The area’s three Olympic track and field hopefuls earned national rankings for 2015 from Track and Field News.
Former Manalapan High School great Robby Andrews was ranked No. 2 in the men’s 1,500 meters. Ex-Colts Neck High School standout Ashley Higginson was ranked in two events: the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase (No. 5) and the 5,000 (No. 10). Craig Forys, who also starred at Colts Neck, was ranked 10th in the men’s steeplechase.
All three have qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials July 1-10 in Eugene, Oregon.
It was quite a year for Andrews, who runs professionally for Adidas. He used his lightning-quick closing kick to finish second at the national championships and qualify for the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China, where he advanced to the finals and finished 11th. He ran a strong Grand Prix race in Stockholm, Sweden, finishing fifth as the top American. Andrews’ season-best times were 3:35.52 for the 1,500 and 3:57.15 for the mile.
During the indoor season Andrews captured his first national championship in the 1,000 meters. In March, he anchored the U.S.’s gold-medal winning 4×800 relay team at the IAAF World Relays in the Bahamas. His season-best 800 time was 1:45.98
Higginson, who runs for Saucony and the New Jersey-New York Track Club, had a memorable year as well. She set a string of personal bests and won the gold medal in the steeplechase at the Pan-American Games in Toronto, Canada. Her season-best mark of 9:31.32 was 26th best in the world for 2015 and sixth fastest by a U.S. woman. She placed fifth at the national championships.
Higginson also won the steeplechase at the CONCAF Championships in Costa Rica.
Higginson clocked 4:31.31 for the mile and 15:18.53 for the 5K. Her 5K was the eighth fastest by an American.
Forys, who runs for the New York Athletic Club, finished ninth in the steeplechase at the national championships. His time of 8:34.34 was 10th fastest by an American. The ex-Cougars’ standout ran 13:34.21 for the 5K, which was 25th best by an American in 2015.
Former Freehold High School high jump state champion Justin Fry cleared 7-2½ last year to rank in the top 40 in the country. His goal for the year is to qualify for the Olympic Trials. He competes for the Shore Athletic Club.
Mark Leininger, another former Colts Neck star, has qualified for the Olympic Marathon Trials Feb. 13 in Los Angeles, California. He qualified by running the Half-Marathon in 1:04:25.