Bishop O’Dowd star and Texas A&M signee Robinson-Jones becomes city’s fourth female athlete to receive state’s top honor, joining two-time recipient and former Oregon standout Wallace

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Sasha Wallace and Tierra Robinson-Jones are part of a legacy of elite track and field athletes in California’s North Coast Section.

They also share the distinction of both capturing multiple state titles in the same year, Wallace doing so twice in her prep career in the 100-meter hurdles and triple jump before winning NCAA Division 1 individual and team championships during her four years at Oregon.

But as they learned Sunday, perhaps the strongest bond shared by Robinson-Jones and Wallace is their Oakland roots.

Robinson-Jones had never met Wallace in person before Sunday, when the 2013 Castro Valley High graduate and two-time Gatorade California Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year took time off from her professional training schedule in Northridge to return to the East Bay to attend a ceremony honoring Robinson-Jones, a recent Bishop O’Dowd graduate, as this year’s Gatorade state award winner.

SASHA WALLACE INTERVIEW

“Just being a part of this and coming to celebrate Tierra, it’s just a blessing. When I heard the news that she got the award, it was just awesome to hear that Oakland is getting the award back. Not only the Bay, but Oakland,” Wallace said. “It’s just a blessing to be able to celebrate her and be around her family.”

Robinson-Jones, a Texas A&M signee, became the fourth female athlete from the North Coast Section to receive the state award in the Gatorade program’s 33-year history, including the first since Wallace secured back-to-back honors in 2012-13. Ashton Purvis of St. Elizabeth earned the recognition in 2010 and Ke’nyia Richardson of Holy Names was the recipient in 2006.

All four individuals are from Oakland.

“Receiving the Gatorade award meant a lot to me. I’ve seen Sydney McLaughin receive it two times in a row (nationally), which made me boost up my running abilities to become the winner for my state,” Robinson-Jones said. “Finally meeting Sasha Wallace after seeing her run high school and collegiate track was amazing. I’ve always watched her on TV and for her to come out to my celebration made me very happy. She’s known my sister for years now and for us to meet and talk in person felt as if I was meeting another Olympian.”

Wallace is the only female athlete from Northern California to win the award representing different schools, securing the honor as a junior in 2012 at Holy Names, followed by 2013 at Castro Valley.

Marion Jones is the only other California female athlete to be honored competing for multiple schools, first at Rio Mesa in 1991, followed by Thousand Oaks in 1992 and 1993.

“It meant the world to me. The fact that I was chosen for that great award, it really put it into perspective all the hard work I put in and all the sacrifices I made,” Wallace said. “When you’re by yourself, you really don’t understand who is paying attention to you, so that was just phenomenal and I think that just changed my outlook on everything because the more you put into something, the more you’ll get out.”

Wallace, the 2017 NCAA Division 1 indoor champion in the 60-meter hurdles, has returned from a serious quadriceps injury to train professionally with coach Lawrence Johnson. Her workout partners include reigning Olympic 100-meter hurdles champion Brianna McNeal and defending Olympic 400 hurdles gold medalist Dalilah Muhammad.

Wallace didn’t hesitate when contacted by Bishop O’Dowd track and field coach Jamal Cooks about speaking at Sunday’s ceremony celebrating the achievement and prep track career of Robinson-Jones, who became only the fourth female athlete in state history to win the 200 and 400 in the same year.

“I didn’t go to school at Bishop O’Dowd, but the Bay Area is really small and I’m starting to learn that regardless of where I went to school, and I went to two different high schools, I’m treated as family everywhere,” said Wallace, one of six female athletes in state history to receive the Gatorade award multiple times.

“I think that’s a really big point I’ve been able to understand being that I’m in L.A. now.”

With Robinson-Jones’ selection, Oakland equaled Long Beach as the state’s most decorated city in terms of producing Gatorade girls honorees, each with four individual winners and five overall awards.

“Making my name known in Oakland means a lot to me personally because there’s so much that you rarely hear about the town in terms of high school sports,” Robinson-Jones said. “And so now, with the accomplishments I’ve completed and the history I’ve made, I’m hoping that my name begins to stick in people’s brains and they get a picture of what my face looks like because of what I have planned in mind for my future.”

Wallace and Robinson-Jones will share another bond once the latter athlete arrives Aug. 18 at Texas A&M.

Wallace captured her NCAA individual and team titles at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium in College Station, Texas, the same venue where Robinson-Jones will train during her career with Aggies, looking to achieve similar success.

“I told Tierra to continue to be self-motivated and continue to have that passion because it’s going to be different to do things on your own,” Wallace said. “But more important, I told her to always remember where she came from and to always know who she is representing every time she steps on that track.”