Over the next few weeks, we’ll spotlight 30 athletes who excelled during the outdoor track season that we didn’t have a chance to write about extensively. We’d love to write about every athlete in South Jersey, but that’s not practical. But we will try to spotlight some who may have gotten overlooked over the past few months. We apologize in advance if we don’t get to you or your son or daughter or an athlete you coach.
Today: Julian Conigliaro, Delsea
When two of the fastest sprinters in the country go to school within a few miles, it’s easy to get overlooked. Even when you’re a pretty darn good sprinter yourself. That’s what happened this year with Julian Conigliaro.
Conigliaro was 11th-fastest in New Jersey and 5th-fastest in South Jersey at both 100 meters and 200 meters and capped an outstanding season by placing 3rd in both dashes at the state Group 3 meet on his home track at Delsea.
The only other South Jersey sprinters to run as fast as Conigliaro at both 100 meters and 200 meters – 11.66 and 21.56 – were Malachi James of Burlington City and Ajani Dwyer of Washington Township.
Conigliaro never broke 11.17 or 22.15 as a junior, but he made his presence known early on this spring, with PRs of 10.66 and 21.63 at the South Jersey Elite.
He took 2nd in the 100 at Group 3 sectionals with a 10.74, just behind Winslow’s Jayden Poteat’s 10.69, and placed 3rd in the 200 as well, Poteat winning in 21.67, teammate Christian Langston 2nd in 21.73 and Conigliaro 3rd in 21.76.
Conigliaro ran 10.67 and a PR 21.56 at states and then placed 6th in the Meet of Champions 100, where he was the 2nd South Jersey finisher, behind James’ state-record 10.28.
He’s No. 12 in Gloucester County history at 100 meters and No. 6 in the 200.
Conigliaro also did some terrific relay work. At states, he teamed up with Xavier Wyatt, Dante McGrenehan and Langston to win the 4-by-1 in 42.07, and at the East Brunswick Sprint Series, he teamed with Langston, McGrenehan and Wyatt to win the 4-by-2 in 1:27.19, 2nd-fastest in New Jersey this year, a Gloucester County record and 5th-fastest in South Jersey history.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 