The Rowan men’s indoor track & field team came out on fire last Friday, Jan 21., at the NYC Gotham Cup. Although there was no team scoring, the team had some individual highlights throughout the day and performances that already rank near the top of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC).

Three Rowan athletes won conference honors, with freshman Amara Conte being named NJAC Men’s Track Athlete of the Week after a leading conference time of 48.80 in the 400-meter event, also ranking him fourth in Division III. He also anchored the 4×400 relay team, which currently ranks sixth in Division III.

“I feel like it puts our names out there,” Conte said. “For myself, Nana [Agyemang] and Ahmir [Johnson] to get that exposure is needed with how much dedication, sacrifice and hard work this team puts in and it makes us feel appreciated.” 

Ahmir Johnson, a junior, was named NJAC Men’s Field Athlete of the Week after he hit 14.78 meters in the triple jump event, which now ranks him as best in the conference and second overall in Division III.

Freshman Nana Agyemang was named NJAC Rookie of the Week after he marked a NJAC best 7.16 meters in the long jump, which also puts him at fourth in Division III. Agyemang also ran in the 200 meters and clocked in at 22.44, ranking him second in the conference and finishing off his day clocking in at 7.02 seconds in the 60, ranking him second in the conference. 

“Those performances and the depth of this team is always our advantage,” Head Coach Dustin Dimit said. “When conferences and nationals come up we can rely on a lot of different guys to fill in and get us some points, and it allows us to spread things out and rest some guys and not overwork them.” 

Conte and Coach Dimit both echoed the same response when talking about the team’s drive and if they have something to prove this season.

“We definitely do have something to prove,” Conte said. “We have been national contenders and at the top of the conference, and we want to keep that title and let everyone know what Rowan is about.”

“Yeah, they expect to win the conference and [they] have won it the last eight years,” Coach Dimit said. “We are really driven by our fourth-place national finish last year for outdoors, and we are excited to have an indoor season this year to build momentum off of and carry it into outdoors since, last year, we didn’t have an indoor season like a lot of the top 15 teams.”

The team currently ranks ninth in the nation for Division III ranking behind SUNY-Geneseo. The current top team is the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. The Profs are also currently ranked in the top spot for their region, the Metro region.

The Rowan men’s indoor track & field team will return to action on Friday, Jan. 28, at the Albany Great Dane Invite held at Ocean Breeze Complex in Staten Island, New York.

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