Freshman Denirah Jones from Woodbury ran Rowan’s fastest 60-meter dash in eight years Saturday at the Gulden Invitational at Bucknell’s Gerhard Fieldhouse.
Jones ran 7.81 in the prelims before a 7.84 in the final. That 7.81 is fastest by a Rowan woman since 2018, when Aaniyah Robinson from Passaic Tech ran 7.77 when she won the NJAC Championships at Ocean Breeze. It looks like it’s 4th-fastst all-time at Rowan, although I could be missing a time or two from back in the day.
Jones ran 7.92 in her first two races, both at Ocean Breeze. Those performances tied her high school PR set at the Ott Center last January.
Jones was a state long jump champ and sectional sprint champ at Woodbury with PRs of 7.39, 12.58 and 18-0.
Her 7.81 on Saturday is No. 2 in the NJAC this year behind only senior Lucia Garcia-Beltran of Hopewell Valley and TCNJ, a Rutgers transfer who ran 7.63 at the Armory earlier this month.
All-Time Rowan 60-Meter Dash List
7.58 … Shailah Williams, 2016
7.74 … Ebonique Jones, 2016
7.77 … Aaniyah Robinson, 2018
7.81 … Denirah Jones, 2026
7.79 … Molly Lodge, 2024
7.84 … Promise Fadahunsi, 2020
7.82 … Nia Lawrence, 2015
7.87 … Kayla Julien, 2025
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 