James Robinson is in his 13th season as head coach of the Rutgers women's cross country and track & field team programs.
Robinson took over the reins of the women's program in June of 2006 following the retirement of long-time Scarlet Knight mentor Roberta Anthes. Upon his hire, Robinson has continued to build on the excellence that came to define Rutgers women's track and field.
At the helm of the Scarlet Knight women's track program, Robinson has coached has coached 17 All-Americans, two USATF Junior National All-Americans (2007 & 2009), an individual NCAA Division I All-Academic Performer and numerous NCAA regional participants, Metropolitan conference champions, All-Conference performers, individual conference champions, and All-ECAC performers.
Rutgers enjoyed tremendous success in recent years highlighted by the Scarlet Knights setting a total of six records along with All-American status for Gabrielle Farquharson in four events of the course of the 2016 indoor and outdoor seasons.
With the guidance of Robinson, Farquharson added to list of Scarlet Knights who went on to become Olympic hopefuls as she qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Her trials appearances capped off an enormously successful career which included a total of nine Big Ten medals, including three gold, nine school records and seven all-america honors.
During the 2016 outdoor campaign, Farquharson became Rutgers' first Big Ten Outdoor title holding capturing gold in the 100m, while also bringing home silver in the long jump and bronze in the 200m and earned All-America honors in the 100m, 200m and long jump all on the same day.
The 2016 indoor season saw Farquharson capture three medals at the Big Ten Championships, repeating at the 200m Big Ten Champion, while earning bronze in the 60 and long jump and qualify. Additionally, she qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 200m.
During the Fall of 2015, the women's cross country team won back-to-back Metropolitan Championship team titles, led by two-time champion Paige Senatore. Senatore also earned her second All-Mid-Atlantic honor in 2015 joining teammate Allyson Black with All-Region honors by placing among the top 25 at the NCAA regional.
Robinson transitioned the Scarlet Knights into its first year of Big Ten competition during the 2014-15 season with several notable accomplishments. Farquharson became the first student-athlete in RU history to take home a Big Ten title with her gold medal performance in the 200m at the 2015 Indoor Championships. Farquharson, who also captured silver in the long jump and bronze in the 60m at the conference championships, went on to compete at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships in the long jump.
The Scarlet Knights finished the 2014 outdoor season ranked fifth in the final U.S. Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Mid-Atlantic Region Poll, its highest ranking in history. RU earned a total of five medals at the American Athletic Conference Championships led by Farquharson capturing the long jump title and a bronze in the 200m. Rutgers also had seven additional top eight performances at the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships and sent six Scarlet Knights to the NCAA East Regional.
During the 2014 indoor season, Rutgers captured six top eight performances at the American Athletic Conference Championships, placed fourth at the ECAC Championships and won the Metropolitan Championship title with five event victories.
Robinson helped five Scarlet Knights reached All-American status during the 2013 outdoor campaign as RU had participants in the long jump and 4x100 and 4x400 relays all compete for national titles.
Among the Scarlet Knight standouts under Robinson's tenure have included four-time All-American Asha Ruth and two-time All-American Shameka Marshall, both among the most decorated and accomplished athletes in Rutgers women's track and field history. Ruth, who wrapped up her Rutgers career in 2014, was a two-time All-American in the long jump and also earned national recognition as part of RU's 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams. Marshall graduated in 2006 with nine school records. She also made five trips to the NCAA Championships and competed at the Olympic Trials in 2004. In 2005, she was named the Mondo Mid-Atlantic District Athlete of the Year and ranked ninth in the nation in the long jump. Following her time as a Scarlet Knight, Marshall competed at the 2007 Pan Am Games in Brazil, earning a seventh-place finish in the long jump.
In addition to striving to achieve success in the track and field arena, Robinson continues to drive his student-athletes in the classroom. In the two years, between the cross country and track & field programs, 33 Scarlet Knights were honored with nods to the Big Ten All-Academic Team, highlights by four student-athletes named Distinguished Scholar Athletes for achieving a grade point average of 3.7 or highter. His cross country squads have been recipients of eight USTFCCA All-Academic Team awards, including the last six-straight seasons, while track and field has earned all-academic status five times.
Robinson previously spent an 11-year stint as an assistant at Rutgers. He began his coaching career in 1995 as a volunteer assistant coach with the Rutgers men's track and field team. During that time, the staff received recognition as the Co-BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year for the 1996 outdoor season.
The following season, Robinson joined the women's coaching staff as a full-time assistant coach under Anthes. His responsibilities included coaching the sprints, hurdles, multis and jumping events.
As an assistant coach, Robinson helped guide several consistent scorers in the sprint, hurdle and jump groups. His tutelage yielded a pair of NCAA All-America certificates, 11 NCAA qualifiers and five NCAA All-East Regional Performances, including a championship title in the long jump at the 2005 Regionals.
In 2005, Robinson was recognized for his outstanding track record as a coach. He was named the NCAA East Region Assistant Coach of the Year for Sprints/Hurdles by the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The award was presented to only four coaches in the nation in that event area.
A 1995 graduate of Rutgers University, Robinson was a consistent scorer and runner-up in both the long jump and triple jump at the Metropolitan and Atlantic 10 Conference Championships in each of his four seasons as a Scarlet Knight. He served as a team captain and was the recipient of the Colin D. McManus Award, which is presented to the student-athlete who has demonstrated tremendous improvement through self-sacrifice and dedication.
During his competitive years at Rutgers, Robinson was a nine-time qualifier for the IC4A Championships in both events and a member of three Metropolitan Championship teams.
Robinson currently resides in Trenton, N.J. with his family.
The Robinson File
- 102 Metropolitan Individual Event Titles
- Ten Conference Individual Champions (4 BIG EAST, 2 American Athletic Conference, 4 Big Ten)
- 57 All-ECAC Performers
- 24 School Records
- Two USATF Junior National All-Americans (2007, 09)
- Five NCAA Mid-Atlantic - District II Cross Country All-Region Runners
- Five-time NCAA Division I All-Academic Track & Field
- Eight-time NCAA Division I All-Academic Cross Country
- NCAA Division I All-Academic Performer
- BIG EAST, American Eagle Outfitters Institutional Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Assistant Coach - Rutgers University
- 2005 NCAA East Region Assistant Coach of the Year
- Coached 2005 Mondo Mid-Atlantic Track & Field Female Athlete of the Year
- Two NCAA All-America and five NCAA All-East Performances
- 11 NCAA qualifiers, including 2005 NCAA East Regional Long Jump Champions
- Coached 2002 USATF Junior National All-American and 2004 US Olympic Trials participant
