Colin Richardson '22 Recruiting Profile

I have been running and using my speed to my advantage for as long as I can remember. During the 5 years I played football and wrestled, speed was my secret weapon; I was able to outrun and outmaneuver my opponents. When Covid-19 happened, I made the decision to make track my main sport and to focus all my athletic efforts towards running.

 I've been going to school and playing sports with the same group of kids my entire life. Over the last few years, people started to notice that I stood out. Not because I was one of the only black kids - which was obvious - but all of a sudden everyone seemed to keep growing taller and I did not. On the offensive line in a football game - everyone was bigger, and at the start line of a 100-meter race - left to right, everyone towered over me. What’s interesting is that I didn’t notice the differences until people continuously pointed them out to me. At first, I felt frustrated that something I had no control over had such a profound impact on my life, but then I decided that it wouldn’t stop me from achieving my goals… but it did change some things. Now when I watched film from my races, it became evident that no matter how well I started out of the blocks, the taller runners would out-stride me and catch up. To counter this, I started drills that helped me work on the middle and ending of my races as well as increasing my endurance to make up for where I fall “short” in my races. Having longer legs would probably help - but I won’t allow having shorter legs to not help me be a successful track athlete.

I am proud of being a successful track runner as well as being a great student. While performing as a varsity track athlete for 3 years, I have also maintained an honor roll level GPA taking honors and AP courses as well as participating in a number of clubs and 2 other sports.

My passion for track and pursuing higher education are evident in my athletic and academic achievements. I plan to major in Computer Science, specifically cybersecurity. I want to continue my track career in college because being a student-athlete has been an important part of my growth both academically and physically. I enjoy contributing to the success of my team, and I also just love the sport.  In addition, I believe that I have what it takes to perform well at the next level based on how I've been performing over the last 6 years. I am in the top 10 all best times for the 100 meter at my high school - but my goal is to beat the #1 record. I know I have it in me!