Upload a Photo Upload a Video Add a News article Write a Blog Add a Comment
Blog Feed News Feed Video Feed All Feeds

Folders

Featured (1014)
News (0)
Roads (122)
All (1388)
 

 

Kaley Richards Made History For UMass-Lowell Twice in Double-Booked NCAA Weekend

Published by
DyeStat.com   Mar 23rd 2021, 10:58pm
Comments

For UMass-Lowell Grad Student, 'Momentum Just Kept Going' Through Historic Weekend

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

The original plan this past winter never included a personal best in the mile for Kaley Richards.

It certainly didn’t include becoming the first NCAA Division 1 All-American in program history in two sports. And it didn’t include running in two different national championship races in less than 48 hours.

But March 12-15 proposed a unique chance for Richards, a graduate student-athlete at UMass-Lowell, to form a new plan and be part of history. She was one of 32 collegiate women who took on the one-of-a-kind challenge of competing in the Division 1 NCAA Indoor National Championships and Cross Country Championships in the span of four days.

On March 13, Richards finished in fourth place in the women’s indoor mile, running a personal-best 4 minutes, 36.26 seconds. Then March 15, she covered a challenging 6-kilometer cross country course in 20:46.9 to finish 30th in a field of more than 200 runners. 

“It was really awesome,” Richards said of the experience. “I was just so thankful I had the opportunity to do that because it was not in the game plan at all. Doing that, it was a big deal. The opportunity came, and I’m glad it did, and I think it all worked out.”

So how exactly does one get into two championship races that normally fall in different calendar seasons?

Last September, as the NCAA wrestled with how to plan its 2020-21 championships in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cross country championships were pushed out of the fall.

In October, the American East Conference, in which UMass-Lowell is a member, announced the cancellation of the indoor track and field championships, while allowing for institutional discretion on regular-season competition. For Richards, that meant a clear focus on cross country.

“My mindset was actually all on winter cross country, I actually didn’t plan to run indoor track at all. That was not in the training plan or anything,” she said. 

But as the past year has shown, flexibility and adapting to shifting circumstances are keys to success.

Richards opened up the cross country season Feb. 6 at New Hampshire, winning the 5-kilometer race in a personal-best 17:03.42. Less than a week later, she was given the opportunity to trade the trails for the track, something she didn’t want to pass up. 

“My athletic director, Peter Casey, gave me the opportunity to run a couple track meets and with COVID, everything you have to be flexible with it,” she said. “I think a team had backed out of the University of Rhode Island meet, so I was able to race against (URI’s) Lotte Black and ran a 4:44 mile on a flat track. My coach was like, ‘OK, maybe you can run a fast mile, even though our training hasn’t been geared toward it.’” 

A week later, Richards was approved to fly down to North Carolina to compete in the elite section of the Camel City Invitational where she ran a then personal-best mile and NCAA qualifying time of 4:38.36.

“At that point I was like, ‘OK, I guess I have to do both now,” Richards said.

With a solid distance foundation, Richards said her planning and training shifted toward faster workouts. But the competitive mentality stayed the same, if not ramped up even more. 

“I did my best to focus on my long-term goals,” she said. “For me, just putting in the work every single day and thinking what do I want to gain from this? That’s kind of how I focused on it. I wrote on my wall that I wanted to make it to Nationals, and in my running journal I kept saying, ‘I want to make it to Nationals’ so that was definitely the goal for cross country nationals, but it was the same for indoor once I had the opportunity.” 

On March 2, Richards became the first River Hawk to qualify for the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships when the field was officially announced.

Three days later, Richards led the River Hawks to the program’s first American East Cross Country title, as she finished second overall in 17:27.75. Two days later, Richards became the first woman in school history to earn an automatic qualifying spot in the Division 1 cross country national championships. 

In the span of less than a week, the idea of two national races became a reality. It also meant a whole new plan was needed. 

“I definitely wanted to do both,” Richards said. “I think the biggest thing was how do we want to approach two races?”

With indoor track nationals first, Richards and her coach Gary Gardner flew out to Fayetteville, Ark., a few days before the preliminary mile race March 12. She finished second overall in 4:37.72 to advance to the finals the following evening. 

“The biggest thing I kept telling myself was I have nothing to lose, and for me, I can compete with these girls, I'm a contender. I wasn’t really nervous, I just felt like I had to give it my all,” she said. 

Richards placed fourth overall March 13 to earn All-America honors. She was the only runner in the final not representing a Power Five school. 

“We are not some big-name school and I was up against schools like Arkansas and Colorado, but I was just excited to represent the school. I’m from Lowell, so it really just meant so much to me.”

After her race, Richards and her coach made the decision to immediately make the three-hour drive from Fayetteville to Stillwater, Okla., the site of the cross country championships. 

“It was a lot,” Richards said with a laugh. “But I feel like running can be so mental, and when you’re kind of on a roll, it can keep going. I was glad I made it to the final, and once I made it to the final, it was ‘OK, just be All-American, you can do it’. And when I accomplished that, I was like, ‘Maybe I can do this again in cross country.’ The momentum just kept going.” 

On one of the toughest 6-kilometer courses in the world, and with a small support system of teammates and family cheering her on, Richards said there wasn’t any pressure to win, just perform with what was left in the tank. 

“At this point now it was go out and do what you can. I went out fast, and that was on purpose, my coach said just put yourself in position, hold on and don’t give up,” Richards said. “That was the mindset for that race. It was a crazy meet, but it was just so awesome to be there.”

Once Richards latched on to the dual opportunites, she saw the through and refused to let go.

“You only have so much time in college to be running,” Richards said. “I want to look back and be happy and proud of myself. It’s nice to write a goal down and accomplish it.”

Now, the attention shifts to one season: outdoor track. Richards and UMass-Lowell kickoff the season this weekend (March 25-27) at the Raleigh Relays. The focus is on the 1,500 meters, with a goal of reaching the regional qualifying time, advancing to nationals and continuing to get faster in the process. 

“I want to always be the best version of myself,” Richards said. “I definitely think I have room for improvement and growth.”



More news

History for DyeStat.com
YearVideosNewsPhotosBlogs
2024 1091 356 13762  
2023 5382 1361 77508  
2022 4892 1212 58684  
Show 25 more
 
+PLUS highlights
+PLUS coverage
Live Events
Get +PLUS!