ROCKINGHAM — As week two of the statewide halt on high school athletics begins, the Richmond Observer is turning toward local seniors for a pick-me-up.
In this feature, a variety of student-athletes from Richmond Senior High School share their favorite memories during their time as Raiders and Lady Raiders.
While all of their senior years are being interrupted by the coronavirus outbreak, several are also seeing what would have been their final spring season put on hold. The North Carolina High School Athletic Association has suspended all sports through April 6.
Using social media, Richmond seniors submitted the following responses:
Noah Altman, football and golf -- “My favorite memory of playing high school sports was the third-round playoff game against Myers Park this year. The atmosphere of that game was absolutely unreal. It was an extremely intense game and we got revenge for the loss we had the year before.”
Jali Blue, cheerleading -- “Being able to grow up with my teammates, cheerleading has taken me through my whole high school experience. I’m going to miss my girls, miss getting ready and going out to eat before every game with them. It’s a special bond that I wouldn’t want to share with anyone else.”
Drew Davis, football and soccer -- “It has been an absolute honor being able to play both soccer and football at Richmond. My favorite soccer memory is scoring the winning penalty kick against Jack Britt this year, and my favorite football memory is coming back and beating Myers Park in the third round of the playoffs.”
Michael DeMay, wrestling -- “One of my favorite memories from wrestling was riding on the bus for the first time to go to a tournament.”
Tyrone Easterling, football -- “My best memory hands down had to be during my junior year against Scotland. Beating Scotland and ending their ‘streak’ on us. That’s the one.”
Austin Gallops, wrestling -- “My favorite memory of my wrestling career was when I became the first Raider wrestler to ever win the Sandhills Athletic Conference championship (for my weight class) during my junior year.”
Lee Hayden, soccer and tennis -- “My favorite memory was watching Coach (Chris) Larsen hang clean in the #SpringAthleteChallenge video.”
Jadyn Johnson, volleyball -- “One of my favorite memories as a Richmond athlete was senior night (against Scotland). I will never forget that night, the energy in the room or my teammates. I love them and Scully beyond words.”
Madison Jordan, volleyball and softball -- “Beating Scotland on senior night in volleyball is by far my favorite memory. We were the underdogs, but still crushed them. The entire gym was loud and you could feel the Raider Magic. Then we went on to beat them in the conference tournament, too.”
Noah Jordan, soccer -- “I remember every year of soccer like it was yesterday, from the hilarious bus rides up to playing the card game. The coaching from (Chris) Larsen and Bennie (Howard) made each year that much better. I was able to play the game I love. Recently with ROSports, soccer has received a lot more attention and I believe that it helped our program a lot. With guys like these, Richmond’s sports programs have an even brighter future.”
Carley Lambeth, volleyball, bowling and soccer -- “My time as a Raider athlete has been nothing short of amazing, I can’t pick just one favorite memory. However, my all-time favorite part is the best friends who turned into family on the court and the field. The girls and coaches mean everything to me and I can’t wait to hopefully get back out there with them.”
Javon Little, football -- “My favorite memory while playing football was when I was making tackles and getting sacks. Just hearing the crowd cheer and my teammates congratulating me was awesome. I also enjoyed making a bond with the community members who came to our games.”
Dakota Locklear, swimming -- “My best memories as a student-athlete are being a part of the swim team and being able to make new friends throughout the years.”
Keionna Love, basketball -- “My best memory as a senior athlete was senior night on Valentine’s Day. We beat Scotland and I had my teammates, friends and family in the stands.”
Layne Maultsby, volleyball and soccer -- “My favorite memories have been beating Scotland in volleyball on senior night, and also getting a chance to play for both Coach (Ashleigh) Larsen and (Chris) Larsen. I also enjoyed being a part of the soccer team for the first time.”
Hailey Miller, golf, bowling and soccer -- “My favorite memory from high school was cheering on the football team in the student section during the game against Myers Park in the playoffs. It was so cool to see us win and move on.”
Nathaniel Parker, wrestling -- “For wrestling, (my favorite memory) was being able to be a part of the team and treated like family, no matter the circumstances.”
James Patterson, football -- “My best memory was to be able to play football with my friends and be able to call them my brothers.”
Valery Standridge, soccer -- “My favorite memory from soccer was when we beat Jack Britt in overtime and penalty kicks during my 11th grade year.”
Devon Tillman, cross country -- “My favorite memory would have to be when I set my personal best time of 22:52 at regionals during my freshman year. And I also heard some scouts talk about it.”
Note: ROSports will add student-athlete responses to this article as they are submitted.
