Rowan’s Gabriella Pagano smashed the 16-year-old Rowan 5,000-meter run record Saturday in Boston by nearly half a minute.
Pagano, a junior from Blairstown in Warren County and Pope John XXIII High in Sparta, ran 16:45.30 at the Davie Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University and toppled the school record of 17:09.15 set by Highland’s Jenn Rawls at the 2010 ECAC Division 3 Championships at Smith College in Northampton, Mass.
Pagano ran her 800s in 2:41.65, 2:39.71, 2:40.48, 2:41.71 and 2:43.99 and 2:42.56, closing in 35.28 for her final 200.
Pagano’s previous 5,000 PR was a 17:32.29 outdoors last March in Chester, Pa., so she dropped about 47 seconds off that performance. Her previous indoor PR was an 18:23.57 last February when she won the New Jersey Athletic Conference race at the Ott Center.
Pagano also doubled the 1,500 and 5,000 at last year’s outdoor NJAC meet in Ewing and she won the NJAC XC meet in Galloway this past fall.
With her 16:45.30, Pagano is No. 6 in NCAA Division 3 and No. 1 in the Metro Region. She’s also No. in the Metro Region with her 4:56.71 mile and No. 2 in the 3,000 at 9:46.55. She’ll race this coming weekend in the NJAC meet back at the Ott Center.
Pagano’s time appears to be fastest ever by an NJAC runner. A glance at school records for each NJAC school shows the fastest previous time as 17:01.26 by TCNJ’s Noel Whitall of Toms River East, a seven-time All-America and outdoor Division 3 5,000 national champ. Whitall ran 17:01.26 when she placed 2nd to Raina Echols of the University of Chicago in the 2000 indoor D-3 meet in Bloomington, Ill.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 