Bellevue senior Sam Richmond is a leader on powerful track and field team

BELLEVUE — Though he may have “arrived” a bit early, this season it’s Sam Richmond’s turn.

This spring, Richmond is the senior. This spring, he’s the older brother.

This spring, Richmond is one of the faces of the Bellevue track team that has previously relied on the likes of Budda Baker, Myles Jack and Sam’s brother, Max, to build a streak of three consecutive 3A state titles for the Wolverines.

For sure, Sam Richmond has contributed to those previous wins. As a freshman, he advanced to the state meet and scored an eighth-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles to help Bellevue win its first of three in a row.

“You always want the team to do the best,” said Richmond, who also has contributed to three Bellevue football championships in his four years at the school. “You have to put points together to have your team win.You have goals, you want to do well, and you want yourself to do well.”

Just last spring, Richmond came up even bigger than perhaps expected for Bellevue’s track effort. He slid into the leadoff leg of the Wolverines’ 4×100 relay squad that won a title, and he won an individual title by running 14.58 seconds in the 110 hurdles (just nipping Prairie senior Peter Zalk’s 14.62).

“In a lot of ways, it was a real surprise that he won the state title last year,” Bellevue coach John Hill said. “There were guys ranked ahead of him going into that event. Nevertheless, he won it. I think that just showed him the sphere of his talent, and his potential.”

Richmond’s brother Max was a senior a year ago, and there to see his little brother win. So was Bill Richmond, the brothers’ father and one of Bellevue’s assistant coaches.

“I don’t know that I was expecting it (the hurdles title) last year,” Bill Richmond said. “But he got stronger in the offseason. We went through a preseason training schedule that helped him go to the next level with power and strength.”

The work, though, isn’t done.

“With Sam, it’s integrity in every sense of the word,” Hill said. “He never misses a practice, never misses a workout. He never complains. I know he takes pride in his results, and how hard it’s been to get there.

“Now as a senior, there’s such balance, composure, and efficiency. He’s got the state by the tail, at least in the sense that he’s going to be one of the guys that is going to be chased after as much as he can do some chasing himself.”

Richmond and teammates such as returner Isaiah Gilchrist, a junior, plus newcomers like junior transfer Tyson Penn (the 4A triple- and high-jump champion at Federal Way a year ago), will be chasing a fourth consecutive team title.

“I feel like, I’m a senior now,” Sam Richmond said. “It’s my turn to help the young guys to know that you’ve always got to work hard. And if you work hard, you know that we will be competing for a state title every year.”

Hill agrees.

“The athletes themselves certainly are aware of the most recent history and accomplishments,” Hill said. “The talent that has returned is strong enough that they would be pretty capable of contending just on their own, that nucleus. However, there definitely are a number of kids here this year that will be making a profound difference for the success of the team. I’m looking forward to seeing how that comes together.

“The notion we have out here is, ‘What’s good about today,’ even if it’s not so good. That, plus the infectiousness of the kids that have come out and participated. There’s no question that the talent that’s involved here, especially with the football team, that now has transferred into these kids, like in the old days, becoming multiple-sport athletes.”