Athlete of the YearRobby Andrews amazes all with record setting senior seasonBy Christopher Hunt He was sprawled on the floor, broken and exhausted. His limp body and glassy eyes were the only things that reassured us that he felt pain. That he was actually human. Because it started to seem like there was an engine in his chest. It started to look like he had his legs on a remote control, equip with a turbo boost button and all. But it was this moment that brought back reality -- his one moment of weakness, the moment that he didn’t look tireless, didn’t look unconquerable. Manalpan’s Robby Andrews cemented his name into the history books in a way that no one could erase when he became the first high school boy to ever break 1 minute, 50 seconds indoors winning the 800 meters at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships in 1:49.21. He dropped Michael Granville’s 1995 record of 1:50.55 set in the Carrier Dome at Syracuse University. It wasn’t just that he completed this historic run. It’s that he did it in a way that made it so much more amazing than the fact that no one had ever run that fast before. It’s that he turned a mediocre pace – 56.2 second for the first 400 meters -- into a mind-numbing statistic. He did the same thing a month earlier when he broke the national record in the 1,000 at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in 2:22.28 which snatched a mark set by Alan Webb in 2000. Funny thing is, in an interview after Andrews used his riveting finishing kick to bury the field in the mile at the Millrose Games he said he could have ended his season right there and been happy. “It’s the greatest feeling I’ve ever had before,” he said after the race. “I’ve never felt like this before.” “This is my nationals right here,” he went on. “If I peak after, I peak it.” Then he set two national records and each time it was the greatest feeling he’s ever felt. Now that’s a “feel good story.” Andrews felt so good that he showed up at the Eastern States Championships with intentions of leaving with one of the most heralded records in the books. He came looking to chop down Alan Webb’s national record in the mile of 3:59.86 – a time Webb ran in 2001 that was labeled the greatest moment the Armory’s 100-year history. That day Webb finished fourth in a professional race. Andrews intended to break four minutes running from the front like it was a solo time trial. He finished in 4:12.31, which will forever remain Andrews’ indoor high school personal best. He was never challenged in the race and never actually challenged the record himself. Andrews said it just wasn’t in his legs that day. But the fact that he had it in his mind that he would break four minutes and carry home Alan Webb’s mile record told that his confidence was about as indestructible as his body. Start line to finish line, Andrews’ only challenger this season turned out to be this unrelenting, unforgiving kid with a vicious kick named Robby Andrews who also happened to wear a Manalpan Braves jersey. He is the Armory Athlete of the Season. 1000m National Record Video - 800m National Record Video all photos by Mary DiBiase Blaich, Tim Fulton, Don Rich, and Pat Monteferat |
The Armory All Star Team |
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Event |
55m Dash
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55m Hurdles
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Athlete (Gr.) |
Miles Lewis (Sr.)
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DARRYL BRADSHAW (Jr.)
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School |
Middle Country, NY
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Sheepshead Bay, NY
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Photo |
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Highlights |
NY State 55-meter Champion
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NY State 55-meter hurdles Champion
Nike Indoor Nationals Shuttle Hurdle Relay Champ |
Season Best |
6.40 55m, 6.88 60m US#23
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7.41 55HH, 7.94 60HH US#7
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Event |
200m
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300m
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Athlete (Gr.) |
Jermaine Brown (Jr.)
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John Thomas (Jr.)
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School |
Medgar Evers, NY
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Sheepshead Bay, NY
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Photo |
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Highlights |
NY State Champs at 300m, Eastern States at 55m
Broke NY State 55 and 200 records at NSIC |
2nd in the 300 at NY State meet
2nd in 300 at PSAL City Champs 1st in the 200 at Hispanic Games in 21.71 |
Season Best |
21.26 200m US#1
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33.98 US#3
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Event |
400m
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600m
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Athlete (Gr.) |
Clayton Parros (Sr.)
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Terrance Livingston (Sr.)
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School |
Seton Hall Prep, NJ
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Great Neck South, NY
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Photo |
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Highlights |
1st in 400 at New Balance Games in 47.58
2nd in 400 at Nike Indoor Nationals 3rd in 600 yards at Millrose Games |
2nd in 600 at New Balance Collegiate in 1:18.70 for NYS record
4th in 800 at Nike Indoor Nationals Won 600 and 1,000 at Stanner Games |
Season Best |
47.58 US#4
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1:18.70 US#2, NYS Record
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Event |
800m
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1000m
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Athlete (Gr.) |
Tyler Stewart (Sr.)
