Pensa Johnson's outdoor track debut earns NJAC Rookie of the Week honor
CAMDEN, N.J. (March 23, 2026) – Freshman
Asha Pensa Johnson (Hampton Bays, NY/Hampton Bays) has played a big role on Rutgers University-Camden teams in every season of the 2025-26 scholastic year, and her first meet as a member of the Scarlet Raptors' outdoor track program was impressive enough to earn her weekly honors from the New Jersey Athletic Conference.
Pensa Johnson was named the NJAC Women's Track and Field Rookie of the Week today after a strong performance at the Stockton Invitational Friday and Saturday. She set a program record while winning the discus competition, played a role in another record and had strong performances in all of her throwing events.
On Friday, in the hammer throw competition, Pensa Johnson finished 15th out of 17 athletes with a distance of 20.69 meters. On Saturday, she broke the Rutgers-Camden program record in the discus, finishing first of 41 athletes with a throw of 39.84 meters. She shattered the old mark of 37.81 meters set by Alexis Marini, April 21, 2023, at the Widener Invitational.
Pensa Johnson also helped to set a program record in a new event, the 4x100 relay for throwers. The Scarlet Raptors' team finished fourth of seven programs in that event with a time of 1:02.74.
Pensa Johnson also finished ninth of 36 athletes in the shot put (10.40 meters) during her busy Saturday.
A Pre-Nursing major at Rutgers-Camden, Pensa Johnson started her collegiate career as an outside hitter with the Scarlet Raptors' volleyball team last fall. She led the Scarlet Raptors with 279 kills and 2.34 kills per set.
During the winter, Pensa Johnson was a member of the indoor track team, where she competed in four meets in the shot put, while also participating in the weight throw at one meet.
