Blue Devils Sprint to Finish Line
It's a sprint to the regular season finish line for the Huntington High School boys' winter track and field team. The Blue Devils turned in another fine effort last weekend at the Molly Stanner Games at the Armory in New York City.
The Stanner Games typically draw the "best of the best" on the east coast. The competition was formidable once again, but Huntington's contingent held its own. Blue Devil head coach Ron Wilson believes in challenging his squad and setting high goals for the program. He hopes this philosophy pays handsome dividends during a string of upcoming championship meets.
Huntington junior Y'Majesty Allen had his hands full in the 300m dash at the Stanner Games. The event featured two of New York's top ranked 300m athletes in Ayo Obadare of Elmont and Frederic Fils-Aime of Half Hollow Hills West. The race also featured outstanding runners from both New Jersey and Connecticut. "There were more than 17 heats with 204 young men vying for the championship crown," Wilson said.
Allen, who was seeded first in the second heat of the 300m semi-finals, was in the fifth lane and by the time he reached the back stretch he had already made up the "stagger" on his competitor in the sixth lane. Moving around the final turn, Allen had a clear lead and finished the race in a school-record breaking time of 35.77 seconds, which bested the previous record of 35.94 set by Sherwin Bird in 2002.
Allen went on to place sixth in the finals in 35.9 seconds, putting him in an elite circle of some of the best 300m runners in the tri-state area. "He's doing an outstanding job so far and we are very proud of him," Wilson said.
In other Stanner Games action:
Senior Shaheem Lewis found himself in a "rumble" in the shot put against the top two athletes in the event in the state. Lewis was seeded No. 9 in the field of 15 that was accepted by organizers of the invitational. Lewis was third coming out of the semi-final round and went on to place fourth with a toss of 49'6. In the open division of the shot put, Huntington sophomore Matteo McNeil threw a personal best 43'10.
On the track, junior Josh Watkins enjoyed a fine performance in the 600m dash, running 1:27.94, just short of the 15-year old school record of 1:27.76 held by current Blue Devil cross country and track coach Shawn Anderson. Senior Thomas Boisclair ran 1:29.64, finishing just behind Watkins.
The freshman 1600 meter medley relay of Exayvian Crowell, Infinite Tucker, Jahmik Curry, and Kyle O'Brien placed fourth out of more than 50 teams from the tri-state area. "They were very excited to be given their medals for their fine performance," Wilson said.
With a handful of meets remaining on their regular season schedule, the Blue Devils are looking to "turn it up a notch in practice," Wilson said. Huntington will compete in the Coach's Meet this coming Sunday (January 20) at Suffolk Community College-West in Brentwood.
The following Friday (January 25) the Blue Devils' top ninth and tenth graders will participate in the Suffolk Frosh/Soph Championships, also at Suffolk-West. "We have won crowns in both divisions over the past few years," Wilson said.
The league championship is slated for Sunday, January 27.