It took Nick Mirabelli one meet to become one of the greatest javelin throwers in Texas A&M history.
Mirabelli, an A&M freshman from Rancocas Valley, threw a personal-best 234-2 to win the Baldy Castillo Invitational at Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz.
He opened with a 227-7 and followed with a 233-11 and a 228-1 to lead all qualifiers into the finals. He then went 231-11 and 221-1 before his winning 234-2.
Mirabelli actually had the top two throws of the competition. Senior teammate Sam Hardin was second with a 232-2 on his second throw before passing on his next four.
In the early going, Mirabelli is the No. 2-ranked javelin thrower in the country, behind only senior Trevor Danielson of Texas, who threw 235-5 in a meet in San Antonio.
Just one meet into his college career, Mirabelli moved into the all-time Texas A&M top 10 in the No. 10 spot.
Mirabelli set the state record of 227-10 at the Meet of Champions last spring, so he surpassed that four times in Tempe.
Another South Jersey javelin thrower, Holy Spirit’s Cade Antonucci, also had a strong 2019 debut.
Antonucci, a sophomore at Auburn, threw 217-7 at the Florida State Relays in Tallahassee. He has a PR of 231-5 from a meet last April at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
