Penncrest Track Star Set For St. Joseph's

It was getting a little tense for Brendan Robert. There were a number of colleges that were showing interest in the senior standout. But nothing really gripped him to the point where he was ready to commit.

Though seemingly out of the blue, St. Joseph’s came into the picture late, and it looks like a perfect fit for the 5-foot-11 middle distance runner, who will become a Hawk on a track scholarship next fall. Robert signed his national letter of intent a week ago.

Robert, from Media, chose St. Joe’s over Temple, Widener, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He’s projected to run the 400-meter dash and 4 x 400, as well as the 800-meter run for the Hawks. His strongest event is the 400, where he’s run a personal-best time of 49.4 seconds, though has run 47.7 as an anchor on the Lions’ 4 x 400 relay.

"I’m very excited about the move," Robert said. "I wasn’t even going to run track in college when I thought about it back in February. I was gearing away from it after high school, and was thinking about going to ROTC. None of the college programs enticed me, until I found out about St. Joe’s. I was going to enjoy the rest of my senior year. I always loved track and I was doing really well, which made me enjoy it more.

"But I was getting a little nervous, especially since most of the [college] application deadlines were nearing. How it worked with St. Joe’s, was [assistant] coach [Robert] Brown knew someone at St. Joe’s, and thought they may have wanted someone like me. He sent them an email and it worked out from there. I wanted to run in college."

Robert visited St. Joseph’s in late March and he liked the campus. He liked the small community concept of St. Joe’s, which competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference with Temple.

"I was kind of thinking of moving away further, but St. Joe’s is far away enough, and there are benefits of going to college close to home," Robert said. "We’ll travel a good bit, but my parents will be able to see me run. It’s relieving to know where I’m going."

His commitment could not have come at a better time. The PIAA District 1 championship is coming up Thursday and Friday of this week, and Robert can focus solely on running.

"It’s definitely one less thing I have to worry about, I can focus on finishing my school year and finishing my track year," Robert said. "I want to hit 47 again and reach a 1:56 split in the 4 x 800 relay. I want to qualify for states and we’re looking to get there in the 4 x 800 and 4 x 400. I’m also looking to make states in the 400 as well. Knowing where I’m going, I got the goal that I wanted, I found a college that I liked that’s going to help me financially."