Blue Devil Track Wins
Suffolk Frosh Title
The Huntington High School boys' winter track and field team's underclassmen turned in an exceptional performance at the Suffolk Frosh/Soph Championship. The Blue Devil eighth and ninth graders won the freshman county crown, powered by several fine efforts.
Huntington's three entries in the long jump started slowly but finished strong. Y'Majesty Allen, Anthony Fischer, and Giancarlo Puello all fouled in their first and second attempts. So, prior to their last attempt, head coach Ron Wilson and assistant coach Eli Acosta told the trio they needed to score with a safe leap into the pit.
Allen went first and soared 17'9 to place fourth. Fischer leaped 17'8.5 to capture fifth and Puello jumped 16' to finish 10th overall.
Eighth-graders Matteo McNeil and Kyle Davis and freshman Dixon Doblas represented Huntington in shot put. McNeil emerged from the pack as the freshman county champion after tossing 36'7 on his first attempt. "He was a very happy camper," Wilson said. "On his next five attempts, he continued to throw between 35 and 36 feet. So his first attempt wasn't a fluke. The Bay Shore coach said that this kid is the real deal and it's going to be nice watching him in the coming years."
In the meet's sprint events, Huntington continued to earn medals and points. Matthew Whitcher earned a bronze by placing fourth in the 55 meter high hurdles. Joshua Watkins then placed sixth in the 55 meter dash, while Kyle Davis took 10th and Anthony Fischer finished 12th.
In the 300 meter dash, Y'Majesty Allen picked up a medal by placing 3rd in 41.17 seconds and Giancarlo Puello earned a bronze for placing 4th in 41.21. Markhenry Sanon placed 13th in 44.01.
Distance great Tyler Wolfe had rough day to navigate competitors. He had to run the mile and two mile races. "That's a tough double, but we knew he would be up for the challenge," Wilson said.
In the two mile run Wolfe finished in 10:39 placing second earning a silver medal. "It took a lot out of him and it showed," Wilson said. "I tried to persuade him to run a shorter race than the mile, but he refused."
Wolfe went out and finish second in the mile run, too, earning another silver medal. The two races took a toll, however, as he stepped aside as the 4 x 800m relay anchor.
Midway through the meet Huntington found itself in fourth place, trailing Port Jefferson, Northport and Smithtown West in the team standings. Once the field events were posted, the Blue Devils climbed into second place.
Huntington cruised into first place on the strength of its 4 x 200m relay, which consisted of first leg Anthony Fischer, second leg Giancarol Puello, third Joshua Watkins, and anchor Y'Majesty Allen. "I told them that Tyler Wolfe went home early and we would not be contesting the 4 x 800m relay," Wilson said. "Heads went down because they knew just how close the meet was. I told them that they would have to win the 4 x 200m relay and hope that Port Jefferson's relay doesn't score. They did exactly that! Their hand-offs were near perfect."
Huntington won the race in 1:45, earning gold medals all the way around and 10 team points - and also reaching the varsity standard of 1:45.24 for a 4 x 200m relay team. "This put us back in 1st place with 57 points to second place Port Jefferson's 54," Wilso said. The meet ended just like that after neither team contested the 4 x800m relay.
Later this winter the Blue Devils will be presented with either a plaque or trophy in recognition of winning the frosh county crown.
In the sophomore division, Huntington's Shaheem Lewis also turned in a fabulous performance, tossing the shot put 42'5 and winning the Suffolk title in that event.