St. Augustine senior Julian Onesti made a huge jump this indoor season and goes into outdoor track as the fastest Atlantic County sprinter ever.
Onesti quietly had a terrific season, culminating in a 4th-place finish at the Meet of Champions Sunday at Ocean Breeze and lowering his PR from 6.51 to 6.42, which broke the Atlantic County record.
Onesti PR’d with a 6.51 back in January at the Ott Center, which left him 5-100ths of a second off the county record of 6.46, set by Oakcrest’s Darnell Charles when he won the 2012 Meet of Champions at the Bubble.
Despite coming close to Charles’ record several times, Onesti never quite got his 55 time down to 6.46.
Until Sunday.
In the prelims of the dash at Ocean Breeze, Onesti ran a PR 6.47, which put him 1-100th of a second off Charles’ county record. Then he smashed it with a 6.42 in the final, good for 4th place and fastest in the race by a South Jersey sprinter.
He also broke the Cape-Atlantic Conference record of 6.45, set at the 2008 Meet of Champions at the Bubble by Millville’s Chris Church.
The previous St. Augustine school record was 6.52, set by national scholastic hurdles champ Sincere Rhea at the 2019 Meet of Champions, also in Toms River.
All-Time South Jersey 55-Meter Dash List
6.18 … Ajani Dwyer [Washington Twp.], 2025
6.22 … Malachi James [Burlington City], 2025
6.30 … Jamar Ervin [Camden], 2001
6.31 … Dennis Mitchell [Edgewood], 1984
6.34 … A.J. Bunton [West Deptford], 2006
6.36 … Kenny Reynolds [Willingboro], 1986
6.37 … Carl Lewis [Willingboro], 1979
6.38 … James Brown [Glassboro], 2009
6.39 … Damiere Byrd [Timber Creek], 2009
6.40 … Marquis Taylor [Woodbury], 2025
6.41 … Chris Church [Millville], 2007
6.42 … Thomas Walls [Wilson], 2006
6.42 … Dominique Irons [Haddon Heights], 2013
6.42 … Samuel Thomas [Northern Burlingtpn], 2023
6.42 … Julian Onesti [St. Augustine], 2025
6.43 … George McKey [Willingboro], 1982
6.43 … Anthony Averett [Woodbury], 2013
6.44 … Thomas Hampton [Clayton], 2019
6.44 … Yashahya Brown [Washington Twp.], 2024
6.44 … Brysheen Ferguson [Glassboro], 2024
6.44 … M.J. Lincoln [Lenape], 2025
6.45 … Paul Wheeler [Kennedy], 1983
6.45 … Miekel House [Rancocas Valley], 2020
6.45 … Sherron Bullock [Camden], 2004
6.45 … Rob McGriff [Camden], 2006
6.45 … Antonio Tarantino [Paul VI], 2018
6.46 … Albert Newkirk [Camden], 1996
6.46 … Darnell Charles [Oakcrest], 2012
6.46 … Kashif Miller [Haddon Heights], 2014
6.46 … Rajahn Dixon [Eastern], 2023
6.46 … John Santos [Washington Twp.], 2025
6.47 … Anthony Jones [Edgewood], 1982
6.47 … Darren Ford [Vineland], 2004
6.47 … Reggie Morton [Oakcrest], 2012
6.47 … Curtis Fitzpatrick [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2013
6.47 … Jonathan Taylor [Salem], 2016
6.47 … Josh Washington [Woodbury], 2019
6.47 … Ahmad Brock [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2020
6.48 … Gary Gordon [Willingboro], 1995
6.48 … Fabian Santiago [Oakcrest], 2012
6.48 … Caleb Williams [St. Joe’s-Hammonton], 2015
6.48 … Clayton Crosse [Washington Twp.]. 2016
6.49 … Louis Smith [Burlington Twp.], 1997
6.49 … Michael Bolling [Willingboro], 2001
6.49 … Martin Booker [Pennsauken], 2016
6.49 … Ryquell Amstead [Millville], 2014
6.49 … Malachi Melton [Cedar Creek], 2019
6.49 … Corey Thomas [Oakcrest], 2023
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 