A decision two-sport athletes are faced with when considering a college athletic scholarship offer can be a tough one but fortunately for Kelly Robinson, Towson was sympathetic and very eager for her to become a Tiger.
The dilemma for Kelly; she excelled in both basketball and track. Does she continue basketball and forgo track, or does she compete in the throws and forsake basketball? At Raritan High School, in New Jersey, she was a Street & Smith’s Pre-Season Girls Basketball All-American and the 12-ranked wing player in the nation. She also happened to be the country’s high school girls’ national champion in the javelin.
“I was recruited by Penn State and Syracuse and most of the big Northeast schools for basketball,” said Kelly who averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds in high school. “As far as track was concerned I could have gone to school practically anywhere. I couldn’t decide what sport to stick with. Almost every school was telling me just one sport. But Joe Matthews, who recruited me after watching me play in an AAU tournament, said if I wanted to compete in track too, okay. If I came to Towson, he would make it happen. He got me in touch with Roger Erricker and that made my decision.”
Kelly was introduced to basketball in the sixth grade. “It was like, hey, you’re tall, you should play basketball,” she recalled. “Then my coach said I was pretty good so he signed me up for AAU. I played all the way through high school for the Central Jersey Hawks and that’s probably where I really got noticed.”
Her involvement in track was a spinoff from the basketball.
“My high school basketball coach wanted me to stay in shape,” said Kelly, “so she suggested I join the track team where I could run. I didn’t mind the running but the track people said I was strong, so why not try throwing. They put me out there and I launched the javelin without even knowing what I was doing. I competed in all three throws – javelin, shot and discus. All have very similar techniques. Then with a little coaching, I improved steadily. The fact that I had a good coach sealed the deal for me. I won back-to-back state championships my junior and senior years and in my senior year I won the high school national championship in the javelin.”
Kelly continued to excel at Towson, setting program records in both sports. A four-year starter in basketball she played in all of Towson’s 120 games during her career, a program record that includes 115 starts. Her 1,171 points (10.1 average) put her high on Towson’s all-time scoring list. As a freshman she was named to the Colonial Athletic Association’s All-Rookie Team. In 2011 she was honored as a member of the 10th Annual CAA Women’s Basketball Legends Class.
On the track squad Kelly set Towson records in the javelin (157’0”), discus (135’5”) and shot put (41’7.75” indoor, 43’1.75” outdoor). Her javelin record remained intact well past her graduation. As a freshman she qualified for the first of two NCAA East Regionals when she ranked third nationally in the javelin. Her freshman year throw of 142-2 set a new school record as she became the first Tiger to earn CAA Track Athlete of the Week honors. She was the program’s first woman to qualify for the NCAA Championships. In the East Regionals she produced a stunning 3rd place with a record 151 feet, breaking her own school record by seven feet. In her final year she became the second Tiger to win a CAA title, capturing the javelin to earn a second trip to the NCAA’s. An USTFCA Division I All-Academic Team selection, she was chosen Towson’s Senior Female Athlete of the Year in 2008.
With a degree in Kinesiology, Kelly eventually found her way to Franklin Township in New Jersey where she taught Physical Education and Health, and coached.
