Rowan junior Eli Hendricks from Penns Grove blasted a huge 200 PR Friday and the 3rd-fastest times in Rowan history.
On a day when many sprint times were wind-aided, Hendricks got in a legal 200 heat and ran 21.08 at the Embry Riddle Invitational in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The only Rowan sprinters to run faster with legal wind are Jah’mere Beasley of Sterling, who set the outdoor-record 20.91 with a 1.9 wind reading by Jah’mere Beasley of Sterling when he placed 5th at 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Geneva, Ohio, and Eastern’s Rajhan Dixon, who ran 20.92 to win the 200 at this year’s NCAA Indoor Championships last month in Birmingham, Ala.
Hendricks’ previous PR was 21.21 last May in Chester. He ran 21.24 indoors and placed 5th at Nationals.
Kingsway’s Evan Corcoran also got into a legal heat and ran a PR 21.37, dropping his PR from 21.39, which he ran last May at NJACs in Ewing. That 21.37 is 10th-fastest on the all-time Rowan list.
Madaijoudou Diawara, a Rowan freshman from Toms River North, ran 21.59 with a legal 1.9 in his first collegiate 100-meter dash. His high school PR was 21.92 last May at Jackson Liberty.
Sophomore Julian Coniglario, who ran on Rowan’s indoor collegiate-record 4-by-200 with Dixon, Corcoran and Hendricks, ran a wind-legal 21.63, not far off his legal PR 21.54 from indoor NJACs at the Ott Center in February.
John Williams, a sophomore from Washington Township, ran a legal 21.78 [1.9]. He ran 21.75 indoors at the Ott. And Ocean City’s Luke Halbruner ran a legal 22.10 [1.4], dropping his PR from 22.32 from last March at Widener in his only previous collegiate 200.
Racing wind-aided 200s were Dixon [21.02, wind guage not operating], Woodbury’s Marquis Taylor [21.63, 2.9] and Rancocas Valley’s Masai Byrd [21.68, 2.6].
That’s a total of eight sprinters under 21.80 regardless of conditions.
Rowan also came up with some crazy 100 times, but they were all wind-aided: Corcoran [10.39, 3.0], Diawara [10.57, 2.7], Conigliaro [10.63, 2.7], Byrd [10.67, 3.2], Williams [10.71, 2.9].
Hopefully, the wind has died down in time for the finals on Saturday.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 