Courtesy of Valerie Perkin/Air Force Athletics
EUGENE, Ore. – Brayden Richards closed out his impressive freshman season with an 18th-place finish in the decathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships this evening (June 12) in Eugene, Oregon. Richards, the first athlete in 14 years to represent Air Force in the decathlon at the national championship meet, tallied 7488 points to claim Honorable Mention All-America honors.
The first-year Falcon accounted for two career-best marks and three top-10 scores on Thursday, as he amassed 3700 points over the final five events to complete his 7488-point total. Richards’ best finish of the meet came in the javelin, as he was one of only three athletes to surpass the 200-foot mark with a 758-point distance of 201’2″ (61.32 meters). He also collected top-10 scores in the pole vault and discus throw this afternoon, clearing 15’5½” (4.71 meters) to tie for the fifth-highest score of the pole vault (822 points) and adding more than three-feet to his previous best in the discus (135’1″, 41.17 meters) during a 688-point performance – the ninth-highest score of the event. An 820-point time of 15.25 in the 110-meter hurdles and a career-best time of 4:51.13 in the 1500-meter run (612 points) book-ended the day for Richards – one of only three freshmen in the 24-man field.
The Falcons will close out the NCAA Outdoor Championships tomorrow (June 13) afternoon, when junior Texas Tanner will compete in the discus throw at 2:15 p.m. PT (updated start time for original release).
