PITMAN, NJ --- Ramapo College senior Cheickna Traore (Jersey City, NJ/Innovation) has been selected as the NJAC’s G. Larry James Most Outstanding Athlete to highlight the 2022-23 NJAC Men’s Indoor Track & Field All-Conference Team.

Additionally, Rowan University sophomore Amara Conte (Jersey City, NJ/James J. Ferris) was named Outstanding Track Athlete; Montclair State University junior John Griffith (Upper Saddle River, NJ/Northern Highlands) was named Outstanding Field Athlete; and Rutgers University-Newark freshman Jordan Hartley (Warren, NJ/Watchung Hills Regional) and Rowan freshman Kwaku Nkrumah (Englewood, NJ/Teaneck) were named Co-Rookies of the Year. Rowan head coach Dustin Dimit was voted the Oscar Moore 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.

Traore won two individual events and ran on Ramapo’s second-place 4x400 meter relay. He first captured the 60 meter win with a time of 6.81 seconds, just .01 second off his meet record from 2022. He followed that up with a new meet record of 21.35 seconds to win the 200 meters, lowering his own previous record by .03 second. He currently owns the NCAA Metro Region’s fastest times in those events, and ranks in the top five nationally in both. Traore joined Terrell Lockett, Max Dubac, and Kenyon Fenderson to clock a 3:21.49 in the 4x400, which is the fourth fastest in the region this year. Traore also heads into postseason competition ranked first in Division III in the 400 meters.

Conte won the 400 meters and ran on Rowan’s winning 4x200 meter relay. He matched his season best of 48.15 seconds in the 400, a time that ranks as the second fastest in the Metro Region and tenth fastest in Division III. He joined Nana Agyemang, Jah’mere Beasley, and Evan Corcoran in winning the 4x200 in a new meet record time of 1:26.43; that time also ranks as the second-fastest all-time in Division III. Conte is also a member of Rowan’s national-leading 4x400 meter relay that set an all-time D3 record earlier this season.

Griffith was on the podium twice at the NJAC Championship, winning the shot put and placing third in the weight throw. He won the shot put by nearly two meters, throwing for 16.59 meters. That mark currently stands as the seventh-best throw in the nation this year and second in the Metro Region. He earned third place in the weight throw with a heave of 15.54 meters and currently owns the region’s tenth-best mark in that event.

Hartley captured the high jump win and was the only athlete to clear the two-meter height. His mark of 2.01 meters is the best in the Metro Region this season and ranks in the top 20 in Division III. He won the NJAC title by two inches, leading a trio of rookies who occupied the podium. Hartley also competed in the 60 meter preliminaries (7.59) and ran a leg of Rutgers-Newark’s 4x400 meter relay.

Nkrumah was on the podium twice, finishing second in the 60 meter hurdles and third in the high jump. He clocked in at 8.21 seconds in the hurdles. He currently owns the region’s second-fastest time in that event this year and is among the top 25 nationally. He cleared 1.91 meters to place third in the high jump, which currently stands tied for fifth in the Metro Region.

Dimit is named the NJAC Oscar Moore Coach of the Year for the eighth time in eight indoor championships as head coach, guiding the Profs to their eighth straight indoor title. Since taking over the program in 2014-15, Dimit is undefeated in NJAC indoor championship meets. This season, he coached his team to eight event wins, seven second-place finishes, and four third-place finishes. His 4x200 meter relay squad also posted a new meet record and the second-fastest all-time mark in Division III history. 

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