Rowan men’s track and field was back in action over the weekend, at the Larry Ellis Invitational in Princeton and The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) Invitational in Ewing. Neither event recorded team scoring, but the Profs had multiple times and marks to be confident about moving forward.
There were plenty of standouts for Rowan, such as the 4×100 relay team of Masai Byrd, Shamar Love, Nana Agyemang, and Evan Corcoran that tied the top time in Division III this season at 40.86. Amara Conte (47.20) set the No. 5 ranked time in the 400m and had a good run in the 200m (21.56).
“We’ve been trying to put that together, but we had really clean passes this time,” Head Coach, Dustin Dimit said. “Everybody is starting to get closer to full strength coming off different things that they were dealing with. We’re excited that it was really cold and we were able to run that time, so hopefully as we move forward and get better weather we can bring that down and get close to the school record and national record.”
Conte’s performance earned him New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Track and Field Athlete of the Week honors. It’s only his first of the outdoor season, but his presence is certainly felt as a top athlete on the team.
“That was just a day to see how I was feeling,” Conte said. “It wasn’t really to qualify for nationals. It was more to get the rust off for the week that’s coming. I could run faster than that, that day was just to see where we’re at and what I should run the following week.”
Conte is one of the leaders on this squad filled with talented upper and lowerclassmen. He knows the work ethic required and the challenges the Profs will face as the season progresses.
“Consistency and encouragement,” Conte said. “I believe that this team is very talented. We need that encouragement, like ‘Hey, you’re good enough to be here, and good enough to be competitive.’ Them knowing that and believing in that and doing the best they can to help the team, because at the end of the day, it’s not really a team sport, but it is a team sport. Making sure the team is united and operating on the same wavelength and doing what is expected of us.”
There are high expectations for Conte and the team as a whole. He acknowledged just how talented and connected the squad is, and how the elite level of work ethic will persist as the Profs enter the final stretch of the season.
“As for me, I just need to keep doing the work we’ve been doing,” Conte said. “Making sure people stay motivated as finals are coming up. Making sure people get that work in and aren’t stressed out too much. We need to keep up with stuff off of the track, stretching, eating right, all that stuff. The expectation for me is to do all those things and remind my teammates not to forget to do the stuff they should be doing, focusing on finals and finishing classes, and after that, we can really lock in for nationals.”
Looking forward to this week, the Profs will participate in two more events at the Michael Johnson Invitational at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and at the Widener Invitational in Chester, Pennsylvania.
“We have 18 guys going to Baylor, so we’re excited for both the relays there,” Dimit said. “We’ll see what we can do in good weather against top competition and then everyone else at Widener to continue to get regional marks, national marks there as well. Excited to see that, you know, we’re getting later in the season and as that happens, we’re expecting times and marks to get better.”
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