byLarry Eder
Robby Andrews wins the 1000 meters in dramatic fashion! by PhotoRun.net
Robby Andrews and Cas Loxsom ran in the World Juniors in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada in 2010. They went 2, 3 (Cas in 2, Robbie in 3) in the 800 meters. Five years later, they win national senior championships.
Elliott Denmann wrote this piece on Robby and Casimir. I hope you like it as much as I have!
By ELLIOTT DENMAN
BOSTON – Robby Andrews had a thousand reasons to flash a smile for the ages.
He’d just won his first USA National Indoor Championships gold medal.
His adidas sponsorship contract had just been renewed for another two years. He’d come roaring from behind in the style his fans have come to expect to win one of the biggest races of his young life.
He made the day for his dad, Bob Andrews, who is now his co-coach, his family, and the legion of fans who’ve followed his exploits since his days at New Jersey’s Manalapan High School and the University of Virginia. And he gave the paying fans who flocked to the Reggie Lewis Center – on a snowy Sunday in the already snow-saturated Boston – absolute value for their ticket price.
Yes, yes, life is looking very good these days for Robby Andrews, as henears his 24th birthday on March 29th.
The men’s 1000 final (at meters this time, yards previously) at Indoor Nationals – an event back on the meet program for the first time since 1986 – wasn’t that fast. Andrews’ winning time of 2:21.91 was nearly seven seconds over the world indoor mark of 2:14.96 set by Denmark’s Wilson Kipketer in the year 2000.
But just qualifying for the nine-man race was a major–league feat. Andrews’ 2:19.85 win in Saturday’s semifinals will go down as the Indoor Nationals meet record.
“The 1000 meters is my absolute favorite distance and I couldn’t be happier about winning at Nationals,” said Andrews.
“That’s going way back, too (to his Manalapan High School days, when he set the still-standing National scholastic record of 2:22.28 (plus another in the 800, 1:49.21.)
“Today, the situation just fell into my hands and I was in position to take total advantage.
“This was my day.”
As “the situation” unfolded, Andrews took the early lead – not his usual custom – drew the field through a moderate-paced opening 400 meters, and was still hovering over the shoulder of Kyle Merber and Michael Rutt – heading into the bell lap.
And now it was time for Andrews to unleash his patented “horseshoe kick” starting midway through the backstretch of the final lap.
Once he began to pounce, no other runner had a chance.
This was his strategy in his biggest previous victories – his two NCAA Championships 800-meter wins for UVA, one indoors, one outdoors.
When it works, all is gold and glory. When it doesn’t – too many times to suit him the past few years – it’s been anything but.
Now, Andrews can head into the outdoor season filled with worlds of new confidence. If he can win Indoor Nationals, he can win Outdoor Nationals.
And if he can do all that heading into Olympic Year 2016, well maybe he can do a whole lot more on the world’s biggest stage.
“We love Robby, always have, always will,” said former Columbia star Merber, the runner-up in 2:22.39.
“We trained together (as New Jersey-New York Track Club teammates), we pushed each other, we had a lot of fun together.
“Now, it’s a little different (Andrews has broken away from NJNYTC to train with Princeton coach Jason Vigilante, his former mentor at UVA, and dad Bob Andrews, himself a former 800 standout at Penn) but we know Robby’s always going to be there, that he’s always going to be the guy.
“We know what it takes if we ever want to beat him.”
And how’s that going to happen?
“Just put it to Robby earlier, push the pace, and take some of the sprint out of him.”
Easy to say, not so easy to do, the track world knows.
Another NJNYC runner, Michael Rutt, claimed third in 2:22.44, with Cory Gilbert fourth over the line in 2:22.54 as placers 2-4 were separated by just 5/100ths of a second.
Back in 2010, USA went 2-3 in the men’s 800 final at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. The silver went to Casimir “Cas” Loxsom and the bronze to Robby Andrews.
After a brilliant collegiate career at Penn State, the good news for USA fans is that Loxsom is still turning in biggest-time time performances, too.
Casimir Loxsom wins 600m in new AR, photo by PhotoRun.net
Taking it out from the starting gun, Loxsom blazed to a 1:15.33 win in the men’s 600 final (also back in Nationals for the first time since 1986) and that, fans, represented an American record. It bettered his own previous American best of 1:15.58 set in an Albuquerque meet five weeks ago. Mark Wieczorek (1:16.70) and Je’von Hutchison (1:16.32) went 2-3, but Erik Sowinski, but who’d been on a tear all winter, was relegated to fourth in 1:16.52, and Brycen Spratling, who’d raced to a U.S. 500-meter record at Millrose Games, was back in sixth.
One of the first questions Andrews asked – after he was done doing his own answering – was “how did Ajee’ do?“
Ajee’, of course is Neptune, NJ’s Ajee’ Wilson, the three-time U.S. women’s 800-meter champion (twice indoors, once outdoors) who “goes way back” with Andrews since both are products of the Jersey Shore and graduates of Shore Conference high schools.
He’d missed her race as he warmed up for his own.
Andrews and Wilson went for the “Jersey Shore Daily Double” at last year’s Indoor Nationals and just missed bringing it home. Wilson won but Andrews was edged at the line.
A year later saw a reversal of their fortunes.
Wilson – a top choice to win the women’s 600 – instead was tripped up early in race, fell to the track and endured some bloody scrapes.
Totally out of contention after the fall – which affected two others and let front-running Alysia Montano win in an untroubled 1:26.59, Wilson jogged home an unhappy but philosophical sixth.
“That’s awful,” said Andrews after hearing the news of Wilson’s fall.
“Breaks of the game,” said the mild-mannered Wilson. “Things happen. It is what it is.”
But she does have one happier souvenir of this Boston trip.
The 1:26.56 she ran in Saturday’s qualifying trial will remain a meet record for at least a year.
“And just where will that meet be held?” some were asking.
The best of guesstimates – Portland, Oregon, where it can serve as both
Final USA Trialss meet and major wamup for the IAAF World Indoor
Championships coming to Portland next March.
