Blue Devils Look to Fill Holes
The Huntington High School boys’ winter track and field team has some big holes to fill after losing some of its top athletes to graduation. However, no one should ever underestimate the ability of head coach Ron Wilson to piece together a top-notch squad.
Huntington is coming off a season that saw the Blue Devils finish second in the league standings for the fifth straight year. Lost to graduation are stars Tyriek Johnson and Trayvon Toney. Johnson won league and county 55m hurdles titles and ran the fastest time in the state (7.41 seconds) in the event last winter. He also won the Suffolk long jump crown with a leap of 22’4 to break the county indoor record that was previously held by Huntington’s Aaron Johnson, who set the mark in 1993.
Toney shattered the Huntington’s indoor shot put record with a throw of 49’10.5 last year. Rich Fernandez had owned the mark since 2010 when he tossed the weighted ball 49’7. The Blue Devils also said goodbye to fine middle distance runner Ryan Ackerman, who won the League IV 600m run.
“After losing such a talented cast of athletes, one would think that Huntington is done; not so fast,” Wilson said. “We still have quite a few gaps to fill, but we are in no way out of it. We have some surprises up our sleeves.”
The Blue Devils will feature an outstanding group of returning throwers in Shaheem Lewis, Matteo McNeil and Jimmie Nelson. Lewis won the county championship last year by upsetting league champ Luke Toscano of Kings Park. At the county meet, Lewis tossed the shot a personal best of 49’6, which was just shy of the school record. Wilson believes the senior has the potential to shatter the indoor school record and make a run at the state championship. “He has to recognize its going to take hard work and perseverance if he is to compete at that level,” the coach said.
Sophomores McNeil and Nelson continue to display their potential in the event. McNeil won the county freshman crown for the second year in a row last winter, after winning his first title as just an eighth grader. Nelson took fourth. “They are both hardworking and always aim to please,” Wilson said.
The Blue Devils are also excited about a new crop of young throwers that includes eighth grader Ed Daly, “who is big and strong and is going to be a force in Huntington athletics,” Wilson said. Freshmen Michael Lonergan and Cameron Knox, who are both coming off a successful JV football season, are also expected to make waves in the throwing events.
Junior Y’Majesty Allen is also back in the track team’s fold after dabbling in basketball. “Allen is fast and is full of talent,” Wilson said. “He joined the cross country team to build strength and should improve in both the short sprints and middle distance sprints. He’s the one to watch this year.”
Senior Thomas Boisclair is back as Huntington’s top distance runner. “He showed quite a bit of promise in the spring season and also used cross country to build strength and endurance,” Wilson said. Junior Josh Watkins enjoyed fine indoor and spring seasons last year and should bolster the Blue Devils in the high jump and middle distance sprints.
Watson will also team with Boisclair and Allen to form what could be a “phenomenal” 4x400m relay team,” Wilson said. “We just have to find another body that can compete at a very high level.”
Huntington’s talented young sprinters include Marquis Francis and Giancarlo Puello. Each is skilled at covering short distances and either could end up as one of the four legs on the 4x400m relay team.
Freshmen Exayvian Crowell and Jahmik Curry gained valuable experience last winter when they competed as eighth graders on the varsity in the 55m hurdles, placing in the top five in the freshmen county championship. “They learned quite a bit under the leadership of Tyriek Johnson,” Wilson said.
Eighth grader Lawrence Leake, who performed well as a seventh grader on the team last winter is back and better than ever. “He’s another phenomenal athlete that’s going to do some great things,” Wilson said. Kyree Johnson, another talented eighth grader and Tyriek Johnson’s younger brother is also on the roster “and should help us in the upcoming years,” the coach said.
Wilson is anxious to see what his young team is capable of accomplishing. “It should be a very interesting season,” he said.