Flushing, N.Y.- Robert Novo of the Hunter College cross country and track and field teams was selected as a 2022-23 CUNYAC Scholar Athlete, the conference's most prestigious honor, at the 36th Annual Michael Steuerman Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner at Terrace on the Park on May 18. He was one of four selections along with BMCC's El Hadji Gaye, Queensborough's Valerie Muse, and John Jay's Katie Healy.
Novo is Macaulay Honors Student who is set to graduate with a 3.96 GPA with a major in biochemistry. He embodies the D III mission of a well-rounded student-athlette experience as he served as team captain for two years and is a leader off of the court as a Resident Assistant at Brookdale while also interning at Memorial Sloan Kettering and volunteering at Running by Pacing Athletes with disabilities through races and training.
In his three decorated seasons on the Hunter men's cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field teams. He led the men's cross country team to back-to-back conference championship in his junior and senior seasons, including a program first in nine years in 2021. He was named to the All-Star team in both years and was a Sportsmanship selection in 2021.
In indoor track, Novo earned All-Star selections in the 2019-20202 season as well as in 2021-22. This year he was named Track Performer of the Year after owning the leagues' fastest time in the 800m and ranking second in the mile. At the CUNYAC Indoor Championships, he reached the podium in both events. Last season, at the championships, he finished second in both the 800m and the mile, driving his success for his final year.
In the outdoor season, due to Covid, he had only two seasons to compete in, which he made the best of. This year, Novo won gold in two events in the conference championship meet. He was the top runner in the 800m with a time of 2:09.14 while also producing the top performance in the 1,500m race with a time of 4:23.14. As a junior in his first outdoor championship, he finished with the bronze medal in the 1500m and was part of the second place 4x400m relay team.
