ROCKINGHAM — Running on their home course for the first time this season, the Richmond Senior High School cross country teams both took second place on Thursday.
Hosting Sandhills Athletic Conference opponents Scotland and Union Pines high schools, it was Senior Night for Richmond. Maylyn Wallace was the only senior for either squad, and celebrated her big night with a win in the girls’ race, her first of the season.
Not only did Wallace win the race, she also set her season-low time in an SAC race with a mark of 22:24, which was 50 seconds faster than her previous best.
She completed the 3.2-mile race around Richmond’s campus 12 seconds faster than second-place finisher Eva Reinhardt of Union Pines (22:36).
“The win felt great, especially on Senior Night,” Wallace said. “Even though it was my home course, it had a few challenging hills. I knew when I could see the finish line that I still had about a half a mile to run.
“Knowing how to persevere my energy on those hills and not to sprint on seeing the finish line helped me hold a solid pace to finish strong,” she added.
The Lady Raiders earned a team score of 41 points behind Union Pines’ winning effort of 20 points. Scotland didn’t have enough runners to qualify in both races.
Behind Wallace, Richmond’s runners came in 7th, 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th place.
Freshman Ellan Munn was second to finish for the Lady Raiders, and seventh overall, setting another personal record with a time of 25:10. She took another 30 seconds off her race time from last week.
Freshman Alivia Webb (left) and sophomore Kaleigh Cloninger (right) compete in Thursday’s home cross country meet. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Also collecting points for the Lady Raiders were freshman Mariana Mendez (10th, 26:03) and sophomores Michala Nechvilova (11th, 26:26) and Kaleigh Cloninger (12th, 28:22). Freshman Alivia Webb rounded out the Lady Raiders’ efforts in 13th place with a time of 29:26.
“It was great to see her come in first place on senior night,” head coach Teddy Moseley said of Wallace. “There isn’t anyone who’s more deserving than Maylyn.
“She’s great to coach, and not only that, she’s a great teammate who constantly cheers her teammates on whether they’re in second place or 22nd place. I will truly miss her.”
Junior Christian Sanchez nears the final half mile of his race on Thursday. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
The Richmond boys’ team finished its home race with 49 points, with Union Pines winning the meet with 15 points. The Vikings took the top six spots in the standings.
Junior Christian Sanchez was the first Raider to cross the finish line in 7th place overall, setting another personal record time of 21:16. He took 27 seconds off his race time from last week.
Also setting a new personal best mark was sophomore Toby McInnis, who erased 43 seconds off his previous record. McInnis finished the race in third for the Raiders, and 10th overall, with a time of 24:46.
Junior Kodie Simmons (9th, 22:35), sophomore Cain Hunsucker (11th, 25:50) and freshman Adam Estridge (12th, 26:30) also ran for the Raiders.
Sophomores Cain Hunsucker (left) and Toby McInnis (right) run toward the soccer field in the opening mile of Thursday’s race. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Richmond will run another meet next Wednesday at Pinecrest High School against the Patriots and Hoke County High School. The race will begin at 5 p.m.
