PINEHURST — The location of Tuesday’s third Sandhills Athletic Conference golf match may have changed from the previous two, but the Richmond Raider and Lady Raider golf teams remained consistent in their final placements.
After playing the first two matches of the spring at Pinehurst No. 6, the SAC teams shifted their focus to Pinehurst No. 7, and Richmond’s teams battled the par 36 front nine holes.
For the third consecutive match, the Lady Raiders placed third overall out of four qualifying teams, while also shooting a team-best score of 241. The top four scorers were used to calculate the total, which was a stroke better than the team’s score in Week 1.
Just ahead of Richmond was Scotland High School (233) and Pinecrest High School earned its third straight victory with a team tally of 181. The Lady Raiders bested Lumberton High School by seven strokes.
Senior Georgia Grace Anderson, who led the Lady Raiders in the first two matches, shot a 56 to place atop the scorecard for the third consecutive week. Through three matches, her average nine-hole score has been 55.3 strokes per round.
“This was one of those long days on a difficult course, and I am happy both of our groups kept digging throughout our round,” head coach Keith Parsons said. “The girls improved our score from the previous matches despite the tough conditions.
“Georgia Grace continues to be a leader, and Delaney (Driggers) and Jamie (Sears) posted season-best rounds,” he added. “Angeli (Yang) and Abigail (Tatum) also showed improvement, and that will pay off later this season.”
Driggers and Sears both shot a 61 on the afternoon, which ws Driggers’ best round and Sears tied her first match score. Yang and Tatum both posted a 63 for the Lady Raiders.
Pinecrest’s Bebe Rujiranan shot the lowest in the field, impressing with a 39 (+3) on the front nine.
In the boys’ competition, the Raiders took a small step back from last week’s second match, but persevered and managed to earn a tie for second place with Jack Britt High School.
The Raiders and Buccaneers both shot team scores of 203, 56 strokes behind Pinecrest (147), which also took its third win of the season.
Richmond’s efforts down the stretch proved beneficial, as Scotland and Lumberton both finished tied for third just one stroke behind the Raiders and Jack Britt with a score of 204. Purnell Swett took fourth (232) and Hoke County placed fifth (239).
The Raiders’ score of 206 was its second best outing this spring, and senior Jonathan Rich led the team with a 43 (+7). Fellow senior Jaxon Mabe finished second on the day, posting a 51, and Rich saw his average round score move to 41.3.
Sophomore Ayden Mabe notched his season-low round with a 54, followed by junior Ethan Brown’s 55 and senior Will Thompson’s 58.
Pinecrest’s Colin Dutton was the only player in the field to shoot under par, finishing the round with a 33 (-3).
“Our boys hung in to tie for second, which is a good result for us,” Parsons said. “It shows the importance of making sure you do your best on every shot, since it helps the team, as well as each player. That is a great lesson.”
Through three matches, the Raiders stand alone in second place with 18.5 points, a point ahead of Scotland. The Lady Raiders are in third with 18 points, just one point in front of Lumberton.
