St. Augustine’s Julian Onesti, a Rider freshman, ran the 3rd-fastest 60-meter dash in Rider history Saturday in his first collegiate 60.
Onesti, 5th-fastest in qualifying with a 6.90, ran away from the field in the final, winning with a 6.84 in the Penn Select Invitational at the Ott Center. He finished 2-100ths of a second ahead of 2nd-place Carson Edwards of Penn and Bowie,Md.,, who was 2nd in 6.86, and 4-100ths of a second ahead of 3rd-place Doyin Smith of Baltimore and Morgan State, who ran 6.88.
Onesti had a high school PR of 6.96 from a meet a year ago this week at the Ott Center. The only faster times in the Rider record book are a 6.74 by Artie Burgess of Coatesville in 2024 at the Armory and a 6.81 by David Payne from Neptune in 2007 at Jadwin Gym.
Other South Jersey sprinters in Rider’s all-time 60-meter dash top 10 are Sam Aviles of Palmyra, who is No. 6 with a 6.87 in 2020 and Palmyra’s Jamaal Harris with 6.92 in 2004 and Bordentown’s Daequan Kim, who ran 6.92 in 2011, and they’re now tied at No. 10. Eastern grad Rich Hinton, who ran 6.93 in 1991, drops out of the top 10.
Onesti’s time is 3rd-fastest in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conferene this year, behind Marist’s Amari Mathis [6.80 at Ocean Breeze last month] and Colin Brown of Sacred Heart [6.81 in New Haven last month].
Onesti, from Clementon, placed 3rd in the 100 at the Meet of Champions this past spring with a wind-aided 10.46. He was 4thindoors in the 55 at the MoC at Ocean Breeze with a 6.42.
Rider will be at Ocean Breeze Friday for the Gotham Cup.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 