Woodstown’s Molly Lodge, Pennsauken’s Jasmine Pope and Triton’s Nevaeah Lorjuste earned All-America honors late Saturday when Rowan placed 4th in the NCAA Division 3 Championships in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Rowan ran 3:45.56, the 2nd-fastest time in school history and fastest in 10 years.
Lodge had just placed 7th in the 400-meter hurdles, so she became a double All-America in under an hour, and she’s now earned a total of four All-America honors at Rowan.
Pope, a transfer from St. Peter’s, earned her 2nd All-America honor after running on Rowan’s 5th-place 4-by-4 at the indoor NCAA Division 3 meet in Virginia Beach in March.
And the NCAA All-America honor is the 3rd for Lorjuste.
Lodge and Pope ran the first two legs – three-turn stagger, so no splits – and Rowan came through the second handoff in 4th place when Pope handed off to Kat Pederson, a Hillsborough High graduate, split 56.91 and handed off to Lorjuste, who blazed a 54.74 anchor leg.
Rowan finished just six meters behind winner Washington University of St. Louis, which won the race in 3:44.69. The first six teams all finished within 12 meters of each other.
It was the 2nd-fastest time in Rowan history. The 2014 team of Jessalynn Wright, Jamie Thompson, Tashay Wilson and Melirah Searcy ran 3:44.60 when it placed 4th at the Division 3 Nationals at Ohio Wesleyan in Delaware, Ohio (go Battling Bishops!)
This is the 5th time Rowan has medaled in the 1,600-meter relay at NCAA Division 3 Nationals, and the 4th-place finish matches the besrt in school history:
1992 [Waterville, Maine]: The Glassboro State lineup included Rona Henderson from Freehold Borough, Nasirah Mitchell of Newark West Side, Kimara Mitchell from Washington Township and Laiton Roberts from Oakcrest. The Profs finished 6th in 3:53.89.
2013 [La Crosse, Wisc.]: Delsea’s Brianna Crofton and Schalick’s Joyce Perry ran the first two legs, with Melirah Searcy of Edison handling the 3rd leg. Pemberton’s Shailah Williams anchored, and the Profs finished 8th in 3:48.02.
2014 [Delaware, Ohio]: Rowan set its school record of 3:44.60 with a 4th-place finish, but there’s some confusion about exactly who ran. Rowan’s web site lists Searcy, Brianna Angelella of Southern Regional, Tashay Wilson of Hillside and Cherokee’s Jessalynn Wright, but the official results list Wright leading off, Jamie Thompson of South Brunswick running 2nd and then Wilson and Searcy on the last two legs. Considering the track record of Rowan’s track web site, I’d go with the official results.
2015 [Canton, N.Y.]: Angelella, Searcy, Wilson and Wright placed 7th in 3:51.93.
2024 [Myrtle Beach, S.C.]: The Profs medaled in the 4-by-4 for the first time in nine years with Lodge, Pope, Pederson and Lorjuste taking 4th in 3:45.56.
With points from Lodge in the intermediate hurdles and one point in the javelin from junior Isabelle Deal of Washington Township, Rowan tied for 27th place with eight points.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 