Blue Devil Throwers Set
New Rochelle Records
Ron Wilson is always ready for a challenge, so the Huntington High School boys' track and field coach took a group of his Blue Devil throwers to the New Rochelle Invitational in Westchester and was happy to find some top-notch competition.
The event was organized as a relay meet. Athletes were either grouped or paired off with a teammate and their distances were combined to form a total distance. The first event was the shot put and Huntington entered three teams of two athletes each.
The Huntington A-team consisted of senior Shaheem Lewis and sophomore Matteo McNeil. Huntington's B-team included senior Devon Nelson and sophomore Jimmie Nelson. The Huntington C-team was comprised of senior Ray Vega and sophomore Carlos Ramirez.
Huntington's A and B teams both shattered the existing New Rochelle Invitational shot put record set in 2008 by Uniondale, which threw a combined distance of 82'8. Lewis and McNeil threw a combined 91-feet and the Nelson's heaved the weighted ball a combined 83-feet. The pair of eye-popping performances gave the Blue Devils a 1-2 finish in a field of more than 25 teams. The Huntington C-team of Vega and Ramirez also turned in a fine effort, combining for throws that totaled 71-feet, good enough for ninth place.
Wilson said he "switched things up" in the discus and it paid off handsomely. The Huntington A-team included Lewis and Devon Nelson. The B-team consisted of Jimmie Nelson and Vega and the C-team included McNeil and Ramirez. The Blue Devils took aim at the meet discus record set in 2009 by Bay Shore, which threw a combined distance of 242-feet.
In the first round, Nelson fouled, but Lewis managed to get a decent start with a 145' throw. "Lewis looked at Nelson and said, 'just throw 100-feet. That's all you need,'" Wilson recalled. On Nelson's second throw, he heaved the discus 114-feet.
Lewis ended the day with the crowd watching on in amazement as his final throw measured 157'6, the longest of any competitor. It gave the team of Lewis and Nelson a combined mark of 272'4 for a new meet record. Harrison High School's A-team finished second with a combined total of 242-feet.
The C-team of Ramirez and McNeil beat out the B-team of Vega and Jimmie Nelson for the bronze medal by one foot. McNeil and Ramirez threw a combined mark of 221'2 while Nelson and Vega threw 220'1.
"I think it was the oohs and the aahs that hyped the big 6'8 giant senior to throw that last mark of 157'6, which now places him among the Milesplit US second team Elite and fourth in the state," said Wilson about Lewis.
Huntington is heading to Mount Sinai this coming weekend for the Suffolk County Official's Invitational where the Blue Devil throwers will again face stiff competition, this time against Ben Bonhurst of Smithtown West and Dennis Russell of Longwood.
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The Blue Devils turned in fine performances in the Middle Country Relays at Newfield High School. Senior Shaheem Lewis was given a huge trophy for being the most outstanding field event performer. "He had some great throws in both shot put and discus, which were the longest of the meet," Wilson said. "He actually had two practice throws that were well over 164-feet. I know there is more of that to come once he gains more confidence and consistency."
Huntington's performances included:
Shot Put: Team A (Shaheem Lewis, Devon Nelson and Matteo McNeil) placed first with a combined total of about 131-feet, crushing the field of 18 teams. Lewis threw 50'9; Nelson 43'3; McNeil 42'7. Team B (John Cimetta, Ray Vega and Gordon Lamour) placed third with a combined total of about 115-feet. Cimetta threw 38'11; Vega 40-feet and Lamour 36'7. Team C (Carlos Ramirez, Aubrey Brewster and Mike Lonergan) finished in ninth place. Lonergan threw 34-feet; Brewster 31-feet; Ramirez 33-feet.
Discus: Team A (Lewis 148-feet; Nelson117'9; Vega 114'7) again crushed the field of 18 teams with a combined total of about 381-feet. Team B (McNeil 99'3; Ramirez 99'6; Cimetta 99'8) placed third with a combined total of about 297-feet.
Long Jump: Huntington's freshmen (Infinite Tucker 17'6; Exayvian Crowell 18'3; John Arias 14'11) placed second overall with leaps totaling over 50-feet.
Sprint Medley Relay: The team of Jason Downer, Mahkiah Warren, Pat Wobler and Tom Boisclair placed fourth in 1:44.
Assorted Relays: Huntington's frosh/soph 4x100m relay team of Downer, Tucker, Crowell and eighth grader Kyree Johnson placed first in 47.9 seconds. The freshmen 4x400m relay of Arias, Tucker, Crowell and Johnson also placed first in 3:52. The 1600m medley relay squad of Joe Saginaw, Boisclair, Downer and Warren placed fourth.