ROCKINGHAM — A lot of winning occurred for the Richmond Senior High School boys’ track and field team during Tuesday’s conference meet.
Hosting their first meet of the season, the Raiders welcomed Overhills and Pine Forest high schools for a Mid-South Conference contest.
Richmond had to wait nearly two months into the season to hold its first home event due to the installation of a new track surface.
It paid off for the Raiders who won 11 events against the Jaguars and Trojans. Additionally, Richmond had 11 runner-up results, five third-place finishers, six fourth-place marks and two competitors take fifth overall.
Head coach John Rich explained that official team scores were not kept during the meet, as Richmond’s student-athletes were focused on qualifying for regionals.
The Raiders earned wins in both hurdles events, two sprints, two relay races and four of the five field events.
Junior Cameron Smith won the 110-meter hurdles (15.98 seconds) and senior Domonic Tillman took first in the 300-meter hurdles (42.10 seconds). Seniors Tyrese Collins (10.86 seconds) and Christian Surgent (50.41 seconds) won the 100 and 400-meter dashes, respectively.
Blazing around the track, the Raiders’ 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relay teams also finished atop the time sheet. The 4x100 crew made its lap around the track in 42.00 seconds and the 4x400 team clocked in with a time of 4:02.23.
Dominating the field events, the Raiders won the high jump, triple jump, discus and shot put. Those winners, in order, were junior Josiah Brewington (6 feet, 0 inches), senior Chamaure Shaw (40 feet, 2 inches), junior Jeremiah Covington (135 feet, 7 inches) and junior Elijah Ingram (48 feet, 3 inches).
Rounding out Richmond’s 11-win effort was sophomore distance runner Elliot Samuel, who won the 3200-meter run (14:23.71).
A host of Raiders placed second, including the 4x200-meter relay team (1:33.06). Taking second in sprints were sophomore Ty Covington (100-meter, 10.94 seconds), senior Keonta Pegues (200-meter, 21.99 seconds) and senior Amer Morrison (400-meter, 51.56 seconds).
Sophomore Jonathan Leak (16.07 seconds) and junior Alijah Flowers (42.77 seconds) placed second in the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles. Senior Angel Cristobal was second in the two-mile run, finishing with a time of 15:17.66.
Field events again favored the Raiders, as Tillman (high jump, 6 feet, 0 inches), senior Jayden Hamilton (long jump, 18 feet, 11 inches), junior Chance Crowder (triple jump, 38 feet, 6 inches) and senior Esaias Brunson (discus, 109 feet, 11 inches) all took second place.
Many of those competitors also placed third in an event – Flowers (110-hurdles, 16.14 seconds), Leak (300-hurdles, 43.99 seconds), Hamilton (high jump, 5 feet, 10 inches), Crowder (long jump, 18 feet, 5.5 inches) and Brunson (shot put, 41 feet, 6 inches).
Five Raiders combined for the six fourth-place results, starting with freshman Maurice Lemon in the 200-meter dash (23.23 seconds). Sophomore Ziyair Ingram had two fourth-place times in the hurdles – 110-meter (16.95 seconds) and 300-meter (46.08 seconds).
Other fourth-place Raiders were freshman JaMarrion Nicholson in the 400-meter (56.05 seconds), sophomore Danny Cole in the 800-meter (2:14.35) and senior Daylyn Robinson in the shot put (41 feet, 2 inches).
Freshmen Damarion Allen (100-meter dash, 11.19 seconds) and Axel Nunez (1600-meter run, 5:38.81) were the two Raiders to earn fifth overall in their respective event.
The Raiders will travel to Hoke County High School Thursday for another MSC meet. Field events will start at 4:30 p.m.
