PITMAN, NJ --- Rowan University freshman Nana Agyemang (Parsippany, NJ/Parsippany) has been selected as the New Jersey Athletic Conference Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Thomas M. Gerrity Most Outstanding Athlete for the 2021 season. His selection highlighted the NJAC men’s outdoor track & field all-conference team which was announced on May 14.

Additionally, Rowan freshman Jah’mere Beasley (Camden, NJ/Sterling) was named the 2021 Outstanding Track Athlete and Montclair State freshman John Griffith (Upper Saddle River, NJ/Northern Highlands) was named Outstanding Field Athlete. Ramapo’s Cheickna Traore (Jersey City, NJ/Innovation) garnered Rookie of the Year honors.

All NJAC special awards were determined by a vote of the league’s head coaches. The all-conference honors were based on performances at the 2021 NJAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Agyemang won two events at the NJAC Championship and placed top five in two more events; all four of his marks were AARTFC qualifying marks. He won the long jump with a leap of 7.19 meters, and currently owns the nation’s best long jump of the season. He ran a leg of Rowan’s winning 4x100 meter relay that posted a time of 41.32 seconds, defeating the next-fastest team by nearly a full second. That time is also the best in the region this season and the 11th-fastest in NCAA Division III. Agyemang also finished fourth in the 100 meters (11.04) and fifth in the 200 meters (22.38), and currently owns the eighth- and 10th-fastest times in the region, respectively, in those events.

Beasley won a pair of events and finished runner-up in a third at the conference meet. Along with Agyemang, he helped the Rowan 4x100 relay squad to a win via the fastest time in the region this season. Individually, Beasley captured conference gold in the 200 meters with at time of 21.79. He currently owns the second-fastest time in NCAA Division III in the 200 meters. Beasley also finished runner-up in the 100 meters with a time of 10.85 seconds. He currently owns the fastest 100 meter time in the region and eighth-fastest time in the nation.

Griffith won the shot put and finished runner-up in the discus to lead the field events while earning regional qualifying marks in both. He also placed sixth in the hammer throw. Griffith’s winning shot put throw of 14.71 meters was the fourth-best in the region this spring, and his second-place discus throw of 44.63 meters is the eighth-farthest in the region. He also tossed a season-best 41.59 meters in the hammer throw. Griffith joins sister Christine as Montclair State’s major award winners, as she was recently named the women’s track and field Most Outstanding Athlete for her field event wins in the women’s meet.

Traore posted a trio of top three finishes at the conference championship, including a win in the 400 meters. He clocked regional qualifying times in all three of his events. Traore posted a winning time of 48.41 seconds in the 400 meters, besting the field by 21-hundredths of a second. He currently owns the region’s second-fastest and nation’s 16th-fastest 400 time this season. Traore also finished third in the 200 meters with a time of 22.07 seconds, and currently ranks third in the region and 22nd in the nation in that event. He also ran a leg of Ramapo’s 4x400 meter relay which posted a season-best time of 3:26.04, which ranks as the sixth-fastest in the region.

Rowan University head coach Dustin Dimit was selected as the NJAC Bill Fritz Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Coach of the Year by his peers for the sixth consecutive season. Dimit guided the Profs to a first-place finish in the 2021 NJAC Outdoor Championships with a winning score of 285 which included eight event victories. Dimit has now guided Rowan to six straight NJAC men’s outdoor team titles.

 

Thomas M. Gerrity Most Outstanding Athlete:		Nana Agyemang, Rowan
Outstanding Track Athlete:		Jah’mere Beasley, Rowan
Outstanding Field Athlete:		John Griffith, Montclair State
Rookie of the Year		Cheickna Traore, Ramapo
Bill Fritz Coach of the Year:		Dustin Dimit, Rowan