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Sadiki White (Sr.)
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School |
Colonie, NY
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Allentown, NJ
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Photo |
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Highlights |
2nd in the 800 at NSIC
2nd in 1,000 at the NYS meet 1st in 1,000 at Section 2 Qualifier |
2nd in 1,000 at New Balance Collegiate
3rd in 800 at NSIC Ran 1:52.4 at Thursday Night at the Races
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Season Best |
1:52.15 US#3
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2:25.99 US#2
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Event |
Mile |
Two Mile / 5000m
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Athlete (Gr.) |
Christopher Carrington (Sr.)
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Solomon Haile (Sr.)
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School |
North Rockland, NY
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Sherwood, MD
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Photo |
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Highlights |
3rd in mile at NSIC
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Won 2-mile and 5,000 at NSIC
Briefly held the national record in the 5,000 after running 14:22.88 at NSIC |
Season Best |
4:14.55 US#22
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9:02.67 US#4
14:22.88 US#2 NR |
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Event |
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Pole Vault
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Athlete (Gr.) |
Glenn Scheideler (Sr.)
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Darwin Gibbons (Jr.)
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School |
Randolph, NJ
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Caravel Academy, DE
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Photo |
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Highlights |
2nd at NSIC (6-10.25)
1st at Eastern States (6-8.50) |
2nd at NSIC (15-3)
1st at Delaware Indoor Championships (15-6) 1st at Marine Corps Classic (15-0)
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Season Best |
6-10.25 US#9
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15-06 US#20
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Event |
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Triple Jump
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Athlete (Gr.) |
Syteek Farrington (Jr.)
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Rolston Braithwaite (Sr.)
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School |
Camden, NJ
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Trenton Central, NJ
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Photo |
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Highlights |
2nd at NSIC
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1st at Eastern States
1st at NJ Varsity Classic 7th at Nike Indoor Nationals |
Season Best |
23-09 US#10
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48-05.25 US#7
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Event |
Shot Put
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Weight Throw
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Athlete (Gr.) |
Nick Vena (So.)
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Conor McCullough (Sr.)
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School |
Morristown, NJ
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Chaminade, Calif.
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Photo |
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Highlights |
1st at NSIC (70-5)
1st at Eastern States (68-11) 1st at NJSIAA Meet of Champions (67-6.50) 1st at NJ Varsity Classic (67-0) |
Set national record at NIN (92-7.50)
A day later set the national record at at NSIC |
Season Best |
70-05 US#2, NJ State, Armory,
National Soph. Records |
93-03.25 US#1
National Record |
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Event |
4x200m Relay
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4x400m Relay
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School |
SHEEPSHEAD BAY, NY
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Photo |
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Highlights |
2nd at Nike Indoor Nationals
2nd at NY State meet |
1st at NSIC
1st at NY State meet |
Season Best |
1:29.10
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3:17.47
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Event |
4x800m Relay
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4xMile Relay
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School | ||
Photo |
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Highlights |
2nd at Nike Indoor Nationals
1st at Eastern States (7:47.81) 1st at New Balance Games (7:46.54) |
1st at NSIC
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Season Best |
7:43.91 US #6 all-time
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17:48.99 US #2
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Event |
Sprint Medley Relay
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Distance Medley Relay
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School | ||
Photo |
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Highlights |
1st at NSIC
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1st at Eastern States
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Season Best |
3:29.07 US#2
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10:07.21
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Shuttle Hurdles
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Pentathlon
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School | ||
Photo |
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Highlights |
1st at NSIC
1st at Stanner Games |
1st at NSIC in pentathlon US #2 all-time
4th at NSIC in 800 (1:52.72 US#6) |
Season Best |
29.15 US#1 National Record
(4 hurdles) |
4127 Pts, US#1
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All Photos by Mary DiBiase Blaich/wingefootfotos.com, Tim Fulton/ArmoryTrack.com, Don Rich/PennTrackXC.com , and Pat Monteferat