PITMAN, NJ --- The College of New Jersey graduate student Maria Grill (Whippany, NJ/Whippany Park) has been selected as the NJAC’s G. Larry James Most Outstanding Athlete to highlight the 2022-23 NJAC Women’s Indoor Track & Field All-Conference Team.

Additionally, Ramapo College sophomore Gbarper Dwah (Lincoln Park, NJ/Lincoln Park) was named Outstanding Track Athlete; Stockton University senior Shahyan Abraham (Orange, NJ/Orange) was named Outstanding Field Athlete; and Stockton freshman Emma Petrolia (New Milford, NJ/New Milford) was named Rookie of the Year. TCNJ head coach Justin Lindsey was voted Coach of the Year by his peers.

All-Conference honors were determined by finish at the recent NJAC Indoor Track & Field Championship and major awards were voted on by the league’s 10 head coaches.

Grill put together a record-breaking performance in her final NJAC indoor meet. She set a new conference meet record of 56.69 in winning the 400 meters, cracking the previous record of 57.00 set in 2013. That time currently puts her atop the NCAA Metro Region and 13th in NCAA Division III this season. She was also part of TCNJ’s winning 4x200 meter relay that lowered the conference meet record to 1:40.49, breaking the record of 1:41.04 that had stood since 2004. Grill also won the 200 meters, clocking in at 24.82 seconds to rank as the second-fastest in the region and 12th in Division III this year. 

Dwah found the podium three times at the conference championship meet, first winning the 60 meter dash in 7.66 seconds. She also earned second place in the 200 meters with a time of 25.36 seconds and was part of Ramapo’s 4x400 meter relay that placed second in 3:59.18. Dwah currently owns the nation’s sixth-fastest 60 meter time this season (7.61), which is also first in the region. She also owns the third-fastest time in the region in the 200 meters (25.14), among the top 30 in D3. The Roadrunners’ 4x400 relay time at the NJAC Championship is the fourth-fastest time in the Metro Region this winter.

Abraham swept the throwing events, including setting a new championship record in the weight throw. She threw 17.59 meters in the weight throw, shattering the old NJAC mark of 16.48 meters set at the 2022 championship. That mark is currently the best in the Metro Region and ranks her 12th in Division III in that event. She also won the shot put with a toss of 13.29 meters, good for second in the region and top-30 nationally.

Petrolia captured an individual win in her first career NJAC championship meet, winning the triple jump by almost four-tenths of a meter. She was the only competitor to reach 11 meters, hitting a mark of 11.08 meters for the win. That mark is the best in the NCAA Metro Region this winter. Petrolia also ran a leg of Stockton’s third-place 4x400 meter relay that posted a time of 3:59.23.

Lindsey is named NJAC Coach of the Year for the 22nd time overall in his 10 years as head coach, including men’s and women’s cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field. Lindsey coached the Lion women to their fourth consecutive indoor title, winning by an 89-point margin thanks to 11 event wins, three second place finishes, and six third-place finishes. His squad also posted two meet records, including Grill’s 400 meter record and the record set by the 4x200 relay team of Grill, Valandra Riggins, Ashlyn MacLure, and Eliza Bruncaj.
 

2022-23 NJAC WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM