Ronnie Ash, a NJ Olympian from Passaic

by Alice Magdziak • July 26, 2016 • Passaic, Sports & Leisure • Comments (0) • 2068

We’re highlighting all the New Jersey Olympians this summer because there are so many to watch for. Ronnie Ash is a hurdler from Passaic who will represent the United States in Rio.

Ash didn’t start hurdling until he moved to Knightdale, North Carolina in his Senior year of high school. He grew up in Passaic but had virtually no athletic experience there. That first year in Knightdale, he set school records in the 110 metres hurdles, 300 meters hurdles and the high jump. After graduating in 2008, he got the bronze medal at the 2008 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics.

Ronnie got a scholarship from Bethune-Cookman University and went on to win both the 2009 NCAA Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championship and the NCAA Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship as a sophomore there. Before his Junior year, he transferred to the University of Oklahoma, defending his indoor championship and finishing third outdoors and then getting another third at the 2010 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Later that summer he took home a gold medal from the 2010 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics. He graduated from Oklahoma in 2010 with a degree in Sociology.

Track and field events being August 12th and continue through August 21st.

We’ll keep you apprised of when each NJ athlete will compete so stay tuned to YDKJ for all the NJ Olympian news you can handle!

[photo and bio info via wikipedia.org]