ROCKINGHAM — The sport of high school swimming is still in its infancy stages at Richmond Senior High School, as the boys’ and girls’ programs concluded their third season late last month.
A sport that is physically taxing and demands as much mental focus, the Raider and Lady Raider teams continued to test the waters in 2019-2020. Under the direction of third-year head coach Mike Way and assistant Andy Shuler, Richmond saw several individual successes this winter.
While the times of individual swimmers improved and new additions were made to the team, many of the swimmers, both boys and girls, were new to the sport. Way explained that while the interest of the sport is growing, there is still some room for improvement.
“We have some work to do,” Way noted. “We need to get more kids interested and swimming more than just during the season. We are considerably behind some of the other teams in the conference and it is not fun to be the bottom of the barrel.”
This season, the Lady Raiders finished the Sandhills Athletic Conference championship meet in seventh place, while the Raiders took last place of the eight programs.
The girls tallied 35 points in the championship meet, proving they have a lot of ground to gain if they want to compete with first-place Jack Britt High School (397 points). The boys were in the same boat, recording 66 points, a long way off from champion Pinecrest High School (459 points).
“We got off to a fast start the first year and we are struggling to replicate that success,” Way explained of the 2017-2018 season. “We pulled most of our swimmers from other sports and they competed their tails off.
“It has been difficult to get that level of competitive spirit from the current group,” he added. “They are having to learn it as they go.”
Over the past two seasons, both Richmond programs lost several key swimmers to graduation, leaving gaps to fill in several events the last few months.
Senior Dakota Locklear finished his third season and proved to be the keystone of the boys’ team. Competing in the 200-yard medley relay and the 50-yard freestyle, he brought with him senior leadership that helped out his newer teammates.
He managed to break his own personal record in the 50-yard freestyle this year, swimming the two lengths of the pool in 24.44 seconds. That is also the program’s best mark in that event.
The Lady Raiders were led by senior Aerial Spooner, also a three-year swimmer, whose main event was the 100-yard backstroke. She also participated in relays throughout the season, but closed her career with a personal record of 1:39.10.
Spooner, like Locklear, provided a host of young female swimmers with multiple years of experience in the pool.
Among the several new additions to both teams, sophomore Maylyn Wallace had a breakout season. The 5-11 swimmer made quick work to become one of the Lady Raiders’ strongest competitors, swimming in the top heat in several events, including the 50 and 100-yard freestyles.
Usually placing in the top three at conference meets, Wallace’s best time in the 50-yard freestyle was 31.52 seconds. She was also an anchor in the 200 and 400-yard freestyle relays.
Way didn’t shy away from his team’s efforts in the pool, noting that everyone worked hard throughout the season in practice to put on the best performance possible during meets. But he also said that more dedication is needed to make Richmond’s programs more of a threat in the water.
“Maylyn was a very good addition to the team,” Way said. “We need more swimmers with her fight and determination.
“Some of the boys made good strides this year,” he continued. “Thomas Barbee, for example, became a much bigger part of the team and showed tremendous improvement. It is a working man's sport, and quite frankly, not all of them were willing to put in the work necessary.”
Richmond will only graduate a couple of swimmers, among them are Locklear, Spooner and first-year swimmers Robbie Baxley and Kayla Hawkins.
Returning next year will be then third-year female swimmers Ellie Buck and Kassie Smith, along with third years Barbee and Eric Singleton.
Way hopes that his current swimmers will continue to condition in the offseason and return next year with improved skill.
“We have to get tougher,” Way concluded.
