SEASON PREVIEW: Richmond cross country teams aiming for return to regionals, better times

ROCKINGHAM — The consistency of success within the Richmond Senior High School cross country program has continued to trend in the right direction the past few seasons.

Part of that has been the team of head coaches leading the Raiders and Lady Raiders — Ashleigh Buie and Morgan Tedder — both of whom return for their third season together.

In addition to the culture the duo has created, Richmond’s success on the ground has come from its dedicated runners.

The new high school cross country season will officially begin this week, and Richmond’s boys’ and girls’ teams are setting the standard high.

While one of the main goals this fall is to see each runner cut down his or her 3.2-mile race time, Richmond’s coaches and runners are also focusing on developing better training skills and overall team performance.

The Raiders and Lady Raiders have been training since early July to start their quest back to the NCHSAA 4A Mideast regionals. Practices have been split between running on campus and at Hinson Lake with the intent to vary the runners’ terrain.

Returning this season is a core group of experienced student-athletes for the Lady Raiders, which includes four runners who qualified for regionals last year — seniors Samantha Barnes, Mariana Mendez and Alivia Webb, along with sophomore Dayana Franco.

Mendez and Webb have been named the program’s senior captains for the upcoming season.

All four of the returning regional runners set new personal records last fall — Mendez (21:22.41), Barnes (24:28.00), Webb (24:58.58) and Franco (25:24:00).

Two of the Lady Raiders’ nine total runners are also back for another season — sophomores Madyson Cloninger and Makensey Puckett. The pair of underclassmen is looking to step up to add to the top six times counted for each race.

Newcomers for the girls’ team include junior Jada Scott, freshman Isabella Avalos and senior foreign exchange student Mascha Theijs. Both coaches expect all three to also contribute this season.

For the Raiders, it’s a bit of a different look this fall than the past couple of seasons. They will be without former regional qualifiers Zaviar Lowry and Toby McInnis, as well as four-year runner Cain Hunsucker.

Not to be discouraged, however, Buie and Tedder have been impressed with a returning runner after a year off and some of the team’s younger talent.

Junior DJ Gainey, who is also a varsity soccer player in the fall, is back to try and improve where he left off following his freshman season. Freshman Victor Nguyen joins the team for his first high school season and has been one of the frontrunners alongside Gainey.

Senior Jaxon Chavis and juniors Luke Gilliam and Jake Richardson are three additional returners. The trio of Raiders raced in five meets last season, with Richardson having the best single-race time of 23:38.00 between the three.

A welcomed addition this fall is senior James Coicou, who has been a middle distance and mile runner for the boys’ track and field team the past three years. Rounding out the roster is freshman Elliot Samuels, who Buie and Tedder have also been impressed with.

The Raiders and Lady Raiders will get their new season started Tuesday at Union Pines High School. Lee County will also compete.

The boys’ race will start at 5 p.m., followed by the girls’ race at 5:30 p.m.

Below is the complete 2024 schedule for the Richmond boys’ and girls’ cross country teams. All meets are against Sandhills Athletic Conference opponents and Richmond’s home meets are bold.

Aug. 27 @ Union Pines, Lee County

Sept. 3 vs. Hoke County, Southern Lee

Sept. 10 @ Scotland, Pinecrest, Union Pines

Sept.17 @ Lee County, Pinecrest

Sept. 24 @ Lee County, Hoke County, Scotland

Oct. 1 vs. Pinecest, Scotland

Oct. 8 @ Pinecrest, Hoke County

The Richmond Observer will continue its award-winning coverage of the boys’ and girls’ cross country teams this fall.

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