DES MOINES, Iowa–South Carolina State sprinter Tyrell Richard concluded a remarkable and record-breaking track campaign for the Bulldogs Thursday with a 20th-place finish (47.43) in the first round of the 400 meters at the USA Track and Field Championships being conducted at Drake University. Only the top 16 runners advanced to the semifinals.
"I certainly expected to do better but the USATF Championship didn't have the same feel as the other track meets so I had some difficult getting into things," Richard said. "But my season overall was pretty great. I set the school record in the 200 and 400 meters and also had a conference record in the 400. At USATF, they announced the time of 44.7 that I ran at the NCAA Championship earlier as the 13th ranked time in the world right now, which is pretty outstanding."
Richard's teammate Demek Kemp, who has also had a very successful campaign, also failed to advance Thursday in his event – the 100 meters – finishing 17th, one spot below the cutoff; however, the Monroe, GA senior was clocked in a time of 10.19, his second-best showing of the season and all-time wind-legal best time of his career. Kemp ran a 10.16 earlier in beating USC's heralded sprinter Ncincilili Titi in Columbia but the wind was slightly about the allowable limit.
Kemp is also entered in the 200 meters and will battle 31 other collegians, professional runners and Olympic hopefuls Saturday at 1:10 p.m. CST for a spot in the semifinals of the event, set for Sunday at 2:15. The finals will follow at 4:10.
Bulldogs head coach Tim Langford raised the Bulldog runners, despite their falling short on Thursday.
"Although Tyrell failed to advance in the 400 meters, he had an outstanding season and we are proud of him," Langford said. "And, Demek barely missed the finals by .01, running a 10.19. It was the second-fastest time of his career and his fastest wind-legal time. He runs the 200-meter quarterfinals on Saturday."
"It has been a great experience participating at the USA Track and Field Championships," said Kemp. "In the 100 meters on Thursday, I competed against a world-class field and just missed advancing by one spot. It (10.19) was my second-fastest time of the year and it was wind-legal so I was pleased. I look forward to the 200 on Saturday and I hope that I will be able to advance to the next round and hopefully have a PR (personal record).