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Matthew Richardson '07: An Example of Dedication, Sportsmanship

5/25/2007

    He blew through the finish line late last Saturday afternoon, then downshifted and cruised to a stop.
For the final three laps of the 3200 in the Virginia Independent Schools track championship, Matthew Richardson had chased the leader, but his furious surge over the final 400 meters produced only a close second place.
    His time was 9:39.12. Just once had he covered the distance faster. He ran to win, though. He always ran to win, but if he felt disappointment, no one in the large crowd at Sports Backers Stadium would ever know.
    One by one, he congratulated his fellow competitors. Then, quietly, he walked from the track and out the gate where family, teammates, and coaches, admirers all, awaited. There was much emotion, few words, many tears. His Collegiate athletic career was over.

* * * * * *

    There are plenty of superlatives to describe Matthew and his impact on our distance program since he first laced up his training flats 18 seasons and 185 races ago. He’s fast, of course, very fast, and there’s a rhythm to his running and a oneness with the roads, the cross country course, and the track that you have to see to understand.
   He’s focused, dedicated, durable, well respected, coachable, fearless, and tough as boot leather. He’s set lofty goals and trained religiously to reach them. He’s competitive as much with himself as with his opponents. He was – still is, always will be – a great teammate.
   Once a laconic 7th grader with a mischievous spirit and great promise, he became the face of our program, the leader, the role model, the guy who pulled his teammates to greater accomplishment. In his let-your-actions-do-the-talking style, he became The Man.
   True to his nature, Matthew would admit only that he learned from the guys he looked up to when he was younger and that he’s just one of a pack of passionate runners who had fun, challenged the limits of their ability, and strove for excellence.
But consider the facts. He was a two-season captain in cross country and both winter and spring track. He earned four All-Prep League and three all-state citations in cross country and twice was a member of the Richmond Times-Dispatch All-Metro team. Last fall, he was a unanimous selection.
   On the track, he ran lifetime bests of 9:35.90 for 3200 meters, 4:30.68 for 1600, and 2:01.6 as the anchor leg of the 4x800 relay. He won the 3200 in the state meet in 2006 and in the Prep League two weeks ago. As a senior, he anchored the 4x800 team to the state indoor and league outdoor championships and shares the school indoor record (8:22.33) with Alexander Stefanic, Camp Peery, and Robert Mertens and the outdoor mark (8:16.40) with Stefanic, Mertens, and Scott Foy.
   As he heads off to run at Elon University, Matthew leaves a wealth of memories, many of which seem larger-than-life and are etched, now and forever, in the lore of the elite distance contingent. The one that stands out the most, though, and speaks best to who he is occurred well out of the spotlight near the two-mile mark at the state cross country meet at Woodberry Forest last November.
   Matthew was running in second, four meters or so behind University of Tennessee-bound Axel Mostrag of Fork Union, the defending champion and overwhelming favorite in the race. Inexplicably, Mostrag started to veer off course. Matthew called his name, and he looked over his shoulder to see Matthew pointing him in the right direction. Mostrag ended up winning by a step as Matthew closed quickly.
   A couple of days later, someone who was watching from the far reaches of the course reported the incident to me. When I asked Matthew about it, he smiled and acknowledged that the story was true.
   If Axel had strayed too far, I said, fully anticipating his response, you might have won. Did if ever occur to you to let him go?
   “No,” he said softly and without a second’s hesitation. — Weldon Bradshaw

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