Johnson and Lewis Win Suffolk Crowns
It was a splendid day for the Huntington High School boys' winter track and field team at the Suffolk small school championships. Just ask head coach Ron Wilson, Tyriek Johnson and Shaheem Lewis.
The Blue Devils captured third place in the county team standings and Johnson and Lewis grabbed county crowns as a relatively small group of Huntington athletes shined at Suffolk-West in Brentwood.
Wilson cited a series of "phenomenal performances" for the fine team showing. The Blue Devils trailed only Suffolk champion Port Jefferson and runner-up Kings Park in the standings, finishing just one point behind the latter.
Johnson, who is a senior this year, won county titles in the 55m high hurdles and long jump, while Lewis pulled off an upset in taking the Suffolk shot put crown. "It's twice as nice for Johnson because he won two titles and he won the hurdles for the second year in a row," Wilson said. Last year, Johnson edged out state champ Sancho Barrett of Amityville.
For the second consecutive winter, Johnson raced to victory in the 55m high hurdles in a time of 7.74 seconds. The long jump title was icing on the cake. In Johnson's first attempt during the trials round, he jumped 21'11 to take the lead in the competition. But, Adam Devito of Miller place leapfrogged over Johnson in the second round when he soared 22'3 to move into first place.
Johnson regrouped in the finals, notching a personal best jump of 22'4 to clinch the title. "I happened to be at the shot put competition at the time with Shaheem Lewis," Wilson said. "That's when I saw Johnson running toward me. I knew something good had to have taken place. The expression on his face was priceless. He led me to the scorer's table and showed me the results."
Retired Blue Devil track coach Dennis Walker was on the scene and he offered his congratulations to Johnson, too. The dual county crowns cemented Johnson's standing as one of Suffolk's top track stars.
While Johnson sparkled, Lewis, a talented junior, shined, too. On his first shot put attempt the teenager tossed the weighted ball 48'7, far outdistancing top seeded league champ Luke Toscano of Kings Park, who threw the shot an admirable 46'. In the finals, Lewis ratcheted his game up another few notches with a throw of 49'. The distance marks a new personal best and was far enough to secure the county crown in the event.
"I don't believe the kid even knew what he had just done," Wilson said about Lewis' performance. Lewis was immediately congratulated by opposing coaches and athletes, meet officials and his teammates.
In other action, Huntington senior Ryan Ackerman continued to close in on the 11 year old Huntington High School record in the 600m dash. Ackerman crossed the line in 1:28.23 to place fifth in Suffolk. His time was less than one-half second off the Blue Devil record of 1:27.75 set by current Huntington cross country coach Shawn Anderson when he ran for the school in the county championships in 2001. Anderson's teammate Jermaine Johnson finished second in the event that same year in a time of 1:28. "So Ackerman's time puts him hot on their trail," Wilson said.
Huntington's 4x400m relay team of sophomore Joshua Watkins, senior John Ceide, junior Thomas Boisclair and Ackerman ran a new personal best of 3:42.42 to place third in the event and clinch third place for the Blue Devils in the team standings.
Huntington will head back to Suffolk-West for the state championship qualifier on Sunday (Feb. 12) and battle for a seat on the bus. The state meet with be held at Cornell University the first weekend in March.
Final team standings: 1. Port Jefferson-70 points; 2. Kings Park-39; 3. Huntington-38; 4. Harborfields-34; 5. Eastport-South Manor-29; 6. Half Hollow Hills West-28; 6. Hauppauge-28; 8. Sayville-26; 9. Bellport-24; 10. Amityville-19; 11. Miller Place-18; 12: Shoreham-Wading River-16; 13. Bayport-Blue Point-15; 14. East Hampton-10; 14. Islip-10; 16. Mount Sinai-7; 16. Southampton-7; 16. John H. Glenn-7; 19. Rocky Point-4; 19. Westhampton Beach-4; 21. Deer Park-1.