EUGENE, OR – South Carolina State sprinter Tyrell Richard continued his amazing performance in the 400 meters Wednesday as he established a school and conference record with a second-place finish in his semifinal heat with a time of 44.70 at the NCAA Division 1 Track and Field Championship at Eugene, Oregon.
Richard’s record run earned him a spot in Friday’s 400 meters finals to be run at 9:32 p.m. at Hayward Field. The meet can be seen on ESPN and is also being streamed live on ESPN3.
Richard’s time was second only to the 44.66 clocked by Southern Cal’s Michael Norman, who owns the 400-meter indoor world record (44.52). The Bulldog junior established an SC State school record in the event — erasing the mark of 45.18 set by Malcolm Walters in 1986 — and surpassed the MEAC record of 45.21 which he himself set a short two weeks ago.
Richard, a Georgetown, SC native has a chance to become the second SC State sprinter to medal at an NCAA track Championship this season. His teammate Demek Kemp earned a bronze medal at the NCAA Indoor Championship with a third-place finish. Richard’s showing on Wednesday assured him of All-America accolades if he finishes Friday’s race, according to SC State head coach Tim Langford.
Courtesy: SCSU Athletics
I went to a website called TRACK&FIELD News and they talked about Richard and his 44.70 effort they were wondering if he was a flash in the pan or a runner with substance to watch for in the future.
That is strange how can the school mark of 45.18 be faster than the league mark of 45.21.The ppl who control the league marks made a HUGE MISTAKE.The school mark.stood for 32 yrs which was faster than the previous mark of 45.60 set by Chris Brown of Norfolk St in the early millenium.