By Jim Hague
When Robert Ezewuiro enrolled at Rutgers-Newark three years ago, he was convinced that his track and field career was over.
Ezewuiro had competed at Hamilton West High School in New Jersey, but he was ready to forego his track career in order to major in biology at R-N, because the school didn’t have a track program when he first came to Newark.
“The ultimate goal was to get to medical school,” Ezewuiro said. “Since Rutgers-Newark didn’t have a program here, I pretty much thought it was over.”
So Ezewuiro didn’t do a single thing in the sport for almost three years.
However, when Juan Edney was hired to begin the track program at R-N, Ezewuiro wondered whether he could handle the rigors once again after being away for so long.
“I heard about the program through a friend and that refreshed my interest in running competitively again,” Ezewuiro said. “It got my competitive juices flowing again.”
But after being away for three years?
“It was extremely difficult,” Ezewuiro said. “The first time I went out with the team at Rutgers, I had to run seven miles and I hadn’t run more than a mile since high school. It was a real struggle to get back into competitive shape.”
But Edney saw that Ezewuiro had talent.
“Of course, you’re always worried when kids sit out for so long,” Edney said. “You know that they’re used to running a certain time and now it’s a struggle to meet those times. It’s not like a light switch. You can’t just turn it on and off. It takes your body a lot to get through it. You have to be able to train 11 months out of the year. Last year, Robert really struggled, but he was willing to work at it.”
So after Ezewuiro trudged through his first year at R-N, trying to recapture the sense of running he had in high school, Edney sent him a workout program to do last summer in the off-season, to get ready for the cross country season last fall.
“You could see that he followed that workout,” Edney said. “He came back slimmer and in better shape.”
“It was unfortunate that I didn’t get the chance to run after high school,” Ezewuiro said. “But I was grateful to get the chance to run again. After a while, it came back to me. It was coming back naturally and gradually. Right now, I finally feel like I’m getting back into running shape.”
“He’s improved immensely,” Edney said. “And the improvement is going to continue.”
During the current indoor season, Ezewuiro has been trying to find the best events for him to compete in.
“He’s really an in-betweener,” Edney said. “He doesn’t have blazing speed, but he does have some endurance. He has a muscular upper body and I think that’s where his troubles start from. It causes him to tighten up a little. I think he’d be better off if he had a little thinner build. He’s fine for the first mile or so, but then at the three-mile mark, he’ll tend to drop off.”
Ezewuiro said that he feels his best events are the 800-meter and 3,200-meter runs.
“I’m more comfortable with those events,” Ezewuiro said. “They’re my favorites. It is a big difference in distances, but it’s where I feel the strongest.”
Ezewuiro hopes to qualify for the ECAC championships and possibly the NCAA Division III nationals.
“That’s the goal right now,” Ezewuiro said.
“I think he has a shot,” Edney said. “He might be able to excel. I think we’re getting a feel of what he’s really good at. He’s now getting in a decent groove.”
It’s certainly a lot better than what he was doing a year ago.
“It’s been a lot of fun and the team has been great,” Ezewuiro said. “Coach Edney has been great. He’s been my favorite coach to work with. He gets the best out of everyone. I want to do my best for him at all times.”
Edney sings Ezewuiro’s praises as well.
“He’s a great kid with a great personality,” Edney said. “He’s not too outspoken and is always respectful. He’s the kind of kid who listens to you and doesn’t talk back. He does everything you ask of him. He is an old school runner. He just comes and does his job.”
Ezewuiro also does his job in the classroom. He is an honors student and will pursue two degrees in biology with the goal of getting into medical school to study neurology.
“It’s an up and coming field,” Ezewuiro said. “It’s very fascinating to see what people are thinking. It’s incredible.”
Because he will have some schooling left, Ezewuiro could very well return next year for another go-round with the Scarlet Raider track program.
“Most likely, I’ll be here for another full year,” Ezewuiro said. “I haven’t decided about medical school yet. I might stick around.”
“I wish I had more time with him,” Edney said. “I wish we had worked together since he was a freshman, because he would have been so much better right now. I know there has been significant improvement already. He’s also a role model, not just on the track, but in the classroom. I hope that more of our athletes follow suit.”
