Richards Wins 10,000 Meter Title at NCCAA Track Championships
ROME, Ga. -- Senior
David Richards (Cobleskill, NY, Cobleskill HS) brought home a national title with a strong performance in the 10,000 meters at the NCCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships being held at Shorter University on Thursday.
Richards finished in a time of 32:28.17 to top the other nine competitors. Teammate
Austin Groff (Millersville, PA, Penn Manor) also turned in a good result, finishing fourth in 32:54.90.
"The pace went out really slow but both David and Austin stuck to the plan and waited patiently for the race to unfold," said Highlander Coach Matt Dougherty. "With about 13 laps to go David put in huge surge on the corner and quickly opened up a 20-meter gap. Austin played the foil well, just hanging in the back and confusing the chase. Each lap David added to his lead until just over 100 meters to go. With Austin in the fight for the top five, he put in a huge sprint to get his fourth place finish. These were fantastic races considering most athletes get nervous in these races and go off script. They both stuck to the plan and played it perfectly."
Freshman
Marshall Brady (Wellsville, NY, Wellsville HS ) currently sits in fifth place in the decathlon with 2865 points after five events.
The women picked up two points from
Andrea Melhorn (Mount Joy, Pa, Donegal HS), who finished seventh in the discus with a throw of 39.39 meters.
More Highlanders are in action on day two of the championships Friday.
Follow the championship with live results and live video streaming at the event website.