Rutgers-Newark Athletics

When Edward Dennerlein was growing up, there was a running joke inside the Dennerlein family about Edward's future, in particular, his eventual choice of college.
 
"My family used to always say, 'It doesn't matter, because you're going to Rutgers,'" Dennerlein said.
 
Dennerlein's father, Edward Sr., went to Rutgers-Newark and majored in accounting. His mother attended Rutgers in New Brunswick. As you can see, young Edward was simply bound to become a Rutgers student one way or the other.
 
After a standout high school career in track and field at Chatham High School, throwing the shot put and discus, Dennerlein narrowed his choices down to Rutgers-Newark and Richard Stockton.

It's not hard to figure out where Dennerlein ended up.
 
"It was pretty much my Dad's choice," Dennerlein said. "Since both my parents went to Rutgers, it was a big determination in where I went. After I decided, my sister said, 'See, you've followed what Mom and Dad told you.'"
 
As Dennerlein got accustomed to the surroundings with the R-N track and field team, he noticed that there were about 13 other athletes trying the collegiate shot. It was a 16-pound weight as opposed to the 12-pound high school variety, but Dennerlein wasn't swayed by the amount of possible throwers on the Scarlet Raider roster.
 
"It definitely motivated me," Dennerlein said. "I love going into meets knowing that there's good competition. I love the competition."
 
Rutgers-Newark head track and field coach Juan Edney was glad to get a thrower of Dennerlein's capability.
 
"He's a big kid who worked very hard," Edney said. "He's very disciplined. He's the first Chatham kid we ever had. When he got here, we knew it was going to be a good addition."

Dennerlein said that he struggled somewhat as a freshman.
 
"I was very inconsistent," Dennerlein said. "I would throw 50 feet one time and 43 the next. I think it took me a good solid year to get used to everything, especially the weight room and the difference in the weights. I came from a different mentality where you just pushed yourself."
 
But Dennerlein was introduced to former graduate assistant coach Will Barr, who had a college background in throwing the shot at Penn State.
 
"Will definitely pushed me," Dennerlein said. "I owe him every bit of credit. I owe him every inch and centimeter I've reached to this point."
 
Barr left Rutgers-Newark after Dennerlein's freshman campaign.
 
"I miss him a lot," Dennerlein said.
 
After two years in the R-N program, Dennerlein withdrew from school to pursue full-time employment with a shoe company.
 
"I just received a big promotion," Dennerlein said. "I couldn't do both, so I had to leave school."

Dennerlein told Edney that he was not returning, but did so only a few weeks prior to the beginning of the season.
 
"He just got caught up trying to work too much," Edney said. "I thought he was gone."
 
"I felt like I did him a disservice," Dennerlein said. "I felt like I did the team wrong."

But when the work option didn't exactly pan out, Dennerlein wanted to return to R-N and the track team.
 
"My big fear was that I thought I did something wrong and that he would punish me," Dennerlein said. "I made an immature decision."
 
But the exact opposite took place. Edney welcomed his thrower back with open arms.
 
"He was welcomed back," Edney said. "He didn't do anything wrong. He was nervous at first to call me, because he thought I wouldn't let him back."
 
"It was very relieving to hear him say that I could come back," Dennerlein said.
 
The team also had a new field coach in graduate assistant Aziza Ahmed, who was a standout thrower at Monmouth University. It didn't matter that Ahmed is a woman.
 
"I said it from Day One that gender didn't make a difference," Dennerlein said. "I just had to adjust to her coaching style. It was the same thing with Will. Once I learned her style, we were on the same level. I don't have any excuses this year, now that we have a (throwing) coach."
 
Dennerlein returned in not the best condition.
 
"He came back out of shape," Edney said. "He wasn't in the shape we expected him to be. At least he had a circle in his backyard that he trained on."
 
"I'm still not in the shape I would like to be," Dennerlein said. "I'm doing the extra work in the weight room and taking the extra reps in practice."
 
And Dennerlein was training with his younger brother, Sam, who is a sophomore thrower at Chatham.
 
"My younger brother is pushing me as much as I push him," Dennerlein said. "We're working out together and it's working out well. I'm very disappointed I missed out on indoor (season). At least I still have outdoors. I'm hitting numbers now I didn't come close to last year. I'm primed for a good run."
 
Edney likes what Dennerlein brings to his program.
 
"He's very respectful and very coachable," Edney said. "He has his mental lapses and gets caught up in his ways. But I tell him to do the simple things and he listens. He sometimes over thinks things instead of just throwing it."
 
Dennerlein is also competing in the discus and hammer throw this season, but his bread and butter is the shot put.
 
"I'm looking forward to getting him to the (NCAA Division III) Nationals in Wisconsin," Edney said. "He's already close to qualifying. I think he can do it. He should just go and throw. I'm not going to say anything to him that's going to make him throw 18 meters (54-55 feet). He just has to do it."
 
Dennerlein is currently majoring in accounting, but plans to switch to supply chain management. He hopes to work in warehouse logistics, moving products. A junior who missed last semester because of work, Dennerlein hopes to graduate on time in June of 2019.