ROCKINGHAM — Placing first in the final meet of the regular season, racking up a couple of runner-up finishes before then, and sending five girls to compete on the state’s biggest stage sounds like a “pretty good season” to Reggie Miller.

Especially when the long-tenured coach thinks about the fact that his squad last year, although much-improved from the season before, was unable to score a first-place finish in any of its meets and only had one make an appearance at states.

“The kids did a tremendous job,” Miller said. “The weather was extremely cold but the girls didn’t let it get to them. … They worked hard throughout the season, didn’t quit and didn’t show any signs of being scared (to compete).”

The Richmond girls indoor track and field team officially wrapped up its 2018-19 campaign at the 4A NCHSAA State Championships this past weekend. Representing the Lady Raiders at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem were Janai Davis, Maddisyn Diggs, Monasia Kearns, Dymond McNeal and Aniya Robinson.

Davis competed in the shot put, where she finished 20th overall with a solid measurement of 32 feet and four inches, while Kearns placed 18th in the 55m dash with a time of 7.71 seconds.

Kearns is also a member of the 4x200m relay team — alongside Diggs, McNeal and Robinson — that came in fifth place, but ended up being disqualified after officials determined that its third leg didn’t receive the baton in the exchange zone.

Miller was shown the tape afterwards and reluctantly had to agree with the call.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t know until the end of the race that we got DQ’ed. That kind of hurt a little bit,” he said. “But we didn’t get it in time. … You can’t get mad about it. You’ve just got to learn from that mistake and then you move on.”

It wasn’t the most ideal ending, but Miller isn’t letting that one hiccup define the Lady Raiders’ season.

He spoke on how exciting it was to witness his team win the South View Polar Bear No. 4 meet in Fayetteville late last month. In that one, Davis, the 4×2 team and Kibreanna Stewart bested their respective events to lead the way.

Stewart, a junior, measured out at 29 feet and eight inches to beat out the competition in the triple jump.

Other notable performances at No. 4 were sophomore Korie Dawkins finishing top five in the high, long and triple jumps and freshman Jaleah McKinnon and junior Daonna Hester placing fourth and sixth, respectively, in the 55m hurdles.

Richmond came close to doing the same — take first place — at the first and third Polar Bear meets, but it had to settle for second both times after finishing within reach of Union Pines and conference foe Pinecrest, respectively.

Getting that close that often (there were only five meets in the regular season) has Miller optimistic looking forward. It also helps that almost 100 percent of his team will be back next season. Davis was the only senior on the team.

“The good thing about these girls is that they’re still young,” said Miller, who mentioned how important this past indoor season was as a precursor to the upcoming outdoor campaign — which officially began on Wednesday.

“Coming into outdoor, they’re already conditioned enough,” he added. “So we’re ready.”

Leon Hargrove Jr. | Daily Journal file photo
Richmond’s Aniya Robinson, far left, receives the baton from Maddisyn Diggs while Monasia Kearns and Dymond McNeal, far right, looks on during the latter part of a practice on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_handoff.jpgLeon Hargrove Jr. | Daily Journal file photo
Richmond’s Aniya Robinson, far left, receives the baton from Maddisyn Diggs while Monasia Kearns and Dymond McNeal, far right, looks on during the latter part of a practice on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019.
Lady Raider indoor team says goodbye to 2018-19 season

By Leon Hargrove Jr.

Sports Editor

Reach sports editor Leon Hargrove Jr. by phone at 910-817-2673 or by email at [email protected]. For stories, scores and updates, follow the Daily Journal’s sports section on Twitter @RCDailySports.