The Rowan women, with four South Jersey legs, ran their fastest 4-by-4 in five years and just missed advancing to the final at the NCAA Division 3 Championships.
Senior Amantha Sosa Caceres from Absegami, sophomore Jasmine Broadway of Burlington Township, sophomore Molly Lodge of Woodstown and sophomore Nevaeh Lorjuste from Triton ran 3:49.43 and placed 9th in the prelims at St. John Fisher University in Rochester, N.Y. The top eight advanced to Saturday’s final.
Lorjuste anchored in 54.97. She races in the open 400 later Friday.
It was Rowan’s fastest time this year and the program’s fastest time since the 2018 team ran 3:48.28 at a meet at Swarthmore. Dominique Peters from Lawrenceville, Jackie Ansong of Bordentown, Brianna Angelella from Manahawkin and Miyah Sturdivant of Timber Creek ran on that team.
Rowan’s previous season-best performance was a 3:50.31 at the NJAC Championships in Mahwah with the same four runners and Pederson leading off (but Lodge running 2nd, Lorjuste 3rd and Broadway anchor).
Rowan is 16th all-time in NCAA Division 3 with its 3:44.60 to place 4th at the 2014 NCAA Division 3 Championships at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, the geographic epicenter of the state.
Cherokee’s Jessalyn Wright, South Brunswick’s Jamie Thompson, Hillside’s Tashay Wilson and Edison’s Melirah Searcy ran on that team.
The cutoff for advancing was 3:47.85. The College of New Jersey got in as the No. 8 seed for the final.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 