NCAA Championships Await Richardson in Oregon

Hayward Field at the University of Oregon will be the site of the 2010 NCAA Track & Field Championships.

The Particulars
Claire Richardson will represent the Harvard Track and Field team at the 2010 NCAA Track and Field Championships June 9-12 in Eugene, Ore. Richardson will compete in the 5,000 meter finals, which will take place Friday evening at Hayward Field.

Qualification
The junior three-season athlete was the lone Harvard qualifier at the NCAA Regionals in Greensboro, N.C., May 30. Richardson placed ninth in the national semifinal, recording a time of 16:31.83, which stands as the third-fastest time in program history. Teammates Carlyle Davis and Chas Gillespie just missed qualifying for the national championships as Davis advanced as far as the national quarterfinals in the 800 meter run and Gillespie placed 17th out of 48 runners in the men's 5,000 meter event.

NCAA History
While this will be Richardson's first trip to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Harvard has traditionally had a strong presence at the meet. The Crimson men have had two NCAA championships participants since 2005 as Samyr Laine '06 (2005) and Nico Weiler '12 (2009) both earned All-America honors. The Harvard women have had a representative at the meet every year since 2005 and Lindsey Scherf '08 (2005, 2006) and Becky Christensen (2007, 2009), earned four All-America nods in that span. Last year, Christensen tied for fifth place in the high jump, the highest finish by a Crimson athlete since Scherf's fourth-place result in the 10,000 meter run in 2005.

Already Decorated
Along with her on-the-field accomplishments, Richardson has received numerous academic accolades as well. She was recently named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First-Team and is eligible to receive Academic All-America honors when they are announced later this month. She also garnered Academic All-Ivy accolades in the fall as a member of the cross country team and qualified for the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships.