By Tim Morris
Robby Andrews is headed to Rio de Janiero and the Summer Olympics.
The legendary Manalapan High School graduate, who set national records while running for the Braves, made the United States Olympic Track and Field Team in the men’s 1,500 meters July 10 when he finished second at the Olympic Trials held in Eugene, Oregon.
Andrews once again unleashed his patented late-race kick to finish second to Matt Centrowitz and make his first Olympic team. It took a top-three finish in the race for runners to secure a berth on the U.S. team.
In the 1,500 final, Andrews, who likes to start off from the back of the pack, moved into contention on the third lap. He was in fifth place with 300 meters left in the race when he shifted gears and passed three runners to take second behind Centrowitz (3:34.09). Andrews’ mark of 3:34.88 was a season-best.
Ben Blankenship finished third (3:36.18) to complete the men’s 1,500 squad.
Everything that Andrews did this year, he said before heading to Eugene, was geared towards the Olympic Trials and making the U.S. squad. That’s why he ran in the World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon, in the winter. Making the final there and finishing fourth (Centrowitz won the gold) was a confidence-booster. So was his new mile personal best of 3:53.16.
The ex-Brave, who now competes for adidas, ran a limited outdoor schedule to be sharp for Eugene.
Andrews raised his arms in triumph after crossing the finishing line and then quickly put his hands on his head as the significance of his achievement began to sink in.
Making the U.S. Olympic Team has been a four-year journey for Andrews since he competed in the 2012 Trials while a student at the University of Virginia, where he had won two NCAA 800-meter titles. Then he was a wide-eye novice. This time, he came into the Trials as one of the favorites and ran like a confident veteran who knew what he had to do and went out and did it.
Other former Freehold Regional High School District greats left an impression in Eugene as well.
Colts Neck High School graduates Craig Forys and Ashley Higginson both reached the final of the men’s and women’s 3,000-meer steeplechase.
Forys finished sixth (8:34.16). and Higginson was ninth (9:38.55). Forys runs for Asics Furman Elite, and Higginson competes for Saucony.
Former Freehold High School champion Justin Frick made the men’s high jump final, clearing 7-1 in qualifying. Frick, who competes for the Shore Athletic Club, no-heighted in the final.
Sam Mattis, the East Brunswick High School graduate who won an NCAA discus title at the University of Pennsylvania, finished ninth (189-10) in the men’s discus.
