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Former Cerritos College
All-American decathlete
Christopher
Richardson, who recently placed
third in the NCAA Championships for Long Beach
State, was a late addition to the USA Team for the
upcoming 2006 NACAC Under-23 Track and Field
Championships, which will be held from July 7-9 in
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Richardson was
added to the team after two other decathletes
withdrew, which opened up the opportunity for the
two-time state decathlon champion while with the
Falcons. There were several qualifications that
Richardson had to meet before being offered the slot
on the team, including the age and a qualifying mark
of at least 6200 points in the decathlon. In placing
third at the NCAA Championships, Richardson amassed
7573 points and achieved the mark during the time
frame required.
This past season for the 49'ers
Richardson earned All-American honors in the
10-event competition and in the process recorded the
second-longest javelin throw (219' 9") in Long Beach
State history to help him move up in the placing. He
was also named the Big West Conference Field Athlete
of the Year and set a new school record with his
decathlon points
While with the Falcons,
Richardson set a new school record with 6980 points
to win the state title as a sophomore and also
scored points for the team in the long jump (fifth
place at 23’ 1½”) and sixth place in the javelin
(177’ 1”) to earn the Co-Outstanding Field Athlete
of the Meet. Additionally, Richardson was named the
school's Sophomore Athlete of the Year in 2005. In
his freshman year, he accumulated 6632 points to win
the state title in the decathlon and also placed
seventh in the javelin. Between his freshman and
sophomore seasons, he was named Verizon All-American
and placed in the Top 4 at the United States
20-and-Under Championships.
Richardson will not be without a
familiar face at the meet, as current Falcon
Director of Track and Field,
Doug Wells, is serving as the
men's team's head manager. |
