After breaking three individual records and helping set other relay ones at Lowell High School, Kaley Richards had several college suitors.
She chose UMass Lowell, a school just a couple of miles from her home. She didn't want to get lost in a big program and knew UML coach Gary Gardner would make her a better runner.
The decision to attend her hometown college has proven to be a smart one. Richards, now a UML graduate student, recently ran the eighth-fastest collegiate mile time in the country at a meet in North Carolina. Heady stuff for an athlete who admits to struggling with confidence at times.
Richards has set four individual records at UMass Lowell. Gardner says Nicole Plante, a 2007 graduate, and Richards are the two best female runners in program history. Richards, who I wrote about in Thursday's Lowell Sun, may run professionally after college.
Don't bet against her.
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