Robinson Does It All

When it comes to track and field, sometimes running just isn’t enough. You have to know how to do it all, and be good at it.
That’s exactly what Southern track team’s heptathlete Monica Robinson, a senior psychology major from Gary, Ind. does. She does it all, and she does it well.
“It’s hard trying to get people to understand that track is more than just mindless running,” Robinson said. “We do a lot out there than just run in circles.
Robinson is currently a heptathlete, which means she is involved in seven events for the track team.
“My events are, the 100m hurdles, long jump, high jump, 200m dash, shot put, javelin and the 800m run,” she said.
Robinson said she knew she wanted to attend an out-of-state college, but her family couldn’t afford the expenses to do so.
“We didn’t have the money for out-of-state schools,” she said. “My mother motivated me to get into sports because she knew I wanted to get away from home and go out-of-state for college. But the only way that I could do this was if I got a scholarship.”
Robinson said it was not in her favor when she first got involved in track, but her high school coach kept bothering her about joining the team.
“This whole thing started in high school when I was about 16 or 17-years-old,” Robinson said. “There was a bet that if I beat one of the guys on my high school team, that I’d have to run for the team with no exceptions. But if I did not win, the coach had to agree to never ask me to run for the team again.”
Robinson assumed she was going to lose the race, but little did she know, she was in for a surprise.
Ever since the day Robinson joined her high school’s track team, she said track has been a substantial part of her life.
“I basically eat, sleep and breathe track and field,” she said. “Track and my father are the soft spots in my heart.”
Despite her love for the sport, Robinson acknowledges being a student athlete can be very demanding.
“It is really hard to adjust to the student part of being an athlete,” Robinson said. “It’s not as hard for me now because I have a tight hold on things. But I go to class and turn right around to head to the track.
“After the track I go to dinner and then to my dorm,” she said. “There are times when I want just to pass out because of the hard workout that I went through.”
Fellow teammates believe Robinson is a dynamic leader whose immense athletic abilities are always dominant.
“She always leads by example through her hard work and success,” said Joshua Combs, a Southern sophomore and jumper/sprinter for the track team. “Her great athletic abilities always show on the track.”
Southern junior sprinter/hurdler, Carie Steed said Robinson’s success surpasses the norm of what is expected from an athlete.
“She is just amazing,” Steed said. “Everything about her is on a whole other level in comparison to most athletes.”
Last year, Robinson qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regionals in four individual events and one relay. Robinson’s 21-foot jump gave her the title of Mideast Regional champion, which was the best in the state of Louisiana, and ahead of Andrea Linton of Louisiana State University, who jumped 20-10 1/2.
In spite of her accomplishments Robinson realizes she has some weaknesses and sometimes hates the strain that track puts on her body.
“My weakest point is having the discipline to practice and prepare myself for competition,” Robinson said. “I do not like to run and constantly pound my body into the ground, but it’s worth it.”
Southern head coach Johnny Thomas constantly motivates Robinson, which encourages her to push herself into trying to break records.
“I want to break set records in various events and set new ones,” Robinson said. “My head coach Johnny Thomas motivates me as he constantly pushes me to do better. He always lets me know when I am not on the right track, and he gives me what I need to get on the right track.”
With this being her senior year, Robinson said it’s getting more difficult to wrap her mind around the idea her time at Southern is drawing to an end.
“It really saddens me that this is my last season on the track and field team,” she said. “I’m going to miss the experiences I have had for the four years that I have been on this team.”