By Tim Morris
Robby Andrews has represented the United States at track and field world championships. He won a gold medal at the IAFF World Relays, anchoring the U.S. team to victory in the 4×800-meter relay. He made the indoor and outdoor World Championship Teams, finishing fourth in the 1,500 meters at this winter’s indoor championships in Portland, Oregon.
This week, the former Manalapan High School great hopes to add what would be his greatest achievement to date — that of United States Olympian — to his accomplishments in the sport. He is competing in the the 1,500-meter run at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials at Eugene, Oregon, known as Track Town USA.
Andrews is favored to win one of the three spots available to make the U.S. team in the 1,500 meters. He was ranked No. 2 in the country last year by Track and Field News.
“Everything is going pretty well,” Andrews said of his preparation for the Trials. “I’ve had a good build-up. I feel good.”
Andrews begins his quest for the Olympic team July 7 with the first-round heats. The semifinals are July 8, and the final is the closing event of the meet July 10.
Everything Andrews has done in 2016 has been geared toward being ready for the Trials, from his workouts to his racing schedule, which included the World Indoor Championships.
“There’s a lot of time between the indoor Worlds and the Trials,” he said. “I wanted to compete [at the Worlds]. I really wanted to make the final. It felt good [to make the final].
“Being at the World Championships helps you focus.”
During the indoor season, Andrews improved his personal best for the mile run to 3:53.16, which is further proof he is headed in the right direction with his training program.
Andrews likes being considered one of the favorites, but he knows that in itself doesn’t mean anything.
“You still have to go out there and do it,” he said. “I have a great appreciation for the Olympic Trials and the competition.”
Now a veteran of the national championship meets and having competed at the 2012 Trials as a 21-year-old new to the scene, Andrews has learned a lot. Now a veteran of these pressure-packed races, he believes that experience will help him this week.
“Having experienced it before, you can’t put a value on it,” he said. “Nothing changes. You still have to run the races.”
In the days leading up to his first race, Andrews is not letting things get ahead of him.
“I’m keeping things small and focused day by day,” he said.
Andrews and coach his coach, Jason Vigilante, have developed a very close coach-athlete bond that is a proven winner. When Vigilante coached him at the University of Virginia, Andrews won two NCAA 800-meter titles (indoor and outdoor). After separating when Andrews turned pro and Vigilante left Virginia for Princeton University, Andrews struggled with consistency. He teamed up with Vigilante again last year and the results have been remarkable, including the gold medal at the World Relays and his second-place finish at the nationals making the World Championship team, where he was a finalist in Beijing. This winter came the indoor Worlds and a confidence-building fourth-place showing.
What makes the coach-athlete relationship work is very simple.
“I trust him,” Andrews said.
He also pointed out that his coach has a way of mixing things up in training.
“Coach Vig keeps everything new,” Andrews said.
Andrews could have a secret weapon going for him this week. He’s a volunteer coach at Princeton. The Tigers’ runners he coaches help him keep things in perspective and also provide him with inspiration. They remind him of himself and the sheer joy of running.
“They seem so full of hope and energy,” he said.
Now living in Princeton, Andrews has new parks for training runs, such as Mercer Meadows and the Delaware-Raritan Canal. But he also finds time to return to the Manasquan Reservoir in Howell, one of his favorite places to run while in high school, and get in some runs with his father, Bob Andrews.
Hayward Field, which is where the Trials are being held, is considered the best track and field venue in the country with rabid fans known to elevate a runner’s performance. Andrews has experienced Hayward Field and what it can do for a runner before.
“The crowd is so great,” he said. “They really help you along. They cheer for everyone. They like to see good competition.”
Like this year’s 1,500 meters.
The Trials will be a homecoming for three of the greatest athletes in the Freehold Regional High School District who were all competing at the same time in high school. Along with Andrews, ex-Colts Neck High School legends Ashley Higginson and Craig Forys are looking to make the Olympic team in the steeplechase.
Higginson, who made the 2013 World Championship team that competed in Moscow and who last summer won the Pan-Games gold medal, was ranked No. 4 in the country last year in the event. Forys, who has competed internationally in cross-country for the U.S., was ranked No. 10 in 2016.
The first round of the men’s and women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase was July 4. The women’s final is July 7 and the men’s final is July 8.
