From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Rowan’s 400-meter relay team raced to the 5^th-fastest time in NCAA Division 3 history and placed 2^ndSaturday at the Division 3 Championships in La Crosse, Wis.

Rowan, with Kingsway’s Evan Corcoran, Penns Grove’s Eli Hendricks and Eastern’s Rajahn Dixon in the lineup, ran 39.56 and placed 2^nd to national record holders Wisconsin-Oshkosh, whose 39.25 broke its own meet record of 39.66 set last year in Geneva, Ohio.

Oshkosh set the national D-3 record of 38.96 last week, also at La Crosse. The only D-3 schools to run faster than Rowan did Saturday are Oshkosh twice this year and Wisconsin La Crosse with a 39.36 in the same race Oshkosh ran 38.96 and also at La Crosse with a 39.53 last May.

So the four-fastest D-3 times ever run have been on the same track in Western Wisconsin a mile east of the Minnesota border along the Mississippi River.

Rowan broke its own school and NJAC record of 39.72, which the Profs ran at last year’s nationals in Geneva with Bridgeton’s Shamar Love, Highland’s Robert McKinney, Hendricks and Corcoran. That was No. 5 in D-3 history.

Madaijoudou Diawara from Toms River North led off for Rowan, followed by Corcoran, Hendricks and Dixon.

The 2^nd-place finish gave Rowan 39 points, three behind La Crosse, which was 3^rd in the 4-by-1.

Rowan’s time ranks 44^th on the 2026 U.S. list

Down to his final attempt and needing a lifetime best to move into the lead, Rowan junior Dametrius Hester bombed the 2^nd-longest javelin throw in NCAA Division 3 history Saturday to win his first national title after two top-three finishes.

After three throws, Hester led the javelin at the Division 3 Championships in La Crosse, Wisc., with a 236-11, but moments later senior Liam Bourasisa of Fitchburg [Mass.] State – who had a PR of 227-8 coming into the meet – took the lead with a shocking 241-3, a nearly 14-foot PR and the No. 5 throw in D-3 history.

After that improbable throw, Hester had three chances to reclaim the lead, but after a 239-7 on his 4^thattempt and a 231-0 on his 5^th, he was down to one last chance.

Hester, who set his PR of 240-9 at the NJAC Championships earlier this month in his hometown of Mahwah, would need to PR to win.

And he did.

On his final throw of the season, Hester threw the javelin 245 feet, 10 inches to deny Bourassa to become Rowan’s first national javelin champion since Matawan’s Ed Colleton in 1998 in St. Paul, Minn.

The only superior throw in D-3 history happened 13 years ago in the same meet at the same track. Deptford’s Tim VanLiew of Rutgers-Camden won the 2013 D-3 title with a 247-10, which remains the meet record and top throw in Division 3 history.

Hester’s throw is No. 7 on the all-time New Jersey alumni list. It’s also No. 7 among U.S. men this year.

Hester placed 3^rd as a freshman at the 2024 D-3 meet in Myrtle Beach, S.C., with a throw of 213-3. He was 2^nd last year in Geneva, Ohio, at 218-4.

On Saturday, Hester opened with a 206-2 and then a 225-5 before his 236-11 temporarily moved him into the lead. Bourassa’s 2^nd-best throw was a 231-7 on his final throw, so Hester accounted for four of the six-best throws of the competition.

Hester is Rowan’s 2^nd national champion of the weekend. Freshman David Brown from Edison won the high jump at 7-0 ½ on Friday. Hester’s 10 points gave Rowan 31 through the javelin, five fewer than leader and host Wisconsin La Crosse.

Hester is Rowan’s fourth javelin national champion.

Converted baseball player Mike Juskus, who never competed in track at Hopatcong High School, won in 1978, 1980 and 1981 and also won the 1981 Division 1 title back when the D-3 winners were invited to the D-1 meet. Burlington City’s Mike Boone won the javelin in 1992 and Colleton won in 1998.

Some 19 athletes from 15 different South Jersey high schools have qualified for the NCAA Division 1 East and West Regional preliminary rounds, according to declarations released by the NCAA on Friday.

The top 48 individuals and top 24 relay teams in each event in each of two regions qualify for NCAA regionals. The top 12 finishers in each region advance to the NCAA Championships.

The East and West Regionals will be held Wednesday through Saturday, East in Lexington, Ky., West in Fayetteville, Ark. The NCAA Championships are scheduled for June 10-13 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

For the schedule of events for East Regionals:, click here.

For the schedule of events for West Regionals:, click here.

