Toney Wins Official's Invitational Meet
Trayvon Toney isn't holding anything back this spring. The Huntington High School senior captured the discus event at the Official's Invitational Meet at Mount Sinai last weekend. An impressive achievement considering the event drew more than 1,200 participants and teams from across Long Island.
"I must say that as a coaching staff, we were pleased with our boys' performances," Blue Devil coach Ron Wilson said.
Huntington's Tyriek Johnson put on a show, winning the 110m high hurdles and the long jump. But, it was Toney who captured everyone's attention. For the second consecutive year, he won the discus, this time with a throw of 156'6. Teammate Shaheem Lewis finished third with a toss of 139'9.
Lewis and Toney competed side-by-side again in the shot put, with Lewis earning fourth place (47'10) and Toney taking sixth (47'1). "It's great watching these two throw because they light each other's fire," Wilson said. "They compete against each other all the time. But, I must say, it's the elder of the two that usually comes out on top. Lewis brings the best out in Toney. They have great camaraderie."
Blue Devil freshman Matteo McNeil was welcomed into the over 40's club by his teammates when he launched the shot put 40'11 to take the Frosh-Soph gold medal with the best throw in each of the classes.
The freshmen distance duo of Scott Gulizio and Alex Alvarenga bested the field of more than 90 freshmen mile runners. Gulizio won the gold medal with a time of 4:42 while Alvarenga took the bronze in 4:47. "These two young men are doing some extraordinary things out on the track and we have [assistant coach] Shawn Anderson to thank for that. He works with the distance guys while [assistant coach] Eli Acosta works with the sprinters."
While senior Ryan Ackerman didn't earn a medal in the 1600m run, he did turn in his best time by crossing the line in 4:40. "He was excited about that and so was I for that matter," Wilson said. Senior John Ceide also improved, with his best time ever in the 400m dash as he ran the race in 53.9 seconds.
Gerald Riley couldn't get his approach right in the long jump, but managed to still earn a medal in the freshmen class with a leap of 18'3, placing fifth. "His best so far this year has been 19 feet, but we know he has the potential to go over 21. I'm confident it will happen. He's a great kid that's finding his way around the track very quickly."
Freshman Joe Saginaw didn't medal in the pole vault, but did improve with a season best effort of nine-feet. "It's a very hard and daring event," Wilson said.