Hall of Fame
While the moniker of "best ever" is not one to be easily tossed around, it may be appropriate when discussing John Robinson, whose mark on the Johns Hopkins cross country and track teams is evident in him being the first modern day member of the cross country team to earn selection to the Johns Hopkins Athletic Hall of Fame.
Robinson quickly made a name for himself as a freshman in cross country as he placed seventh at the MAC Championships and 41st at the NCAA Regional Championships. As it turned out, he was just getting started. He jumped to a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Regional Championships a year later and added a fourth-place showing at the MAC Championships and a seven-place finish at the regional meet as a junior. He missed qualifying for the NCAAs by just two places and 17 seconds as a junior - a finish that would serve as a motivator during a stunning senior campaign.
Robinson prepped for the end-of-year championship meets during his final year with entries in five regular-season races. He won all five. He began his post-season run with the individual title at the MAC Championships to become just the second Hopkins individual to ever win this event. He became the only individual from JHU to win the NCAA Regional Championship shortly thereafter and went on to place 14th at the NCAA Championships to earn All-America status.
Records for Robinson's participation in track are incomplete, but he did earn All-America honors as a junior with a sixth-place finish in the steeple chase. He had finished second at the MAC Championships in the same event earlier that year.
Robinson, who counts his participation in the steeple chase at the prestigious Penn Relays as his greatest sports thrill, was equally successful in the classroom as he earned Third Team GTE Academic All-America honors as a senior, when he was also awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
