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Richardson uses wildcard invite to finish eighth


After receiving a special invitation to compete, Boyd’s Noah Richardson worked his way down the track against a field of the strongest 3A runners in the state.

Richardson ran 4:37.01 to finish in eighth place in the 3A boys 1,600 at the UIL State Track and Field Championships Thursday at Mike A. Myers Stadium at the University of Texas at Austin.

“It was awesome to compete at the state track meet,” Richardson said. “I’ve made it to state in cross country three years in a row. I felt like I had a chance to make it to state last year, but that didn’t get to happen. We haven’t had a kid from Boyd make it to state in a while. The fact that we had two Boyd athletes this year, despite everything going on and injuries, it’s been quite a ride.

“I felt pretty good in the race,” he continued. “We started off a little slow around the 800 mark. I really didn’t want to start that slow because one of the guys runs a sub-2 minute 800, so I knew he had real speed. I was trying to play into that, but I should have just ran my race. It’s a learning process. This is my first state track meet, so I hope to use my newfound knowledge this year for next year’s state meet.”

With one more year to run, Richardson wants to finish on the medal stand and with a collegiate offer.

“Next year, I want to be up there,” Richardson said. “I’m really trying to get a scholarship to go to college. That’s my future plan. I’m just going to have to put in all the work. If I get back to state next year, I want to leave it all out there. It’ll be a process to get there. The gold medal would be nice, but I think it’ll be easier with the more I learn every day.”

“I’m pretty proud of Noah for getting the wildcard, which is something we’ve never done in the time I’ve been here,” Boyd coach Oscar Hernandez said. “The wildcard has only been a thing in the past decade. I felt he was very deserving of the wildcard, and it’s always great to get trips to Austin.

“I thought Noah ran good,” he continued. “The pace was a little slow, but I don’t think he wanted to start the race by pushing the pace. He really started pushing on the third lap, but those are the top runners in 3A. They all went with him. It came down to what I call a “sit-and-kick” race — they all sit below pace and start kicking with about 400 meters to go.”

The coach believes Richardson will assume the role as a senior captain next season, and be ready to compete in his final year.

“I think he’ll worry about the team first,” Hernandez said. “We’ve basically got everyone coming back. We’ve also got two junior high kids that are pretty solid, and one new guy. I might get one or two guys who didn’t run last year. I’m hoping we’ll have 8-10 boys on the team.

“We’re really going to try to push next season,” he continued. “I’ve known Noah since he was a sixth grader. He’s going to put the team first and do his part. He’s the team captain and the leader. He’ll try to get the group to state, even though we’re probably in one of the toughest districts in the state at the 3A level.”

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