Rutgers-Camden Athletics

Indoor track team opens season with two school records

12/5/2025 8:36:00 PM

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (Dec. 5, 2025) – The Rutgers University-Camden indoor track program didn't take long to make program history at the FastTrack Season Opener here Friday.
 
Freshman Jayden Deleon broke Rutgers-Camden's record in the men's high jump and junior Sydnie Marshall set a new standard in the women's 300-meter dash as the Scarlet Raptors brought a large and talented young team to the event, held at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Staten Island.
 
Deleon had a high jump of 2.05 meters to break the mark of 2.00 meters set by Ken Wise at the New Jersey Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships on Feb. 25, 2008. Deleon finished second out of 25 athletes in the high jump competition.
 
Marshall, who hails from Staten Island, posted a 43.57 clocking in the 300-meter dash to break the mark of 43.69 set by Catherine Fiore at the MAC Classic on Dec. 14, 2014. Marshall, who set the program's 200-meter dash mark last season at 27.20, finished 13th out of 33 athletes at 300 meters. She also finished 29th of 52 in the 200-meter dash (27.74).
 
The Scarlet Raptors had plenty of strong performances, including many by freshmen competing in their first collegiate meet. For the women, freshman Haely Cookhorn placed fifth of 19 athletes in the 60-meter dash (8.78), while freshman Shania Bernard finished 12th (9.65). Cookhorn also finished 22nd in the 300-meter dash.
 
Junior Kayla Franklin placed fourth of 31 in the shot put (11.70 M) and 20th of 29 in the weight throw (9.70 M).
 
The women's 4x400 relay team of Marshall and freshmen Cookhorn, Sofia Tabet and Talia Thomasson finished 13th of 14, but their time of 4:26.32 was less than a second off the program record of 4:25.62.
 
The men's 4x400 team of senior Walter Pierce, sophomores Kristopher Ewell and Josiah Saint Elien, and freshman Oluwatobi Popoola finished fifth out of 11 teams in a time of 3:27.70.
 
Ewell and Saint Elien also finished sixth and 23rd, respectively, in the 46-man field of the 300-meter dash, posting times of 36.37 and 37.86. Pierce finished 30th out of 55 runners in the 200-meter dash (23.38).
 
Junior Dyheim Watson led the Raptors' throwers, finishing 19th of 37 in the shot put (12.11 M) and 15th of 32 in the weight throw (13.47 M).
 
In the men's 60-meter dash, a trio of freshmen finished among the top 24 in a 40-man field as Kamari Brown was 19th (7.41), Eric Lei finished 23rd (7.51) and Justin Harms was 24th (also 7.51).
 
Rutgers-Camden returns to action at Ocean Breeze on Friday, Dec. 12, when it competes at the Wagner College Seahawk Shootout.
 
FastTrack Season Opener