Another week, another NCAA Division III record. 

The Rowan men’s indoor track & field team has done it again, this time breaking a 17-year-old 4×200 meter relay record set by New Jersey City University in 2006, with a time of 1:25.86. 

The time set by Jah’mere Beasley, Amara Conte, Nana Agyemang and Evan Corcoran is not only the all-time Division III record, but is also the No. 1 time in the country this year, No. 2 time in the world this year and No. 8 all-time for the collegiate level, including all divisions.

“It was great,” Head Coach Dustin Dimit said. “Those guys really wanted it after thinking they had it but then finding somebody else had run faster. They really went after it, winning by almost three seconds… It was an electric atmosphere so it was a really nice tune-up going into nationals next week.”

That record was not the only record set last weekend though. Shamar Love also broke a school record in the 60 meters with a time of 6.85 in prelims. However, Love would just barely be denied a trip to nationals with a time of 6.96 in the 60-meter finals, which was good enough for third place. Corcoran was also denied a national qualifying spot in the individual 200. 

“We always know it’s hard without an indoor facility,” Coach Dimit said. “What they ran would have gotten them in any other year, it’s just the best year it’s ever been in the sprints. Evan [Corcoran] would have gotten in any other year in the 200… It’s one of those things where sometimes it’s better indoors when they just barely miss because it just makes them hungrier outdoors and then we’ll just grind and work towards that.”

Corcoran will still be making the trip down to Alabama for the NCAA Division III Championships as part of the 4×400 relay. He will join Beasley, Agyemang, Conte, Marquise Young and Ahmir Johnson as NCAA Division III national qualifiers. Johnson, however, will be held out of competing due to a nagging knee injury.

Corcoran, the youngest of the group, knows how big of a stage this is and has taken a step back to feel gratitude for the season that got him here.

“It’s super cool,” Corcoran said. “When I was getting recruited to come here, these were the type of people that I wanted to be competing with and running with. Sometimes I just kind of take a step back and just see it for what it is and how lucky I am for the opportunity… I don’t really have words for it, it’s just everything I would have hoped for coming here.”

Although he is grateful for the journey, Corcoran knows that there is still a goal to be accomplished as the team heads into their final weekend of indoor competition.

“We all just gotta run our own races,” Corcoran said. “We train and we all know that we’re capable of running really great legs and when you put them all together, you get a national championship in the 4×4.”

Coach Dimit knows the team is beginning to peak at the right time and knows they have set the tone to get to where they are. 

“We’ve talked about it all year,” Coach Dimit said. “They’ve set the tone by setting the national record and showing what they are capable of. Everybody is running their best right now. Everybody’s best or second-best times of the year were run at regionals and so everybody is clicking on all cylinders… They’re excited to go and see what we can do definitely as a 4×4 but in the individual events as well, and just see how it all shakes out even without Ahmir [Johnson].”

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