Rowan’s women’s 1,600-meter relay team – Nevaeh Lorjuste, Molly Lodge, Kathleen Pederson and Jasmine Broadway – ran the fastest time in NCAA Division 1 on the opening weekend of the indoor track season.
The Profs ran 3:53.48 at the Fastrack Season Opener at Ocean Breeze, winning by 10 meters over St. Joe’s, which placed 2nd in 3:55.13.
Lorjuste is a sophomore from Triton, Lodge a sophomore from Woodstown, Pederson a senior from Hillsborough and Broadway a sophomore from Burlington Township.
Lorjuste opened with a 58.78 to put the Profs in the lead, and Lodge split 59.94, delivering the baton to Pederson in a virtual dead heat with Adelphia, which got a 57.74 split from its second runner. Pederson passed Adelphi’s third runner, and St. Joe’s moved into 2nd with a 58.71 leg by junior Jessica Rubio from Clifton High.
Rowan led by 35-100ths going into the anchor legs, but Broadway left no doubt with a 55.99 anchor. St. Joe’s anchor – another New Jersey alum, senior Maris Rodriguez of Academy of the Holy Angels – split 57.29 anchoring for St. Joe’s.
Although Rowan’s web site lists the school record as 3:52.57, they actually ran faster than that three times last year.
The Rowan women set the real school record of 3:50.39 this past March when they placed 8th at the NCAA Championships in Birmingham, Ala. Rowan also had a 3:50.98 at last year’s Fasttrack Last Chance Meet at Ocean Breeze last February and a 3:51.16 at the Armory in March in the All-Atlantic Conference Championships.
Lorjuste, Lodge, Pederson and Broadway ran on all of those teams.
So the 3:52.57 that Rowan lists as its school record is at best 4th best in school history.
No other Division 3 school ran under 3:55 opening weekend. MIT has the 2nd-fastest time in D-3 with a 3:56.78 at Boston University on Saturday.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 