South Pointe’s Rikard to run at Anderson University

After switching from distance running to the 800 and 400 as a junior, Sean Rikard’s confidence was low. The South Pointe track and field athlete shifted to even shorter distances this spring, and sprints coach Pat Burris made a point to find Rikard after each race and mentally reassure him.

See Rikard’s tiny - like, really tiny - signature on his letter of intent to run track at Anderson University that he signed Friday morning and it’s evident this is a person that doesn’t have an oversized personality or the normal sprinter’s swagger.

“When I ran cross country and distance my freshman and sophomore year, honestly I sucked,” said Rikard, smiling. “They just preached the motto of hard work and dedication and you can get anywhere.”

His coach isn’t surprised that Rikard’s track career will continue for four more years.

“There’s a lot of things that he needs to be rewarded for and his dedication to this program, to this group, is one of them,” said Burris.

Rikard has a 3.5 unweighted grade point average and plans to major in journalism at Anderson. His top finishes in 2016 - top-six in the region in the 400 and 200 meters, top-three in 200 at the Bob Jenkins Classic - don’t blow away the casual observer. But consider that Rikard was learning the basics of sprinting this year and it’s easy to see why Anderson coaches saw a prospect they could mold.

“He’s competitive,” said Burris. “But the only thing he needs to work on - to me - is nothing physical. It’s believing that he belongs in a race and to go out and take what’s his. Other than that, he has the tools.”

This story was originally published May 27, 2016 at 11:37 AM with the headline "South Pointe’s Rikard to run at Anderson University."