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Ben Richert Induction Video
Ben Richert was an All-American hurdler in 1995, taking second place in the 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA National Championships that year, only 0.35 seconds behind the winner. He was also the CCIW conference champion in the event and owns the No. 3 mark in school history (52.44 seconds).
Richert came to Wheaton as a basketball player. But he soon found his way onto the track team, where he had background as a successful hurdler and thrower in high school. Richert started his career in the decathlon, placing second in the CCIW Championships in 1994.
Current head track and field coach Scott Bradley recalled how Richert transformed late in his career into a top-flight hurdler in only one year. “Ben was a really hard worker. I haven’t had many athletes work harder than him,” Bradley said. “He got into the decathlon pretty early and for most of his career saw himself as decathlete. In the last two meets of his junior year, he just did the 400 hurdles and ran some really good races. So as a senior, we converted him to full-time in the 400 hurdles and he just took off. That’s when he had his big year.”
Richert’s excellence in the class room was also recognized as he was named COSIDA Academic All-District.
Ben is currently a Mathematics Professor at California Polytechnic State University. He and his wife Jill have three kids - Sadie, Weston and Abel.
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