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: Miles Acchione, Lenape
For a guy who didn’t even throw 170 feet in the javelin as a junior, this was a magical season for Lenape senior Miles Acchione.
His PR last spring was 167-10 but that went by the wayside in his 2024 opener, a 178-3 in CBA’s Penn Relays Qualifier in Lincroft. He improved to 182-6 at the Don Danser Relays at Rancocas Valley and then 187-1 in a dual meet against Eastern. At the South Jersey Elite at Delsea, he popped his first 190-foot throw, a 190-1.
Acchione remained undefeated with wins at the Burlington County Open, Olympic Conference Championships, South Jersey Group 4 sectionals and the state Group 4 meet.
He was the first Lenape thrower to win a county title since Lyman Bozarth in 2005 and the first to win a conference title since Adam Mignogna in 2010. His 188-9 was the best winning throw at the Olympic Conference since Cherry Hill East’s Stephen Benigno threw 195-0 in 2014.
Acchione became Lenape’s first sectional javelin winner since Ryan Wilson in 1995 and then won states with a 187-7, which made him Lenape’s first state champion – in any event – since intermediate hurdler Mike Williams in 2013 and first ever in the javelin (or any field event).
His 195-10 for 2nd place at the Meet of Champions ranks 6th in Burlington County history and 14th in South Jersey history with the new javelin, which has been in use since 2003.
His 2nd-place finish at the MoC was best by a Lenape boy in any event at a Meet of Champions in 24 years, since Mohamad Kanu ran 48.24 and placed 2nd to Kurt Forsythe of Summit in the 2000 MoC at South Brunswick.
Acchione’s brother Quin plays baseball at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
All-Time Burlington County New Javelin List
227-10 … Nick Mirabelli [Rancocas Valley], 2017
224-10 … Curtis Thompson [Florence], 2014
216-6 … Chris Mirabelli [Holy Cross], 2014
204-4 … Kevin Burr Jr. [Rancocas Valley], 2023
201-1 … Sean Biehn [Burlington City], 2006
195-10 … Miles Acchione [Lenape], 2024
192-6 … Matt Rafferty [Northern Burlington], 2012
192-3 … Shane McDevitt [Cinnaminson], 2014
191-6 … Robert Marks [Rancocas Valley], 2016
187-8 … Jerry Fusco [Holy Cross], 2016
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 