Jah’mere Beasley is usually too busy with the short sprints and relay duty to run the open 400, but he jumped in one Saturday and turned in a PR and the fastest time by a Rowan quarter-miler in five years.
He came back and ran a hot 200, winning unpressed in 21.39, his fastest since he ran 21.22 last May when he placed 6th at NCAA Division 3 Nationals in Geneva, Ohio.
More on the 200 later.
As for the 400, it was only the second open 400 of Beasley’s college career indoors or out. He won the 400 at the Danny Curran Invitational at Widener University in Chester, Pa., in 47.86. That’s nearly a second faster than his previous PR of 48.78, which he ran last April in a meet in Baltimore.
Beasley run some hot 400 splits for the Profs, including a 47.82 indoors in February when Rowan ran an NCAA Division 3-record 3:10.09. He also ran on Rowan’s national-champion 4-by-4 last year indoors.
He also never ran a 400 at Sterling, according to the New Jersey MileSplit database. So he apparently just ran 47.86 in his second lifetime open 400.
Beasley is a seven-time NCAA Division 3 All-America in the 60, 200 and various relays.
His time is fastest by a Rowan 400 runner since his high school teammate, Francis Terry, ran 47.55 in a meet at Swarthmore in 2018.
Beasley won the race by half a meter over former Bucknell runner Christian Lupica, who was 2nd in 47.95.
The Rowan school record is held by Salem graduate Maurice Ransome, who ran 46.19 in 1990. I can’t find any record of that performance anywhere, so don’t know where he did it, but Ransome did place 2nd at 1990 NCAA Division 3 Nationals in Naperville, Ill., in 47.38 and 4th in 1989 in 47.83.
As for the 200, Beasley led a 1-2 Rowan finish ahead of freshman Evan Corcoran from Kingsway, who was 2nd in 21.96.
Beasley set the Rowan school record of 20.91 when he placed 5th at last year’s NCAA Division 3 Championships.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 