Three South Jersey women – junior Molly Lodge from Woodstown, junior Jasmine Pope from Pennsauken and junior Nevaeh Lorjuste from Triton – were part of Rowan’s school-record 1,600-meter relay team that posted the 2nd-fastest qualifying time for the final at the NCAA Division 3 Championships Friday.
Rowan ran 3:50.08 at the Virginia Beach Sports Center, second only to Colby College’s 4-by-4, which ran a season-best 3:49.47. Rowan had run 3:49.78 last week at the AARTFC Championships in Rochester, N.Y.
Their time Friday is No. 20 on the all-time NCAA Division 3 performance list.
Lodge led off with a 57.55 split, and Pope ran a 57.79 second leg. Kathleen Pedersen, a senior from Hillsborough, ran third and split 57.86, and Lorjuste anchored in 56.88.
Rowan’s previous school record was 3:50.39 in the final of last year’s NCAA Division 3 meet in Birmingham, Ala. Lodge, Burlington Township’s Jasmine Broadway, Lorjuste and Pedersen ran on that team.
The final is scheduled for 6:20 p.m. on Saturday.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 