Here’s a look at the South Jersey contingents for the two regional qualifying meets:

East Regional
May 27-30, 2026
University of Kentucky Track and Field Complex
Lexington, Ky.
MEN
**Jamir Brown, Syracuse [Riverside]
110-Meter Hurdles, #4 seed [13.25]
**Yashahya Brown, Hampton [Washington Twp.]
110-Meter Hurdles, #30 seed [13.80]
**Ajani Dwyer, Penn State [Washington Twp.]
100-Meter Dash, #4 seed [9.96]
Greg Foster, Princeton [Lumberton / Lawrenceville Prep]
110-Meter Hurdles, #26 seed [13.78]
Long Jump, #5 seed [26-5 ¼]
***Anthony Liakhnovich, Princeton [Williamstown]
Shot Put, #45 seed [58-5 ½]
*Ryan Merlino, Rutgers [Oakcrest]
Pole Vault, #19 seed [17-8 ½]
***Alexander Osayemi, Alabama [Clayton]
400-Meter Dash, #20 seed [45.59]
1,600-Meter Relay, #4 seed [3:01.64]
***Jayden Poteat, Hampton [Winslow]
400-Meter Dash #42 seed [45.97]
*Bryce Tucker, Rutgers [Pennsauken]
400-Meter Hurdles, #22 seed [50.54]
*Premier Wynn, Tennessee [Pennsauken]
1,600-Meter Relay, #24 seed [3:04.55]

WOMEN
Tey’ana Ames, Rutgers [Atlantic County Tech]
Shot Put, #28 seed [53-2 ½]
***Hannah Byrd-Leitner, Virginia [Moorestown]
Pole Vault, #43 seed [13-5 ¼]
***Sophia Curtis, Clemson [Ocean City]
400-Meter Hurdles#46 seed [58.67]
*Jenovia Logan, Rutgers [Sterling]
High Jump, #33 seed [5-9 ¼]

West Regional
May 27-30, 2026
John McDonnell Field
Fayetteville, Ark.
MEN
Floyd Whitaker, Oklahoma State [Highland]
Triple Jump, #31 [52-6 ¼]
WOMEN
*Jailya Ash, Iowa [Eastern]
100-Meter Hurdles, #17 seed [13.19]
*Leah Howard, Texas Tech [Millville]
Javelin, #26 seed [165-0]
*Amirah Sharpe, Arkansas [Clayton]
400-Meter Dash, #14 seed [51.95]
1,600-Meter Relay, #1 seed [3:20.04]
*Arianna Sharpe, Arkansas [Clayton]
400-Meter Dash, #17 seed [52.07]
1,600-Meter Relay, #1 seed [3:20.04]

Rowan senior Jason Agyemang led all qualifiers into the 110-meter hurdles final at the NCAA Division 3 Nationals Friday, tying the meet record and the 4^th-fastest time in NCAA Diision 3 history. Rowan senior Kwaku Nkrumah from Teaneck was 3^rd-fastest qualifier. Both are former NCAA Division 3 national champions.

Agyemang, from North Plainfield, ran 13.72 at Veterans Memorial Stadium in La Crosse, Wisc., matching his PR from a home meet in Glassboro last month. He tied the meet record set by Taylor Rooney of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., in the 2021 meet in Greensboro, N.C.

By the luck of the draw, Rowan had all five of its hurdles qualifiers in the same heat, which isn’t ideal since the winner of each heat automatically qualifies for the final. Four hurdlers were unable to finish the race, including Willingboro’s Eric Foster, a Rowan sophomore.

Agyemang won the 60-meter highs at 2025 indoor Nationals, placed 2^nd in last year’s outdoor nationals and was 3^rd in the 60-meter hurdles at Indoor Nationals this past March.

Nkrumah, who also ran 13.72 earlier this year in a home meet in Glassboro, qualified for the final with a 13.88 behind Agyemang’s 13.72. Nkrumah, from Teaneck, won the 110-meter highs at 2024 Nationals and was 5^th in the 60-meter highs indoors in 2025 and 2^nd indoors this year.

No. 2 qualifier was Division 3 record holder Luke Schroeder of host La Crosse. He ran a wind-aided 13.20 last week on his home track and set the D-3 record of 13.32 with legal wind earlier this month, also in La Crosse. He broke the D-3 record of 13.60 set by Riveride’s Jamir Brown as a Rowan freshman last year in the trials of the NJAC Championships in Ewing. He’s now a sophomore at Syracuse.

https://results.leonetiming.com/?mid=8721&en=10-1

The final is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday.

Stockton sophomore Elaina Styer earned her 2^nd multi-event All-America honor this year with a 4^th-place finish in the heptathlon at the NCAA Division 3 Championships.

Styer placed 2^nd in the indoor pentathlon in Birmingham, Ala., in March.

Styer scored 5,033 points in the two-day, seven-event test. She finished just 46 points out of 2^nd place and fell just 17 points off her PR of 5,050 from a meet in Ewing last month.

On Thursday, Styer ran 14.40 in the hurdles for 923 points, high jumped 5-3 ¾ for 759 points, threw the shot a PR 38-3 ½ for 639 points and ran 26.26 for 740 points.

Styer, from Estell Manor, opened competition Friday with a 17-6 ¾ long jump, good for 657 points and after a foul on her first javelin throw she hit 107-7 for 530 points. That’s only a foot off her PR of 108-8 from a non-multi last week at a home meet in Galloway Township. She closed with a 2:22.85 for 785 points in the closing 800.

