TIOGA THREE-SPORT STANDOUT ROBINSON JOINS SECTION IV HALL OF FAME (2020-03-31)

BY TIM TAYLOR
Valley Sports Report
VALLEY AREA - Jesse Robinson was a multi-talented athlete who would go on to play college basketball, but it was her talent as a three-sport athlete that led to her being named to the Section IV Hall of Fame Class of 2020.

She was a natural on the basketball court, so it's no surprise that she established school records for points scored in a game, season and career, scoring 1,425 points in five seasons.

"She came right up and was an impact as an 8th-grader, and just got better and better every year she played," said her father and coach, Joe Robinson.

Jesse Robinson's talent also made those around her better.

"She brought a lot of attention to herself," Joe Robinson said. "She was an OK shooter, but she was an unbelievable person taking the ball to the basket. That takes a lot of defense to stop, because she was like a bull, which left other people open. You get open shots, you get rebounds, so right there makes other people better."

She led the Tigers to the Section IV Class C championship in 2008 and a berth in the state quarterfinals, where their season ended with a 39-37 overtime loss to unbeaten Cooperstown. Tioga posted a 16-7 record and was ranked 14th in the state.

She was also four-time IAC first-team all-star in field hockey and graduated with 23 goals, a Tioga single-season record at the time.

Robinson was also a four-time IAC first-team all-star in softball and graduated as the state's all-time stolen base leader with 123 thefts in 126 attempts, a .976 percentage. She also belted 15 home runs, 17 triples and 23 doubles, and hit .440 with 137 runs and 88 RBI.

She helped lead Tioga to an 18-4 record and a No. 9 state ranking in Class C during her senior year.

"Offensively, she was the most dominant player I've ever coached," Tioga softball coach Jim Wood said. "If you put her on base, she'd steal second, steal third. Her senior year, I remember she stole home seven times. She was really aggressive. She always slid head first. She played the game like a collegiate-bound athlete.

"She was a dominant player. She was our three hitter for four years, because right out of the gate as a freshman she was a fantastic ball player and could make things happen offensively.

"They worked very, very hard," Wood said of Robinson and her classmate, Julie Chambers, who was also inducted into the Hall at the same time. "Both of those girls would do anything to beat you."

Robinson went on to play four years at Misericordia University in Pennsylvania, where she made the Cougars' top-10 lists in 10 categories. Robinson scored 1,318 points (third all-time), sank 494 free throws (second all-time), grabbed 224 steals (fifth all-time) and handed out 263 assists (sixth all-time). She also ranked third, fourth and 10th in single-season steals.

In 2012, Robinson earned the Coach's Award as the Cougars posted a 17-9 record, and won the Freedom Conference championship to qualify for the NCAA Division III tournament. She capped her career by being named an ECAC/Robbins Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a MAC Winter Sportsmanship award recipient.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF MISERICORDIA UNIVERSITY