time of 28:24.44. That was good enough for the team’s final 40 points.
Rounding out the Raiders’ efforts were sophomore Nolan Dawkins (29:55.42), senior Luke Gilliam (29:58.91) and freshman Zion Barnes (38:21.87). They closed the field in 54th-56th place, respectively.
The 7A Central regional championship meet will be held at the WakeMed Soccer Complex in Cary on Saturday, Oct. 25.
