Sterling graduate Marquise Young, a sophomore at Rowan, tuned up for the NCAA Division 3 nationals with a hurdles PR and a win at the NJAC meet Monday.
Young ran 8.11 over the 60-meter hurdles, edging freshman teammate Kwaku Nkrumah, who ran 8.21, a PR of his own (note that Nkrumah attended Teaneck High, where you’re “From the Backstretch” scribe ran a few years back!). Another freshman, Jason Agyemang from North Plainfield, was 4th in 8.52, and freshman Anaias Hughe of Willingboro placed 6th in a PR 8.53.
In all, Rowan piled up 27 points in the hurdles on its way to the conference team title at Ocean Breeze.
Young has won three straight NJAC titles – indoors last year and this year and outdoors this past spring. He placed 2nd to sophomore teammate Liam Davies outdoors as a freshman. Davies is no longer at Rowan.
Young’s previous PR was 8.18 last March at the AARTFC Championships in Rochester, which he won. He placed 9th in the trials at the NCAA Division 3 Championships in 8.19, missing the final by 2-100ths of a second.
He’s Rowan’s fastest hurdler since Bobby Cooks ran 8.01 in 2018 on his way to 2nd place at NCAA Division 3 nationals indoors and 3rd outdoors.
With his 8.11, Young is tied for 6th on this year’s NCAA Division 3 performance list. He also ran on Rowan’s relay team in Boston last week that ran the fastest 4-by-4 in NCAA Division 3 history.
Next for Rowan – ranked 10th in Division 3 – is the FastTrack Last Chance qualifier at Ocean Breeze on Friday, then the AARTFC Championships in Albany March 3-4 and D-3 Nationals in Birmingham March 10-11.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 