Ridge Robinson joined the Maritime cross country coaching staff in 2018. He was elevated to head coach in the Fall of 2020 and has developed both the men’s and women’s programs into top teams in the Skyline Conference during his tenure.
After the 2020 campaign was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Robinson led both squads to second place at the 2021 Skyline Championships. Jack Lehnhardt finished second individually on the men’s side, while the women’s team, whose second-place result was the best in program history, had a pair of First Team All-Skyline performers in sisters Rebecca and Rachel Zarava. The Maritime men and women then each placed second again in 2022.
Robinson coached Lehnhardt to a school record time of 26:29.9 over 8000 meters in 2021, and Lehnhardt graduated holding five of the top 10 marks in program history. On the women’s side, the Zarevas combined for six top 10 times between them during the two years they were mentored by Robinson.
Maritime’s head coach arrived on Fort Schuyler after working as an admissions representative at Bryant & Stratton College in Buffalo, NY, for three years. Prior to Bryant & Stratton, Robinson had a number of roles with the track & field/cross country program at Buffalo State College. He was an assistant cross country and volunteer track & field coach during the 2013-14 season before taking over as interim head cross country coach and assistant track & field coach in 2014-15. Robinson led both teams to ninth place at the SUNY Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Cross Country Championships that year.
He began is coaching career with two years as a volunteer assistant at his alma mater—Ohio University. As an assistant, Robinson helped lead the Bobcat men to fifth place at the 2011 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championships. The Ohio women’s team, meanwhile, finished fourth in 2011 before improving to third place in 2012.
A standout distance runner and four-year letter winner for the Bobcats, Robinson earned a regional ranking in the 10,000 meters during the 2010 outdoor season. His school record of 29:42.18 would stand for more than a decade until it was broken in 2021. Robinson was also the runner-up at the 2010 MAC Cross Country Championships, earning All-MAC honors.
The Navarre, OH, native received a bachelor’s degree in communication with a focus in digital media from Ohio University. He later earned a Master’s in recreation & sport science with a concentration in coaching education.
