Roadrunners pull away for second men's national title

CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL  |  RESULTS  |  PHOTO GALLERY

Utica, NY – Rowan-Gloucester (NJ) captured its second NJCAA DIII Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship in program history on Saturday. The Roadrunners edged Suffolk County (NY) by 12.5 points.

Rowan-Gloucester earned three first-place finishes in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, the hammer throw, and the discus throw to finish the meet with 134.50 points. The Roadrunners won their only other outdoor track championship in 2014

Suffolk County made a late push in the final event as the Sharks finished second in the 4x400-meter relay to improve on its fifth-place finish from a year ago. Defending champions Kingsborough (NY) finished in third place with 75 points. Triton (IL) boasted a fourth-place finish while Harper (IL) and Sandhills (NC) tied for fifth with 64 points.

• Adam Hunt of Rowan-Gloucester doubled up on All-America honors as the freshman took home first-place finishes in both the hammer and discus throws. The Roadrunners have captured each of the last two outdoor hammer events.
• Sophomore Jake Caruso wont the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:54, more than 15 seconds better than the second-place finisher.
• The Roadrunners, ranked No. 1 in the USTFCCCA polls throughout the season picked up 46 points on the final day to extend their lead thanks to a second-place finish from Caruso in the 5,000-meter run
• Sandhills freshman Daniel Taylor set a new NJCAA national meet record in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 32.05.89, almost seven seconds faster than the previous mark. Taylor also captured the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:25.57
• Sandhills' fifth-place finish featured a stellar performance from Tyrese Kelly who captured both the triple jump, high jump, and long jump.
• Suffolk County edged Triton in the 4x100-meter relay and also added a spot at the top of the podium as Cordell Nix captured the 110-meter hurdles.
• Triton was led by a pair of first-place finishes that included Gustavo Alvarez's pole vault championship for the second consecutive year.
• Kingsborough earned two first-place finishes in both the 4x400 and 4x800-meter relay events. Freshman Amadou Ba served as the lead in both events while sophomore Carlens Duval anchored both title runs.
• Ryan Hughes of Rowan-Gloucester was named the national coach of the year for guiding the Roadrunners to the title.
• The Rowan-Gloucester women's track and field team placed second for a strong showing for the Roadrunner programs.

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