The Huntington High School boys’ cross country team is in a full sprint toward the finish line as the season winds down.
The roster is dominated by underclassmen. Head coach Robert Nill believes there are many good days ahead for the team in future years as the young runners mature and take their rightful place among Suffolk’s best.
This week features the division championship along with the frosh/soph championships. Both will be contested at Sunken Meadow State Park.
Huntington’s top runners include sophomores Andrew McKenzie, Aidan Heller, Isaiah James and Carlos Martinez, juniors Jason Verville and John Segreti and seniors Cornelius O’Rourke and Graham Young.
The dual meet season went well for the Blue Devils. “We ended up going 3-3, which is very good for Huntington boys’ cross country,” said Heller, who earned a spot on the All-League Second Team after placing among the top 14 runners.
At last week’s crossover meet, Huntington ran on Sunken Meadow’s 2.8 mile course. The entire team ran personal bests with only one exception. “It was a great way to finish up,” Verville said. “This week we have divisions where we will run the 5k course and hope to finish off a great season with personals bests all around. Overall the team has improved greatly all year and we hope to continue the progress to end the season,” Verville said.
A shin injury sidelined Verville for a stretch of time during the season, but now that he’s back, the teenager is nearing his top times.
Nill has announced he is retiring from coaching at the conclusion of the season so the Blue Devils are striving to give him the sendoff they all feel he deserves.
