ROCKINGHAM — Moving onto the next winter sport in our review of the 2025-26 school year, Richmond’s swimming team takes the platform.
It was a season of growth for the Raider and Lady Raider swimming teams, which culminated in one swimmer earning the top individual recognition at the Mid-South Conference championship meet in January.
Senior Cole Thrower, a four-year veteran swimmer for the Raiders, was voted as the MSC’s “Male Swimmer of the Year.”
In addition to the accolade, Thrower placed second overall in the 100-yard freestyle and was third overall in the 50-yard freestyle. He set new personal record times in both events.
Here is the original article from Jan. 26, 2026:
RAEFORD — For the final time of his career, four-year swimmer Cole Thrower competed in a meet last Thursday and made the most of it.
Thrower, along with the rest of the Richmond Senior High School boys’ swimming team, swam in the inaugural Mid-South Conference championship meet at the Leach Aquatic Center.
The Raiders placed sixth overall out of the six qualifying teams. They recorded a total of 86 points.
Pinecrest High School took home the boys’ and girls’ team championships, as the Patriots bested the field with 383 points. Richmond’s closest competitor was fifth-place Hoke County High School (170 points).
Swimming in two individual events, as well as anchoring one relay race, Thrower closed out his career with a pair of top-three finishes and two new personal records. In the relay event, he also helped the Raiders to their season-best time.
Notching a single-match career-high 33 points in his two events, Thrower placed second overall in the 100-yard freestyle and was third in the field in the 50-yard freestyle.
Shaving more than a second and a half off his previous best time in the open 100, which he set just two weeks prior, Thrower swam to this second-place time of 1:00.13 and notched 17 points.
In the 50-yard freestyle, Thrower was on the heels of the leaders with his final time of 25.61 seconds, another PR. Again, in just two weeks’ time, he erased 0.12 seconds and earned 16 points.
The cherry on top for Thrower, however, was being named the MSC’s “Male Swimmer of the Year,” which was voted on by the conference’s coaches.
“Cole has been a four-year swimmer with the Raiders and he has pushed himself this season and continues to set personal records in each event he competes in,” head coach Lauren Brewer shared. “He is one of the first to practice and last to leave the pool. He finds new drills and works hard to earn those personal records.
“He is a leader in the pool and the classroom. With a young group behind him, he has been encouraging others to build up their confidence in the pool. Cole works hard in the pool and even harder in the classroom. He pushes himself and is currently balancing college classes, high school classes, clubs and swim.
“Cole is working hard to earn the top spot in his graduating class as he is currently on track to graduate third in the class of 2026,” she closed. “Cole exemplifies the full student-athlete.”
Another large chunk of Richmond’s points was scored by the 200-yard freestyle relay team. Swimming that event were Gilliam, Gainey, sophomore Mason Robson and Thrower in the anchor.
The four Raiders combined for a season-best time of 2:06.43, notching fifth place and 28 points.
Two other swimmers finished the championship meet with points scored in individual events. Gilliam was second on the scoresheet with 19 points thanks to his PR time of 1:35.02 in the 100-yard backstroke, which put him sixth overall.
Gilliam also swam the 50-yard freestyle and was 11th on the timesheet with a mark of 34.06 seconds. That gave him his final six points.
Freshman Owen Whitley ended the night with six points, finishing 11th in 100-yard freestyle. He set a new PR of 1:22.01.
The Raiders’ season came to an end with a sixth-place spot in the final conference standings. Despite Thrower’s efforts, he didn’t qualify for regionals.
