In his first race for Rowan, Haddonfield’s Seth Clevenger ran the 3rd-fastest 3,000 meters in NCAA Division 3 history Friday at the Dr. Sander Columbia Scorcher at the Armory.
Running all his laps under 32 seconds, Clevenger won the race in 7:54.87, falling just 1 1/2 seconds shy of the NCAA Division 3 record. The only faster times recorded by Division 3 runners were a 7:53.24 recorded by John Carroll’s Alex Phillip in Boston in 2023 and a 7:54.48 by Aidan Ryan of Williams in 2022, also in Boston.
Clevenger, a transfer from Iowa State, had a 3,000 PR of 8:12.00 from a meet in February 2024 in Fayetteville, Ark.
He broke the Rowan school record of 8:15.29 set in 2018 by Brick Memorial’s Kevin Veltre in Boston.
Clevenger’s time is also fastest ever recorded by a South Jersey high school alum, breaking the mark of 7:57.65 set in 2017 by Absegami’s Ford Palmer. Cinnaminson’s Austin Gabay [7:58.94 in 2024] and Ocean City’s John Richardson [7:59.26 in 2008] also ran sub-8:00.
Woodbury’s Peyton Shute, a sophomore at Cornell, placed 4th in 8:06.37, which is No. 8 on the all-time South Jersey 3,000-meter list.
My best attempt at an all-time South Jersey 3,000 top-10 (or top 11):
7:54.87 … Seth Clevenger [Haddonfield], Jan. 24, 2026, New York
7:57.65 … Ford Palmer [Absegami], Jan. 28, 2017, New York
7:58.94 … Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson], Feb. 10, 2024, Boston
7:59.26 … John Richardson [Ocean City], Feb. 16, 2008, Seattle
8:01.24 … Samuel Gerstenbacher [Schalick], Feb. 26, 2023, Boston
8:01.79 … Austin Gabay [Cinnaminson], Jan. 26, 2024, Boston
8:04.87… Kevin Antczak [Mainland Regional], Feb. 10, 2024, Boston
8:06.37 … Peyton Shute [Woodbury], Jan. 24, 2006, New York
8:07.88 … Noah Deckert [Delsea], Feb. 2, 2024, Boston
8:09.59 … Karl Savage [Eastern], Jan. 23, 2004, Johnson City, Tenn.
8:10.01 … Jon Vitez [Haddonfield], Feb. 9, 2013, Princeton
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 