From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Led by Haddonfield’s Seth Clevenger’s distance double and a record-setting 200-meter dash win by Eastern’s Rajahn Dixon, Rowan wrapped up its first NCAA Division 3 Championship Saturday in Birmingham, Ala.

Rowan won by one point over top-ranked Wisconsin-La Cross, which had won the last three indoor national titles and the last two outdoors.

How close was this meet?

Dixon won the 200 by 1-100^th of a second. If their positions are switched, La Crosse wins. Joshua Justin was in 4^th place in the triple jump with one jump left before moving up to 2^nd. If he stays in 4^th, La Crosse wins. Paulsboro’s Jamile Gantt – in his first meet in two months – clears 6-9 on his 3^rd attempt. If he misses, he scores no points instead of five.

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Rowan’s last national title came in 1984, when the Profs won their 5^th straight outdoor title.

Rowan went into the 3,000 with a 65-64 lead over Oshkosh with La Crosse 3^rd with 57 points. Rowan had the top seed in Clevenger, and Oshkosh didn’t have any qualifiers, but La Crosse had five. So for Rowan to clinch the team title, they needed a Clevenger win and fewer than nine points from La Crosse.

Rowan, whose 4-by-4 just missed qualifying, needed an 11-point lead going into the relay to wrap up the team title.

After Clevenger won the 3,000, La Crosse runners finished 3^rd, 8^th, 9^th, 13^th and 17th for seven points, which left Rowan with an insurmountable 75-64 lead over La Crosse and Oshkosh with only the relay remaining.

Rowan needed every one of those points they fought for over the last two days because La Crosse won the 4-by-4 with a meet-record 3:10.90, leaving Rowan with a one-point win at 75-74.

Rowan’s previous best finish was 3^rd place last year with 36 points, behind the two Wisconsin powerhouses – La Crosse with 84 points and Oshkosh with 39.

Here’s a look at how Rowan got to 75 points:

200: 14 points – Dixon set a meet record of 20.92, 2^nd-fastest in NCAA Division 3 history, for 10 points and Penns Grove’s Eli Hendricks ran indoor PR 21.24 for foiur points.
3,000: 10 points – Just before Dixon’s win, Clevenger set a meet record with 7:54.92 for 10 points.
5,000: 10 points – On Saturday, Clevenger cruised to a meet-record 13:35.55 to become Rowan’s 1^st indoor national champ in a distance event since Oakcrest’s Don Deckert won the 5,000 in 1986.
60-Meter Hurdles: 14 points – Seniors Kwaku Nkrumah from Teaneck and Jason Agyemang from North Plainfield finished 2^nd and 3^rd in 7.92 and 7.95 for eight and six points. Both are now five-time All-Americas.
High Jump: 15 points – A disappointing event considering the seedings, but Rowan still had four point scorers, which turned out to be pivotal. Freshman David Brown from Edison finished 3^rd at 6-10 ¼ for six points, junior Jamile Gantt was 4^th at 6-10 ¼ for four points, sophomore NoahWampole fromRadnor took sixth at 6-9 for three points and junior Arrington Rhym of Hamilton West was 8^th at 6-9 for one point.
Long Jump: 4 points – Huge four points from freshman Bright John of Sterling, who jumped 23-2 ¾ for 5^thplace, the best finish in the competition by a freshman.
Triple Jump: 8 points – Some clutch jumping by junior Joshua Justin of Passaic County Tech. Justin moved up from 4^th to 2^nd on his final jump with a 48-11 ¾, only 2 ½ inches off his PR.