Nancy Robinson

Falmouth

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Hurdles

Falmouth High School runner Nancy Robinson Alfaro became the third Falmouth High School athlete to be inducted into the Mass. State Track Coaches Athletes Hall of Fame at a ceremony at the Reggie Lewis Center. earlier this month. The Falmouth H.S. athletes previously inducted were Johanna Forman, a teammate of Alfaro’s, who was inducted in 2004, and Greg Gonsalves, who was inducted in 2006. Nancy Robinson did more while she was in high school than most do in their career. She immediately became a presence her freshman and sophomore years WHEN NO OTHER schools had indoor high school programs her freshman and sophomore years. She won Indoor State 300 yd and 600-yard championships as a junior and senior, the outdoor State title at 800/880 as a freshman, was 880y runner-up to teammate Johanna Forman as a sophomore. She won the State 400 440y and New England 400 titles as a junior. There were also relay titles each season, Globe and Herald All-scholastics and Athlete of the Year titles. She Her teams never lost a state team championship – winning four in cross country, two indoors and four outdoors. She won the New England 400 her junior year and also won the NE pentathlon. With no high school girls indoor program Falmouth girls traveled to compete. For four years indoors, Robinson, a along with her teammates, were vagabond relay runner that she competed at Madison Square Garden for the Olympic Invitational, Millrose Games and U.S. Senior Championships; the CYO Meet in College Park, Md.; the Inquirer Games in Philadelphia as well as meets at Princeton NJ, West Point NY, Coast Guard Academy CT, Dartmouth NH and the University of Vermont. Robinson and teammates Forman, Michelle Dufresne and Tamara Hennemuth set the National High School record at 4x400 meters running 3:56.0 3:52.1 at the Coast Guard Academy in 1976. She was part of four relay teams that set National High School indoor records: sprint medley at UVM; international sprint medley at Johnson & Wales Relays in Rhode Island; 4x400 relay at Coast Guard and 4x220 yard relay at the 168th Street Armory in New York City. She ran in the USA Championship Indoor 4x440 relay finals all four years in high school. Outdoors after the high school season was completed, Robinson made the finals of the 400-meter hurdles three times, the finals at the U.S. Senior Women and three times a finalist at the U.S. Junior Championships. She also ran on 4x400 and 4x800 relays all four years at the U.S. Championships. She placed third in the 400 hurdles her junior year, running the sixth best time ever by a U.S. Junior (59.97 seconds). She was a member of the U.S. Junior Team that competed against Japan and Canada, and later in the summer set a meet record for 440-yard hurdles at the National Junior Olympic meet in Omaha, Neb. She went to the University of Florida where but she developed problems with her feet. Several operations were not successful to relieve the congenital problems, but she stayed active in track, helping to recruit athletes, did public relations for the track teams and was the announcer for the Florida Relays. She graduated with a degree in therapeutic recreation, interned at Joslin Diabetes Clinic at Deaconess Hospital and received a master’s degree from San Francisco State University in cell and molecular biology. She worked in cancer research in Southern California for 10 years, then switched to the corporate side serving as in the Investor/Media/Public Relations field for a biotech company in California. She recently moved to Oregon where she is manager of grants and contracts for the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center at Oregon Health & Science University. She lives in Portland, Ore. with her husband Jorge. She is the daughter of E. Arthur and Barbara Robinson of West Falmouth. Six other athletes were also inducted: Monique Tubbs, Boston Latin 1999; Bill Martin, Catholic Memorial 1975; Robert “Bob” Sbordone, Boston English 1957; Jay Luck, Watertown 1958; Joe Lapierre, Boston Commerce 1948; A. Richmond “Boo” Morcom, Braintree 1939. John Carroll was Nancy Robinson’s high school track coach. Nancy Robinson’s individual bests INDOORS 300 yards, 36.5 600 yards 1:25.4 440 yards 56.4 long jump 17 feet, 5 inches OUTDOORS 100 meters 12.0 200 meters 24.8 400 meters 55.2 800 meters 2:12.3 mile 5:25.2 long jump 17 feet, 10 inches 100 hurdles 14.2 300 hurdles 42.2 400 hurdles 59.97 In RELAYS She was a member of four National High School record-setting relay teams indoors – SMR, Int.SMR, 4x220 and 4x400. Outdoors she helped Falmouth High School set one national record at 4x800 meters of 9:08.62, and just missed the 4x400 record by .2 seconds running 3:52.8 at the OIC Relays, at B.U.


Class: 1977  Inducted: 2009

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