Jacob Dinerman discovered competitive running in high school; the sport and its community would serve as a through line during his highest highs—including a record-shattering cross country season at Rutgers–Camden last year—and personal setbacks that led to his taking a multi-year leave from his first college.
Since enrolling at Rutgers–Camden in fall 2024, the liberal studies major has dominated in cross country as well as indoor and outdoor track and field for the Scarlet Raptors. In his first year, Dinerman became the only athlete in school history to earn New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) First Team recognition in all three sports in the same year—a year in which he set the school’s indoor track record for the mile at 4:10.92.
This past fall, Dinerman, 27, set a school 8K program record with a time of 24:43.4. He represented Rutgers–Camden at the 2025 NCAA Cross Country National Championship, becoming the first student in 14 years to do so. He was also named among the Men’s 2025 NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country All-Academic Athletes by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Dinerman calls himself a different student now than when grief at the loss of his grandfather and mental health battles sidelined him as he ran for and studied at his first college right after high school. “Now coming back, I have the focus. I'm not worried about partying or being cool, I'm confident in myself,” he said. “I know what I want to do. I think having that focus is the biggest difference in having a mission with school.”
After struggling both on the course and in the classroom, Dinerman left school but continued competing as a member of the Moody Park Running Club, a group he and his best friends founded in the region. There, Dinerman began to step into a coaching and mentoring role for younger runners. He also began to volunteer as a running leader with Students Run Philly Style, an organization that provides mentorship and long-distance training to Philadelphia youth.
Those running ties led him back to his high school alma mater, where he still volunteers with the school’s cross country team, serves as assistant head coach of the indoor co-ed team, and leads the men’s outdoor team as head coach.
After years of competing, coaching, and volunteering, his friends and his partner, Brie, encouraged him to return to college. Still, he hesitated to go back, fearing he was not ready. The impetus to return finally came when he worked as a paraprofessional with students in resource classes at the high school where he coaches.
“I just saw how hard they worked every day,” Dinerman said. "I felt I wasn't going to be able to succeed until I saw kids who had many more challenges than me working hard. And then I said, ‘All right, that's what it is. I have to work that hard at school, not just running.’”
Dinerman was motivated to run for the Scarlet Raptors after Jill Chestnut, head cross country coach, spoke to him about the team’s potential. “It felt like the right chance for me to be back in the NCAA, which I always wanted, to be a good mentor again, and to be on a team again,” he said.
Dinerman is a now third-generation Rutgers student—his grandmother attended Rutgers–Camden, and his parents and siblings went to the New Brunswick campus. “There was definitely a lot of familial desire to see me in the red R uniform,” he said.
“I really like the campus, the commute, and all the professors,” Dinerman continued. “I kind of just took a chance on Rutgers–Camden, to be honest. But I felt right away that this place is really nice. All my professors have been great, and I’ve really enjoyed all my classes. So, it worked out really, really well.”
Dinerman’s liberal studies program, with a concentration in social sciences, has increased his interest in attending graduate school; he wants to pair his passion for coaching with a role as a teacher or administrator in the education field.
Though Dinerman has coached others for years, he relies on a team of mentors for support. Among them: Tom Thomasson, Rutgers–Camden athletic director; Luke Petela, assistant cross country coach; Chestnut; and his former cross country coach from high school. While he races, Dinerman mentally surrounds himself with those in his running community, each of whom drives him to succeed, their voices echoing in the back of his head.
“There are the older coaches that are giving me a certain viewpoint. And then I get to see how my students and friends approach running,” Dinerman said. “I have a lot of support. It is huge. The support system is unbelievable.”
