Huntington High School will be well represented at Saturday’s New York State Intersectional Track & Field Championships at Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex at Staten Island.
Eric Sands and Sam Bergman are competing in the weight throw, which is essentially an indoor hammer throw. In the boys’ event, the weight is a 25 lb. ball, larger in size than a shot put. It is encircled by bands connected to a handle that the athletes grip. Competitors typical spin several times before launching it.
Freshmen Jason Turner and Anthony Joseph, junior Jonathan Smith and senior Alex LaBella have qualified for the state championships in the 4x200m relay. Smith has also qualified in the 600m run.
Huntington is coached by Ron Wilson and Eli Acosta. “The boys practiced hard during the vacation and throughout this past week,” Wilson said. “We are going to give every event our best shot.”
At last year’s indoor state championships, Huntington’s Lawrence Leake ran one of the fastest 600m times in the nation to capture third place.
After some early setbacks this winter, the season turned around for Smith and his teammates. “It started off not that good for me or the team, but we all still continued to work hard and just progressed in whatever we do,” he said.
The Blue Devils have one of the best young teams in the state. Huntington is loaded with underclassmen who are filled with potential in both running and field events.
“We are working with a very good group,” Wilson said. “They are coming along quite nicely.”
