Since restarting the Rutgers-Newark track & field and cross country programs for men and women in 2007, Juan Edney has produced five of NCAA Division III All-Americans while seeing several Scarlet Raiders earn individual All-New Jersey Athletic Conference laurels.
In 2010, the men’s cross country team earned its first meet championship by taking the Belmont Classic in November to start a watershed year for the program. Sophomore hurdler Kevon Brown earned All-America status in the men’s 55-meter hurdles at the NCAA D-III Indoor Championships in March before freshman javelin thrower Mercedes Glover finished fourth in the Outdoor Championships in May to give the fledgling program its first national honorees. Brown also competed in the outdoor championships in the 110-meter hurdles.
In the spring of 2014, Glover repeated as an USTFCCA All-American in the javelin and was joined on the squad by Donnie House who placed fifth in the 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA D-III Nationals.
One year later, Glover and House were back in the national spotlight for R-N. House turned in a ninth-place finish at the NCAA D-III Outdoor Nationals in 2015 while Glover completed an incredible career with her third consecutive All-American honors. Glover came in second in the javelin competition and is the first three-time All-American in program history.
During the 2016 indoor season, both programs featured strong showings at the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Championships. The women's team had a very strong showing as it produced a school-record 4x200-meter relay that earned fourth place overall in addition to a fifth place finish in the weight throw by standout Ashley Canty. The men's side sent four competitors to ECACs including a pair of freshmen.
The 2016 outdoor season saw the women's program send another quartet to ECACs as Canty earned yet another career highlight with a 10th-place finish in the discus. On the men's side senior Harun Saleh and rookie Ed Dennerlein set school-records in the hammer throw and shot put, respectively.Â
Sophomore Hassan Haywood led the way for the men's team during its 2017 indoor season as he set a program-record in the triple jump on his way to a spot on the podium with a fourth place finish at ECACs. Dennerlein continued to impress as he earned sixth in the shot put.Â
In the 2017 outdoor campaign, the men's side featured more standout performances from Dennerlein and Haywood as the field stars placed third and fourth, respectively, at ECACs in their top events of shot put and triple jump. Meanwhile, the women's team sent a freshman to Nationals for the first time since 2015 while sophomore Jackie Peeke-Brown got on the podium at ECACs with a fifth place finish in the 400-meter dash.Â
In 2019 during the outdoor part of their season the men and women stood out during the 2019 Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships to win their first ever ECAC Championship. Chaheen Payne and Hassan Haywood that season would make it to the NCAA Championships to compete.
2020 was yet another season where both program's continued to improve under Edney. Another pair of All-Americans in Chaheen Payne and Jeremiah Richardson were Edney's list of All-Americans he's coached. Most parts of the record books were rewritten in this shortened season by COVID-19 and more were on their way, however, the outdoor season was cancelled due to the pandemic which shutdown the promising season.Â
An 11-time All-American runner at Lincoln, Edney helped coach 97 student-athletes to All-America status as an assistant coach under Cyrus Jones for 15 years following his graduation in 1990. He anchored the Lions’ 1989 outdoor 4 x 100-meter relay team which took the NCAA Division III title. The Lions notched two national titles with Edney in uniform and 13 more with him serving as assistant coach. He served as an assistant athletic director during his final 10 years at Lincoln.
Edney came to Rutgers-Newark from Delcastle Technical High School in Wilmington, Delaware, where he served as head boys and girls cross country coach last year.
The Philadelphia native was a multi-sport standout at Dobbins High School, excelling in cross country, basketball and football. He helped Dobbins to Public League titles in cross country as a freshman and basketball as a junior.
Edney earned a bachelor of science degree in health and physical education from Lincoln and received a master of arts degree in organizational management in 2005 from the University of Phoenix.
He is an active member of the NCAA Division III Track & Field Coaches Association as well as the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He also is a certified water safety instructor who has taught as an adjunct professor at Lincoln and Cheyney University.
