Not very often do athletes have the opportunity to compete for the team they idolized growing up, much less after graduating from a university located hundreds of miles away from their hometown. For Raleigh native Sandy Roberts, his dream has quickly become reality.
Following an illustrious cross country and track career at nearby Broughton High School, the six-time state champion chose to attend Georgetown University instead of N.C. State, the school he idolized growing up. A change of scenery and the opportunity to study international politics were the primary reasons why Roberts turned down his initial opportunity to run for the Wolfpack out of high school, and left Raleigh in favor of Georgetown.
“Off the bat, I kind of wanted to get out of Raleigh,” Roberts said. “I wanted to sort of move out of my comfort zone. Academically, I was interested in studying international politics so being in [Washington] D.C. was a perfect fit. Running-wise, I knew a couple of guys on Georgetown’s team and I knew the coach there was really good, so I thought with all of that combined it was the best fit for me coming out of high school.”
Four years later, with a degree in international politics from Georgetown in hand, Roberts opted to use his last year of eligibility to join the 13th ranked Wolfpack cross country program and reunite with coach Rollie Geiger, who heavily recruited Roberts during his career at Broughton. When Roberts called Geiger last May and told him about his interest in running for State, the 29-year coaching veteran welcomed him with open arms.
“After he got his release, he said he wanted to run for the Wolfpack and he wanted to go to graduate school at N.C. State,” Geiger said. “Being a graduate student was equally as important as being an athlete here. I think Sandy always had in the back of his mind that he wanted to be a part of this program. He is reaching his objectives on both the academic side and the athletic side so it was a good fit.”
Roberts has already made his presence felt, winning the season-opening race at the 5K Wolfpack Invite with a time of 15:11.4, propelling the Pack to a first place finish. The fifth-year senior followed up his first race in a Wolfpack uniform with a 34th-place finish at the 8K Roy Griak Invitational in a time of 25:10.5. The first two races of the season helped assure Roberts he was back to his old form.
“Winning that first race gave me a lot of confidence,” Roberts said. “It was a big statement to say, ‘you know what, there’s a new Sandy out there and he’s getting back to where he used to be in cross country.’ I had a lot of friends and family members there watching who don’t get to see me run very often so it was a great day.”
Winning is nothing new for Roberts, who first realized his potential as a long-distance runner in eighth grade when he posted a 4:35 mile time. Infatuated by the game of basketball at an early age, Roberts never gave up the sport he loved even when setting records at Broughton. Much to the dismay of his high school coach David Christian, Roberts would routinely run to his church league basketball games, play the entire game and then run back.
Perhaps the most intriguing part of Roberts’ journey has been how well he has connected with his new teammates, despite being a member of the program for just a few months.
“What was interesting to me was that Sandy’s connection to the other runners was instantaneous,” Geiger said. “All of a sudden, there was a connection with Sandy that normally would happen over a long process. Sandy is very engaging, whether you’re a teammate or a member of the church he attends. The transition of him coming into the program seemed like it happened over night, almost as if he had been here for four years already.”
