The Rowan University men’s indoor track & field team had a record-breaking weekend last week at the Fasttrack National Invitational as they chase their eighth straight New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) championship.
The Profs 4×400 team, sophomores Charlie Serrano-Juarez and Jah’mere Beasley and freshmen Nana Agyemang and Amara Conte, broke the school record this past weekend with a time of 3:12.80 which was also landed them the third-fastest time in Division III history and the fastest time in 15 years.
“The whole goal for going up to Boston was to break that school record and just have a great time for Nationals,” Serrano-Juarez said. “We’re trying to win the whole thing and that was a great confidence booster also.”
Conte, the anchor leg, also took home NJAC Rookie of the Week after also clocking in the second-fastest 400-meter time in Division III this year, 48.21.
“That is what we expected of them… it feels great to see them accomplish what we know they can,” Head Coach Dustin Dimit said. “We’re really happy and really proud of them. That’s why we make those long trips to those kinds of meets, to make sure that they have those opportunities.”
Coach Dimit believes that the team is now ready for a championship season and the NJAC championship meet on Monday, Feb. 21.
“People are starting to fire on all cylinders now heading into NJACs,” Coach Dimit said. “They know that they’re fast and ready to go and they know that now is the time of year we train for.”
The team has also broken many personal records, which Coach Dimit called a big success.
“We’re very happy with that,” Coach Dimit said. “That is something you risk when you go further away too, when things go well it’s a great trip home but if things do not go well, then it’s a very long drive home but it is what we expected.”
Coach Dimit also credited his runners for taking care of things outside of practice and doing the necessary things to compete at the best of their ability.
“That’s the way we set up the training but they are going out there and taking care of the mental side and the recovery side and just doing things outside of practice to make sure that they are as good as they can be,” Coach Dimit said.
Serrano-Juarez and Coach Dimit both believe that the team will carry the momentum from last weekend into the NJAC championship meet.
“This success doesn’t distract us at all,” Serrano-Juarez said. “The whole goal this season was just to see if we could win it all and that is our only goal this season.”
“Yes, those things will give them added confidence with the confidence they already have since they have not lost in two whole recruiting classes,” Coach Dimit said. “They expect to win at this point and get things done because that is who you are if you go here, that’s the mindset that everybody has, that this is what we do. Everybody will have that mindset going into next week.”
The team remains confident heading into what they hope to be their eighth straight NJAC championship.
The team will compete at this meet on Monday, Feb. 21, at Ocean Breeze Complex in Staten Island, N.Y.
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