Former Manalapan High School great Robby Andrews will represent the United States at the IAAF World Track and Field Championships in Beijing, China, next month. He will be running the men’s 1,500. When Robby Andrews made an appearance at the Youth Running Camp hosted by Manalapan Parks and Recreation, he had a message for the runners of the future.
“I want to make sure that they understand that there are no boundaries to what you can be. You can do anything you want to do,” he said at the Kuschick Pavilion.
Andrews is certainly proof of that.
Not that long ago, many questioned the decisions Andrews had made — among them, leaving college early and turning pr). But now the Manalapan High School graduate is the toast of American track and field. He’s headed to Beijing, China, next month to represent the United States in the men’s 1,500- meter run at the IAAF World Track and Field Championships Aug. 8-15.
Andrews made it official July 2 when he won a 1,500-meter race in Portland, Oregon, at the Portland Summer Twilight Meet. It wasn’t so much the win but the time that mattered to the former Braves great. His winning time of 3:35.82 (a 3:53 mile) met the A standard necessary to qualify for the World Championships.
A second-place finish at the USATF Championships had put him on the American 1,500 squad for Beijing (top three go). However, his time of 3:38.75 was outside the A standard (3:36.20). To secure his place on Team USA, Andrews needed to meet that standard by the first week of August.
He noted that it was decided not to put the chase off until later in the summer.
“I had a lot of momentum from the nationals,” he said.
Just five days after his rousing secondplace finish at the nationals, he was back on the track at Lewis and Clark College stadium, where he ran a high school mile as a senior at Manalapan. With the aid of the running community, he accomplished his mission.
“I couldn’t believe the support of the other runners,” he said, pointing out that David Torrence, who had run the 800 earlier in the meet, stepped aboard as one of the rabbits (a pace-setter) pulling Andrews to the A standard.
Not accustomed to time trialing, Andrews said he put all his trust in the pacing of the rabbits: Ryan Boot, Mark Wieczorek and Torrence.
The pace-setters did their job (2:38 through 1,200 meters), but it was up to Andrews to bring it home, and he was in a race with another ex-New Jersey scholastic great. Ed Cheserek, now a star at the University of Oregon with several NCAA titles to his credit. With 300 meters to go, it was down to Andrews and Cheserek, who had no answer when Andrews kicked it into high gear.
Running flat-out, Andrews demolished the field and was racing against the clock. As he streaked down the homestretch, there was never a doubt that he would get the A standard.
The meet officials gave Andrews an extra boost, putting fans on the track.
“They put the crowd on the track,” Andrews said. “I could feel them pushing me the last 100 meters.”
With that push, Andrews is headed to Beijing doing it his way.
Although he’s had more success at 800 meters (1:44.78 personal best and two NCAA titles), his success at the national proved his decision to run the 1,500 was correct.
“The 1,500 is my strong suit,” he said. “I have more potential in the 1,500. It plays to my strengths.”
He explained even when he was excelling in the 800, the 1,500 was always the target.
“Coach [Jason] Vigilante told me that in the 1,500, I’d be closing in 1:48, and to do that I had to run 1:44,” Andrews said. “[The 1,500] was the longterm goal.”
A lot has happened to Andrews in the last few years, and not all of it has been positive. He’s had a lot of doubters ready to write him off as finished. Andrews never let that or a bad race deter him. He delivered the best answer at the nationals. Making the U.S. team was his reward for believing in himself and believing in what he was doing. He also had a strong support group throughout.
“It’s not easy,” he said. “My dad, [Bob], sister, [Kristin], and coach [Vigilante] kept pushing me — kept me focused on the goal of being an Olympian.
“The World Championships are the first step.”
It’s already been a remarkable year for Andrews. It started in the indoor season when he captured his first USATF national championships (1,000-meter run). In May, he anchored the USA men’s 4×800 relay team to the gold medal at the IAAF World Relays in the Bahamas. His teammates were Duanne Solomon, Casimir Loxsom and Ed Sowinski.
“It was so much fun,” he said. “It was nice having that camaraderie. Representing your country is the best feeling.”
A lot of doors have now opened up for Andrews. Thanks to his agent, Ray Flynn, he has some races to look forward to before Beijing. Later this month, he will run in Dublin, Ireland, and at the Diamond League meet in Stockholm, Sweden, in the historic Olympic Stadium, where Jim Thorpe won the decathlon in 1912.