Ponaganset High School Athletic Hall of Fame
Induction Class of 2016
Carolyn Robin-Martin
Athlete
Class of 1999
Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field
Carolyn Robin Martin was a four-year varsity letterwinner on Ponaganset’s cross country and indoor and outdoor track teams. A captain, she led by example, motivated her teammates with determination, talent, effort and commitment.
The hardest worker on the team, she always asked herself, how much more can I do? It was that drive that led her to a continued career at Division I Quinnipiac University upon graduation.
Carolyn developed a strong foundation in athletics at Ponaganset while leading her team in points earned. Freshman year, she placed third at the RIIL Freshman Cross Country State Championships, where she was the top Northern RI finisher and earned Third Team All-State honors. In her sophomore year, she finished third at the Class C Championships and seventh in the state championships, earning First Team All-State recognition.
On the track, she was named a Woonsocket Call Outdoor Track All-Star as a sophomore after placing third in the pole vault at the RIIL Championships, setting a school record at 7’6”. Junior year, Carolyn set indoor and outdoor track school records in the 1000m, 1500m, 3000m and 3200m.
Carolyn begin her stellar senior year by winning the Class C Cross Country Championships and then finished fourth in the State Cross Country Championships to once again earn First Team All-State honors. She led her team to a fourth-place finish, helping Ponaganset qualify for the New England Championships. On the track, Carolyn set the school record for the indoor 3000m – a record she still holds today – and was a member of the school record-holding 4x800m relay team. She was named a Woonsocket Call All-Star in cross country, indoor and outdoor track as a senior, capping off a Hall of Fame-worthy career.
Carolyn is currently the head men’s and women’s cross country and head women’s track & field coach at Quinnipiac University. She has received Coach of the Year distinctions three times, twice in women’s cross country and once in women’s indoor track & field. Carolyn lives in Northford, Conn., with her husband, Tom, and two children, Jacquelyn and Liam.