Washington State University Athletics

As fierce a competitor on the track as a coach on the sidelines, Ellannee Richardson etched her name in Washington State lore as one of the greatest Cougars to wear Crimson and Gray. Richardson was a five-time All-American heptathlete and sprinter at WSU, taking second place at the 2003 and 2002 NCAA Heptathlon Championships and earned another All-America certificate anchoring the 4x400m relay to seventh place at the 2003 NCAA Indoor meet with a school-record time. Additionally, she anchored the 1600m relay squad to a school record outdoor time as well. Richardson’s 2003 senior awards included: WSU’s Pac-10 Medal Winner, Pac-10 Postgraduate Scholarship, Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar First Team, NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, and Verizon/CoSIDA National Academic All-American second team. Upon graduation she joined the WSU coaching staff, leading the next generation of sprinters for a decade where her relay teams consistently ran WSU top ten times every season. In 2006, Richardson was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association West Region men’s sprints/hurdles Coach of the Year. In 2011, the men’s 400m relay won the Pac-10 title in a time of 39.48, the second-fastest in WSU history. As a professional competitor, Richardson finished fifth in the 400m dash at the 2004 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships and at the 2004 US Olympic Trials, she narrowly missed the 400m hurdles final after running a personal best time in the prelims.