In coach James Snyder’s first year as a Temple University assistant cross country coach, he nearly convinced one of the best high school runners in New Jersey to commit to his program in 2013.
Louis Corgliano was recruited by the University of Maryland, Clemson University and Seton Hall University, but leaned toward Temple.
In December 2013, Corgliano was heading to the university for an official visit, but Snyder called with the news that the track and field program was going to be cut as a Division I sport at Temple, and there would be no scholarship for him. Corgliano eventually committed to Maryland.
“I always told everyone at Maryland, too, that I probably would’ve come to Temple if it wasn’t for the track program getting cut,” Corgliano said. “But it’s funny how everything just worked out in the end.”
After graduating from Maryland in Spring 2018, Corgliano was looking for a new school to compete as a graduate student transfer, and chose Temple and Snyder, who now leads the two teams as a head coach. Corgliano used all of his NCAA track and field eligibility, but he is still eligible to compete in cross country at Temple because Maryland doesn’t have cross country, he said.
Now at Temple, he’s a top runner on a team that he’s admired for the past four years.
“When I started to look at graduate school, I really started to pay attention to how they were doing,” Corgliano added. “I saw the success that they had last year. That’s when I really started to think that I wanted to be a part of that.”
Corgliano started off his career with the Owls by dominating the field at the Temple Invitational on Aug. 31 at Belmont Plateau. He won the 8,000-meter race with a time of 26 minutes, 56.9 seconds and finished 12.3 seconds before the second-place runner.
At Friday’s Army West Point Open, which Temple won, he finished second in the 7,600-meter race behind junior Zach Seiger.
“I want us to win that conference title,” Corgliano said. “I told the guys a couple of weeks ago that next year they’re set up to do well too, but let’s win the thing this year. I want to be a part of that first team that brings home that title that they talk about decades from now.”
Even though Maryland wasn’t his first choice, Corgliano said it was the best decision he could have made.
During Spring 2018, Corgliano earned all-Big Ten Conference honors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and all-Big Ten academic honors at Maryland. He recorded performances in the 3,000-meter race, 3,000-meter steeplechase and 2,000-meter steeplechase that rank in the top 10 outdoor results in the school’s history.
During his senior year at Hammonton High School in Hammonton, New Jersey, Corgliano was one of the best runners in the state. He was a three-time Atlantic County champion and became a Foot Locker All-American after finishing in 24th place at the 2013 Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships in San Diego
Corgliano’s high school coach Jeff Dey followed his progression from his freshman year at Maryland to Temple. Corgliano’s skills were put to the test his first year at Maryland in 2014 when he ran against higher-caliber athletes, Dey said.
“He was kind of mixed in with everyone who was equal with him during his freshman year, so he struggled a little,” Dey said. “And to see the runner that he is now, the fact that he’s putting more work into it and getting better each year and getting all the different accolades is amazing.”
Cross Country continues their season at the Joe Piane Invitational on Friday, Sept. 28 at University of Notre Dame.
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