Robby Andrews won the NCAA championship in the 800-meter at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. this past weekend. With this victory, Andrews now is the second Virginia athlete ever to win an individual national title in the 800-meter. And by the way, he's only a freshman.
"I really never thought about it too much in the beginning of the year," Andrews said. "To get it my first year, it's unbelievable, especially over such a great field that's out there."
That field included Oregon senior Andrew Wheating, a 2008 Olympian who entered the race as the favorite to win. Andrews, on the other hand, was grateful even to have the opportunity to compete on the national stage after just winning his semifinal heat.
"I was honestly just trying to make the finals," he said. "After that, I had nothing to lose."
That relaxed mindset may have been one of his strengths going into the championship. Though he fell behind early on in the race, Andrews managed to fight his way to an upset victory during the final stretch, as he edged Wheating for the title by a mere hundredth of a second, with a finishing time of 1 minute, 48.39 seconds.
"It was about as close as you can get," Andrews said.
The only other Cavalier ever to win an NCAA title in the 800m run was Paul Ereng, who won back-to-back in 1988 and 1989. He wound up shocking the world by taking home the gold medal for the Kenyan team at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Ereng's collegiate record in the 800m from 1989 remains unsurpassed today.
"It's pretty amazing being in his company," Andrews said. "I've still got a long way to go before I can say I'm equal with him. He set the bar pretty high."
An Olympic gold medal may be about as high as the bar can be set for a track athlete, but Andrews is well on his way toward carving his own legacy. After all, he just concluded his first season of collegiate track without losing a single race. Avoiding complacency will be the next challenge for this All-American.
"Everyone else has changed how they perceive me," he said, "But I'm just the same person. I've got to stay as humble as I can and keep going forward."
For now, going forward means helping coach Jason Vigilante lead a pack of young runners through the outdoor track season. Andrews credits his coach and his team as huge factors in his rapid success.
"We've got a great bunch of guys on the team, and they push you every day," Andrews said. "You can't have an off day. That [pressure] really helped me a lot."
The Virginia track and field squad will start competing this Saturday at the Mason Quadrangular in Fairfax. Spurred on by his latest victory, Andrews will try to stay healthy, humble and undefeated.
-compiled by Aaron Bernstein
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