Freshman Jamir Brown from Riverside and senior Marquis Young from Sterling are among four hurdlers who will lead the record-setting Rowan University contingent to the NCAA Division 3 National Championships next weekend in Pittsford, N.Y.
The official list of qualifiers was released late Sunday, and it shows Rowan with four of the top six seeds in the 60-meter hurdles. Brown is No. 1 at 7.72, Parsippany’s Jason Agyemang is No. 2 at 7.80, Teaneck’s Kwaku Nkrumah is 3rd at 7.87 and Young is No. 6 at 7.95.
The meet record of 7.75 was set in 2014 by Luke Campbell of Salisbury in Lincoln, Neb. That was the D-3 record until Brown ran 7.72.
They are No. 1, No. 3, No. 9 and No. 15 in NCAA Division 3 history heading into Rochester.
From 1985 through 2011 the hurdles at NCAA Division 3 nationals were run over 55 meters. The last South Jersey hurdler to win a D-3 title was Palmyra’s Will Brown in 2011 as a senior at Montclair. The last Rowan hurdler to win the hurdles was David Benjamin from Freehold Township with a 7.98 in 2017 in Naperville, Ill.
Agyemang and Nkrumah earned All-America honors last year placing 4th and 6th at indoor nationals. Last spring, Nkrumah, Agyemang and Young went 1-2-5, all earning All-America honors.
Rowan is ranked 4th in NCAA Division 3, behind Wisconsin-La Crosse, Wisconsin-Oshkosh and MIT of Cambridge, Mass. The Profs’ best finish at indoor nationals was third in 2018. They also had top-10 finishes in 1999 [tied for 4th] and 2017 [tied for 6th].
Eastern’s Rajahn Dixon, a freshman, and Penns Grove’s Eli Hendricks, a sophomore, both qualified in the 200, Dixon with his 21.34 that won the NJAC Championships at the Ott Center and Hendricks with his 21.73 this past weekend at the AARTFC meet in Ithaca.
Rancocas Valley’s Masai Byrd, a Rowan junior, also qualified in the 60-meter dash with his school-record 6.82 from this past weekend in Ithaca, N,Y.
Paulsboro’s Jamile Gantt, a Rowan sophomore and a high jump All-America last spring, is the No. 7 seed in the high jump with his 6-10 ¼ clearance at Ocean Breeze.
Passaic County Tech’s Joshua Justin is the No. 6 seed in the triple jump with a 48-10 at the NJAC meet last month.
Rowan also advanced its 1,600-meter relay team, which will likely include Young and Dixon and two 400 legs TBA.
Ocean City graduate Elaina Styer, a sophomore at Stockton, is the No. 4 seed in the women’s pentathlon with a score of 3,606.
Stockton junior Kayla Kass, 9th at nationals last year, qualified in the 800 with a 2:11.52 from Ocean Breeze last month. She has a 2:09.39 PR from a meet at Widener in April.
For the complete list of men’s qualifiers, click here. For the full list of women’s qualifiers, click here.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 