It had to be one of the toughest moments of his athletic career.

But instead of sulking, hanging his head, or getting angry - the true nature of David Richards came through on this particular May afternoon in Whitehall.

The Jim Thorpe senior standout, like anyone competing at the District 11 Track and Field Championships, had hopes of winning and - more importantly - qualifying for states.

But there would be no gold medals. Nor would a trip to Shippensburg be in the cards.

Richards - after having won the high jump and 110 hurdles at the Schuylkill League Championships the week before - looked to be in position to have a strong showing at districts. Unfortunately he came up short, finishing fourth in the high jump and eighth in the hurdles.

With the realization that his high school career was over and the chance to participate in the PIAA meet had ended, Richards could have pouted and been self-involved in his own misfortunes.

But that wouldn’t be him.

In place of self pity, his focus was on encouraging his teammates.

“I was by no means happy with it (not qualifying for states), but it wasn’t going to stop me from supporting my friends,” said Richards. “For example, I was there for all of (Kaila O’Connor’s) events, just cheering her on. I was so happy that she got to states. I was cheering adamantly for ... our distance runners. Everyone had such great performances. Some people came up short, and then you had Laura (Clarke) and Kaila who had double golds and went to states, and that’s amazing.

“I definitely wanted to go to states, but you can’t win them all. That was a bit tough to deal with, but you live and learn. You can’t go back. Other than that, I think the season was pretty successful for me. It was a blast, and I’m definitely going to miss it a lot.”

Richards may have been off a bit at districts, but he was on most of the season. He led the Olympians with 193 total points, consistently posting wins in the high jump and 110 hurdles, while also earning points in the 300 hurdles.

He cleared an area best 6-4 in the high jump and broke 16 seconds in the 110 hurdles, posting a 15.93. He also earned 26 points at the league meet, helping the Thorpe boys capture a team title.

For those achievements, Richards was named the Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

“I thought he had a great senior year,” said head coach Frank Miller. “He was a league champion, and in the mix at every single invite. It was a culmination of four years of work in two events that not only require great athleticism, but require great technique. And he was a technician. He was always working on the little things of the high jump form and the hurdle form to maximize his great athleticism to be the best he could at those two events.”

To say Richards is a technician would be a huge understatement. After all, he is headed to Penn State to major in information sciences and technology.

“I’d say aside from pole vault and some throws ... high jump and hurdles are two very technical events that take a lot of technique as opposed to just raw skill and training,” said Richards. “There’s a lot of thought that goes into it, especially high jump. It’s a super mental event. Honestly, I’d say it’s 70% mental and 30% skill.

“You really have to be very calculated with all of your steps and your form going over the bar. And even though it’s a split second going from off the ground to on the bag, there’s a lot of things that you have to do in mid-air. It’s definitely challenging, but I’ve always kind of invited that and enjoyed it, and it kind of made the process satisfying once you do it successfully.”

While high jump was his favorite event (“There’s no better feeling or more satisfying feat than getting over a bar that’s taller than you”), he was no slouch in the hurdles. Not only did he compete in the 110s, he added the 300s to his repertoire - something he did solely to help his team.

“I would say the high jump is his most consistent event,” said Miller. “But I’d put him in the high hurdles any day of the week. This year he also ventured into the 300s ... The 300 is very grueling and he volunteered for that early in the season. He said he wanted to try it out his senior year, to do whatever needed to be done (for the team). We didn’t modify any of his training ... so it was just kind of go do it and get after it and see what happens. Ultimately, he had success in it.”

Track and field isn’t the only area of life where Richards has gained success. In the sports world, he also was a key member of Thorpe’s boys basketball team that reached the league championship game.

But it’s in the classroom where he truly has left his mark.

“It’s kind of been the way I’ve been raised,” said Richards, who was JT’s valedictorian. “Academics always comes first, and sports is kind of a side thing. That was absolutely always my focus.”

“He’s just a fantastic kid,” said Miller. “In 19 years of doing this, he’s definitely one of the top five kids I’ve interacted with. He’s always helping his teammates, he’s extremely coachable and polite. He’s the valedictorian of his class, a scholar-athlete. He’s everything that you would want in a role model for your program.”