'Second chapter': Morris Hills coach Sean Robinson to launch Drew University track and field
Sean Robinson is "ready to climb a new mountain." After helping Morris Hills earn nearly every cross country and track honor, Robinson is shifting his focus to Drew University.
Robinson debuted as the Rangers' cross country coach last fall. Now, he will help launch the men's and women's track and field programs.
Drew added golf in 2016, and women's and men's volleyball in the 2021-22 academic year. Track had been part of the discussion, but got "fast tracked a little bit," according to athletic director Christa Racine.
Robinson plans to spend the 2022-23 academic year building a roster, which will include some of his current cross-country runners. Drew will compete in open indoor and outdoor meets "to be relevant," according to Robinson, and join the NCAA Division-III Landmark Conference in the winter of 2023 and spring of 2024.
"What other tools can Drew have to recruit students, and expand the interests of potential students?" Racine said. "Looking at athletics was one avenue. It's a similar mindset of an institution adding a major to attract students who are interested in that major."
College changes:Jenn Noon will shift from FDU-Florham to Gill St. Bernard's athletic director on Aug. 1
Though Drew University has hosted indoor track and field meets at the Simon Forum, it does not yet have its own winter or spring teams. Drew does not have an outdoor track. But Robinson hopes to partner with a nearby high school or college.
Neighboring Fairleigh Dickinson University finished construction on the multipurpose Elizabeth Ruth Hennessy Field complex, which includes an eight-lane track, in October 2020 – and announced the launch of its own track and field programs for the fall of 2022.
"When I'm in that building, it's like a homecoming for me," Robinson said of the Simon Forum. "We've had a lot of success in that building. We've won a lot of titles there. I want to be there."
Robinson took over as Morris Hills' boys cross country coach in 2002, indoor coach in 2006, and outdoors this spring. The Scarlet Knights have earned 10 NJSIAA titles, 21 sectional championships, three NJSIAA relay championships, and 15 Morris County titles.
Robinson was inducted into the New Jersey Scholastic Coaches' Association Hall of Fame in 2015.
"I love my sport. I really do," said Robinson, a father of two and Sparta resident who will continue to teach science at Morris Hills, where he has been for 24 years.
"It certainly has changed my life. ... I really want to give back to what has given me so much. I really want to make a difference in student athletes' lives."
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ track: Sean Robinson leaving Morris Hills to launch Drew programs
