2026 Shore Sports Insider Girls Flag Football Freshman of the Year: Julia Giangregorio, Barnegat
As more girls play flag football on travel and recreation teams at the youth level, a wave of young talent is making an immediate impact in the Shore Conference.
A perfect example is Barnegat’s Julia Giangregorio. In her first year in high school and the Bengals’ first season as a program, the 2026 Shore Sports Insider Flag Football Freshman of the Year set the bar high.
Giangregorio was one of the top receivers in the Shore and an important cog on a team that went 12-0 and won the Shore Conference Tournament title and a division title. She racked up 703 yards receiving, fourth-best in the Shore, on 36 catches for an average of 19.5 yards per catch, while hauling in nine touchdowns.
She also did it as part of a receiving corps that featured SSI Offensive Player of the Year Syrah Holmes, a 1,000-yard receiver, while playing in one of the Shore’s toughest divisions.
Giangregorio stepped up in big spots, scoring a touchdown and going over 100 yards receiving in a regular-season win over Pinelands that clinched the South Division title. In three Shore Conference Tournament games, she had 20 catches for 353 yards and four touchdowns, including a touchdown catch in the championship game against Middletown South.
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While she has the speed to get behind defenses, her best attribute may be her elusiveness.
Her ability to contort her body to evade defenders grasping for her flag while still running full speed made her one of the most explosive open-field runners in the Shore. Her zig-zagging, 27-yard catch and run for a score in the SCT final set the tone in Barnegat’s 39-12 win.
She also made an impact on defense with 33 tackles and an interception return for a touchdown.
Giangregorio returns next season with almost all of Barnegat’s stars, making the Bengals the obvious preseason No. 1 squad in the Shore and a contender to win a state title with the NJSIAA playoffs being held for the first time in 2027.
Freshman of the Year
1 Julia Giangregorio, WR/DB, Barnegat
2 Daryn Heal, RB, Colts Neck
3 Maddie Dougherty, WR/R, Trinity Hall
Scott Stump is the football editor and a reporter for Shore Sports Insider. He first started covering Shore Conference football in 1999 and has covered basketball, baseball and seemingly every other Shore Conference sport at some point.
Email: scottstump25@gmail.com
