Blue Devils in Frosh/Soph Championships
The Huntington High School boys' track and field team won the Section XI freshmen county crown after a strong performance in the annual Frosh/Soph Championships at Longwood last week.
The Blue Devil freshmen bested a field of 60 teams, which contested 15 scoring events. Huntington outscored runner-up Central Islip, 64-40. The rest of the field trailed in the distance. Huntington's freshmen also won the Suffolk indoor/winter title, topping second place Commack, 57-54.
"We are just so proud of the performances our underclassmen have given this season," Blue Devil head coach Ron Wilson said. "We know there is a bright future ahead for Huntington boys' track team."
Huntington freshmen who made the championship possible included:
• Matteo McNeil, who won the freshman indoor crown in the shot put two consecutive years (he competed as an eighth grader the first year), earned the Blue Devils quite as few points in shot put and discus. McNeil tossed the shot put 40'6 to claim third place and finished fifth in discus with a throw of 101 feet.
• Jimmie Nelson placed fourth in shot put with a throw of 38 feet.
• Carlos Ramirez captured fourth place in discus with a throw of 102 feet.
• Gerald Riley encountered difficulty getting his steps just right down the long jump runway, but he still finished sixth in a field of about 25. "He's a 20 foot jumper who has the potential to go well over 21 feet, but he has this thing about fouling," Wilson said. Riley also placed sixth in the in 24.67 seconds.
• Sondy Jean-Baptiste continues to improve. He started late in the season, but has already made a name for himself in the high jump. He placed third at Longwood with a leap of 5'8.
• Eighth-grade sensation Exayvian Crowell continues to improve in the hurdles, placing third in the 400m intermediate hurdles and fourth in the 110m high hurdles. "I tell you, this is a talented young man," Wilson said. "He's already making a name for himself. He's Tyriek Johnson's little protégé.
Crowell will also look to take the top job on the football field in the fall. "He wants to continue to be a quarterback," Wilson said. "He's going to do some great things on that football field. He's speedy, shifty and just an intelligent young man."
• In pole vault, Joe Saginaw soared an impressive nine feet to place second, earning the Blue Devils another eight points.
• On the track, Scott Gulizio captured third place in the mile run in a time of 4:37, just one second off his personal best. "What's impressive is that he did not let that get him down," Wilson said. "He came back an hour later and ran the 800m run and won that event in 2:07. He was a happy fellow! You talk about talent! This young man is full of talent. This is his first year doing track and he has already put up some phenomenal numbers. His first mile time back in March was 5:30. He's just about shaved off a whole minute off of that time. That's wild! He's happy."
Wilson said that Gulizio's family reports the freshman is really enjoying being on the Blue Devil team. "His parents said he now goes out on his own to do some long runs," Wilson said. "We are quite pleased with this young man's progress this year. It's just awesome to see him run. The kick he has at the end is unbelievable. If he's close to the leader in the mile or half mile, my money is going to be on him. School records will go down in the next few years by Mr. Gulizio. You can believe that!"
• Alex Alvarenga finished second in the two mile run in 10:16 and was fifth in the mile run in a time of 4:44. "Tony Toro, the Section XI track and field chairman said, 'Wow! Huntington has gone back to being a distance program,'" Wilson said.
• Kyle Davis placed seventh in both the 100m (12.27 seconds) and 200m (25.03) dashes.
• Giancarlos Puello and Marquis Francis also ran in the 200m dash, but were unable to place among the top ten. "They both are great athletes, but due to injuries this season they weren't able to perform at their best," Wilson said.
Sophomore Division
In the sophomore championships, Huntington finished 13th in the team standings, despite entering just three athletes. Y'Majesty Allen, one of the top sprinters in the Blue Devil program recently returned from an injury to place fourth in the 100m dash in 11.8 seconds.
Johsua Watkins, the team's top intermediate hurdler finished in third in the 400m hurdles 59.9 seconds. Marc-Henry Sanon ran the 400m dash in 55.86 seconds, placing 15th out of more than 40 runners.