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Richardson's Running to the Future
by Frank Burlison, Long Beach Press-Telegram
May 24, 2007
LONG BEACH - Eighteen of Chris Richardson's teammates on the Long Beach
State track and field squad were scheduled to board a Portland-bound flight
today to compete in the NCAA West Regional competition at the University
of Oregon on Friday and Saturday
But what of Richardson, one of the nation's finest decathletes and an
athlete who has already qualified for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials?
He's heading to Orlando, Fla., on a red-eye flight Saturday night.
Richardson, a graduate of Downey High and Cerritos College who finished
third in the decathlon in last year's NCAA Championship meet in Sacramento,
will certainly be with his buddies in spirit. But he's not bailing on
them in the flesh.
Richardson red-shirted for the 49ers this season while he worked toward
a bachelor's degree in religious studies and a master's degree in kinesiology.
Richardson will compete as a senior in 2008, when he will be among the
favorites to win the NCAA title in the decathlon
And he won't be vacationing at Disney World while in Florida.
Richardson will Long Beach State's representative at the NCAA's Student-Athlete
Leadership Conference.
"It's about doing what I can to help student-athletes as a`community',"
Richardson said Monday afternoon, less than an hour after one of the five
finals he had to tackle in a week.
Richardson said he "got out and spoke to athletes in a lot of different
sports (on campus).
"A lot of the issues have to do with money. When we compete against
athletes from the `bigger' schools, we talk to them and hear about the
kind of scholarship stipends they get. And a lot of the time, they're
way higher than ours, even when they're at schools in cities where the
cost of living is a lot less than here.
"But student-athletes come to Long Beach because they want to be
here. There is not a lot of bickering or undercutting or ego issues."
Richardson said he ultimately wants to become responsible for coordinating
college athletic departments.
"Athletic administration is something I want to pursue," he
said. "I'm looking into some internships. And, long term, yeah .
. . I eventually want to be an athletic director."
There are plenty of things on Richardson's academic and athletic plates
to finish before he follows in the footsteps of the likes of Vic Cegles,
Mike Garrett or Dan Guerrero, the ADs at LBSU, USC and UCLA, respectively,
who were also college athletes.
Richardson wants to bag an NCAA championship in the decathlon a year from
now, while helping the 49ers make some noise in team scoring.
And, eventually, he wants to represent the United States in a Summer Olympic
Games.
A year ago, when Richardson first made his splash on the NCAA level in
the decathlon, the thinking of Dave Rodda, who handles decathletes and
heptathletes for LBSU track and field coach Andy Sythe, was that Richardson's
Olympic opportunity would come in 2012, when the U.S. puts its team together
for the London Games.
But Richardson's progress in the past year has exceeded expectations.
This was shown by the 7,871 points he scored to win the championship at
the Mt. SAC Relays in Azusa in April. That total score qualified Richardson
for the Olympic Trials.
"When we first recruited him and put together a plan for him,"
Rodda said, "we talked about using this as a red-shirt year so that
he could work on his technique in some of the events.
"But I just didn't quite expect the acceleration in his progress
that he has made. We wanted 2008 to be a great experience for him and
point to 2012 as the `time' for him (to earn a spot on the Olympic team).
But now? I'm not going to make any predictions because I just don't know
what could happen."
Richardson is preparing on the USA Track and Field Championships in Indianapolis
on June 22-23. He knows that will be an appetizer compared to the entr
e he'll table up to in Eugene at the 2008 Olympic Trials.
But, he isn't one to get too far ahead of himself.
"I'm trying to keep things in perspective," Richardson said.
"Things are going well, but I also know I have so much I need work
on. That's what keeps me level-headed."
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