Senior Olivia Bohlen of Central College in Pella, Iowa, won the competition with 5,158 points

Rowan posted the 2^nd-fastest qualifying time the 400-meter relay trials Friday at the NCAA Division 3 Championships at Veterans Memorial Stadium in La Crosse, Wisc.

Rowan won its heat in 40.01, the 20^th-fastest 400-meter relay in NCAA Division 3 history and the Profs’ 3^rd-fastest time. Rowan ran 39.72 last year – No. 5 in D-3 history – when it placed 2^nd at the NCAA Division 3 Championships in Geneva, Ohio, and ran 39.97 a day earlier in the trials.

The final is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. on Saturday.

Sophomore Madaijoudou Diawara of Toms River North led off, followed by senior Evan Corcoran of Kingsway, junior Eli Hendricks of Penns Grove and Rajahn Dixon of Eastern, who was racing for the first time in five weeks.

Wisconsin-Oshkosh, which ran a Division 3-record 38.96 in a home meet last week, was the top qualifier with a 39.50 in a different heat. That’s the 3^rd-fastest time in D-3 history.

Wisconsin-La Cross holds the No. 2 4-by-1 all-time performance with it 39.36 in the same race that Oshkosh ran 38.96. The 17-fastest times in D-3 history have been recorded since 2023.a

David Brown became Rowan’s 1^st freshman national champion in 44 years Friday when he won the high jump at the NCAA Division 3 Championships in Wisconsin.

Brown clinched the title before he had a miss.

Brown, who graduated from Edison High a year ago, locked up in a terrific competition with junior Lukas Nowlin of the Univerity of Southwestern Texas in Georgetown, Texas.

Both were clean up through 6-11 ½, but Nowlin – who entered the meet with a 6-10 ¾ PR before PR’ing at 6-11 ½ – finally missed at 7-0 ½ and Brown cleared on his 1^st attempt to take the lead.

He’s Rowan’s first freshman to win an outdoor national title since Willie Lawson from Plainfield won the 800 in 1982 in Naperville, Ill.

After he secured the win, Brown missed three tries at  7-3, which would have surpassed his PR of 7-2 ¼ and broken the school record he shares with Jeffrey Tucker of Eastern, who cleared 7-2 ¼ at Moravian College in Bethlehem in April 2018.

Brown, junior Jamile Gantt from Paulsboro and sophomore Noah Wampole from Radnor, Pa., all earned All-America honors with their top-eight finishes.  Rowan finished 1-3-4 for 21 points in the one event.

This is Gantt’s 4^th All-America performance. He was 7^th outdoors in 2024 at 6-9 ¾, 3^rd outdoors last year at 6-11 and 4^th indoors this past winter at 6-10 ¼. Wampole is now a three-time All-America after placing 6^th both outdoors last year and indoors this year. Brown is a double All-America after placing 3^rd this winter.

Wampole cleared 6-6, 6-8 and 6-9 on his 1^st attempt, 6-10 ¼ on his second and 6-11 ½ on his 3rd. Gantt had a miss at 6-8 but cleared 6-9 on his 1^st jump and 6-10 ¼ on his 2^nd.

A 4^th Rowan jumper, sophomore Damarion Potts from South Brunswick, cleared 6-8 and placed 14^th. Rutgers-Camden freshman Jaylen Deleon from Highland cleared 6-6 and was the 3^rd freshman in the competition.

Haddonfield’s Dylan Hosty, already the fastest freshman in South Jersey this year in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200, is now also the fastest freshman in the 400.

Hosty continued to display her remarkable range Thursday by running 57.02 to win the 400 at the Baker Invitational on her home track.

She’s already run 2:08.12 for 800 meters at the Camden County Championships earlier this month at Haddon Township, 4:49.48 full mile at the Penn Relays and 10:55.34 last month in Colts Neck.

Hosty’s 800 is a South Jersey freshman record, her mile is No. 2 behind Haddonfield’s Briana Gess [4:45.97 in 2014], her 3,200 is 7^th-fastest among South Jersey freshmen.

Hosty is the No. 1 seed in the 800 at the state Group 2 meet and No. 2 seed in the 1,600.

The top-seeded Rowan 1,600-meter relay team cruised into the finals of the 1,600-meter relay at the NCAA Division 3 Championship in Wisconsin.

The Profs, with three South Jersey legs, ran 3:11.35 and will race in the final at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Rowan ranks No. 1 in NCAA Division 3 with its 3:08.97 in a meet at Widener in Chester, Pa., last week.

Freshman Marquis Taylor from Woodbury and sophomore Samuel Agbessi from Sterling ran the first two legs, junior  Teddy Wilson from Toms River North split 48.26 on the 3^rd leg and junior Dallas Hohney from Glassboro anchored in 46.42.

Rowan has the option of using freshman Rajhan Dixon, the NCAA Division 3 indoor 200 champ, in the final.

The College of New Jersey also advanced for the final with a 3:11.76, giving the New Jersey Athletic Conference two qualifiers.