Williamstown’s Anna Sasse ran the fastest 800 by a Rowan woman in 31 years Saturday in Ewing.
Sasse won the 800 at the TCNJ Lions Invitational in 2:13.74, lowering her PR from 2:15.02 from the same meet in 2023.
Her time is 2nd-fastest in Rowan history behind only Marcia Baker of Newark West Side, who ran 2:12.74 when she placed 2nd to Heather O’Shea of Mount Union at the 1994 NCAA Division 3 Championships in Naperville, Ill.
Sasse is now No. 3 in the NJAC, behind Stockton’s Kayla Kass [2:07.13] and TCNJ’s Kelly O’Grady [2:12.82]. She broke into the NCAA Division 3 performance list at No. 41.
Sasse was out in 66.2 and back in 67.5. She won by 10 meters over one-time 2:04 half-miler Stephanie Herrick, who ran at Wayne Valley and TCNJ and is now director of youth program development for the New York Road Runners. Herrick was 2nd in 2:15
Sasse never broke 2:20 at Williamstown, PR’ing at 2:20.84 at 2021 South Jersey Group 4 sectionals at Washington Township.
Sasse is also No. 2 in the NJAC with her 1,500 PR of 4:39.98 from last month at Widener, behind only Stockton’s Madelyn Valasek from Shawnee, who PR’d at 4:39.10 this weekend at TCNJ. She’s Rowan’s fastest at 1,500 meters since Haddonfield’s Vanessa Wright ran 4:31.72 in Springfield, Mass., in 2013.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 