Huntington boys’ winter and spring track and field coaches Ronald Wilson and Eli Acosta recognized their top senior performers at the 51st annual Blue Devil senior athletic awards dinner.
Jonathan Smith (Most Valuable) and Eric Sands (Most Improved) were honored for their winter season excellence.
Smith and Sands both shared the spring season Most Valuable Senior Award. Jaden Bholan was named the spring’s Most Improved Award recipient. Nicholas Bozsnyak captured the Coaches Award.
Smith has already reported to Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina where he was recruited for the track and field team. Sands plans to play football at SUNY Alfred State College. Bholan is headed to Queensborough Community College. Bozsnyak plans to study at Suffolk Community College.
Alum Emma DeGennaro Named to IWLC Honor Roll
Huntington alum Emma DeGennaro plays lacrosse for Brown University.
Huntington High School Class of 2016 grad Emma DeGennaro has garnered Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Division I Academic Honor Roll recognition. She notched a perfect 4.0 grade point average last spring while playing lacrosse at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. She is entering her senior year and concentrating in sociology.
To be eligible for the IWLCA’s Zag Sports Academic Honor Roll, players must have earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 during all of college.
DeGennaro tallied 36 goals and seven assists for 43 points, last spring. The former Blue Devil great scored five goals in each of the last two games of the season against Harvard and Columbia, respectively. Her 2.40 goals per game average ranked her No. 9 in the Ivy League among all players.
In 45 games over the past three years, DeGennaro has notched 84 goals and 28 assists. She has scored nine game-winning goals for Brown University.
DeGennaro played field hockey and lacrosse at Huntington and interned with the public information coordinator, developing written material and photos that ran on the district website and Huntington UFSD’s social media platforms.
Girls’ Basketball Senior Awards
Huntington girls’ basketball coaches presented three graduating seniors with special awards at the 51st annual Blue Devil senior athletic awards banquet in Louis D. Giani Gymnasium.
Christie Baade (Most Valuable), Paige Lennon (Defensive Specialist) and Alyssa Sorensen (Most Improved) were all recognized by head coach Michael Kaplan.
Ms. Baade is headed to the University at Albany to study psychology. Ms. Lennon has already reported to the United States Military Academy at West Point. She was recruited to play on the women’s lacrosse team there. Ms. Sorensen will be attending Drexel University in Philadelphia where she intends to study public health in anticipation of a career as a physician assistant.
Baseball Senior Awards
Elian Pimentel and Justin Italiano shared the Most Valuable Senior Award and Jonathan Magerle was named Most Improved as the Huntington varsity baseball team honored its graduating players at the 51st annual Blue Devil senior athletic awards dinner.
Pimentel will be playing baseball at upstate Herkimer Community College. Italiano plans to study business at Hofstra University. Magerle intends to study criminal justice at Adelphi University.
Elian Pimentel Headed to Herkimer Community College
Elian Pimentel isn’t headed to the County College of Morris in New Jersey after all. The recent Huntington High School graduate changed directions and instead will be attending Herkimer Community College in Upstate New York where he will play for the baseball team.
The Blue Devil diamond star made the move for a variety of reasons. His brother, Keven Pimentel was drafted by the Colorado Rockies last spring. A right-handed pitcher, he played two years at the University of Miami and then played at the University of Tampa for the past two years.
Elian Pimentel pitched and played third base for the Blue Devil baseball team. He batted .351 in 20 games with 20 hits, including three doubles, a triple and two homeruns. He scored 14 times and drove in 14 runs. His 1.037 OPS (on base plus slugging percentage) led Huntington.
Boys’ Lacrosse Senior Awards
Huntington varsity boys’ lacrosse head coach Julian Watts presented three of his best players with special awards at the 51st annual Blue Devil senior athletic awards banquet.
Luke Luckow (Most Valuable Defensive Player), Jordan McCoy (Most Valuable Offensive Player) and John Tucker (Most Improved Player) were all honored.
Luckow is headed to Penn State University to study communications. McCoy is immediately going into the workforce. Tucker intends to study business at the University of South Carolina.
Alum Samantha Lynch Named ACC All-Academic
Huntington 2015 alum Samantha Lynch was named ACC All-Academic with the Notre Dame women's lacrosse team.
Huntington Class of 2015 alum Samantha Lynch turned in a great year for the Notre Dame University women’s lacrosse team.
Lynch tallied 53 goals and nine assists this past spring, including three game winning goals. She added 22 ground balls. The three-sport Blue Devil star was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference’s All-Academic team after compiling an exceptional classroom record.
Lynch graduated with a bachelor’s degree in engineering in May, but since she redshirted as a junior, she is eligible to play one more season while she pursues a master’s degree at Notre Dame next year.
Crew Senior Awards
Huntington crew team coach Shawn Dunn presented special awards to Emma Farrell (Most Improved) and Kelly Warren (Coaches Award) at the 51st annual Blue Devil senior athletic award dinner in the high school gym.
Ms. Farrell is headed to Fairfield University in Connecticut to study biology. Ms. Warren plans to study environmental science at Ithaca College.
Blue Devil Spring Track Looks Ahead
After going 6-0 in league meets and winning the Section XI team title, the Huntington spring track and field team is looking ahead to the future.
“We said last year that this year would be a rebuilding one,” said Ron Wilson, the Blue Devils’ head coach. “It certainly was, however we still came away with some championships. Our ‘youngins’ stepped up and made a huge impact on our squad. To be quite honest, they gave more than what we expected. The next few years could really be a treat for us if we remain humble, stay healthy and work hard. I truly believe they will have quite a bit to offer next year.”
Huntington has a group of very talented teenagers set to return. “Aidan Heller, Andrew McKenzie, Isaiah James, Anthony Joseph, Jason Turner, Chad Rowe, Nasir Youngblood, Justin Stevens, Jaylen Bush, CJ Kiviat, Rhaliek Thomason, Josiah Melendez, Gary Barash, Jahmar Francis, Carlos Martinez and Roberto Rodriquez are underclassmen who we depended upon to earn points this year,” Wilson said. “They performed well and should return with great experience. They should be a force to help lead this team.”
Wilson believes in taking nothing for granted. “One can never really tell year to year, but you can bet your bottom dollar that we will be competitive in every aspect of the sport,” he said.
H-ton Boys’ Swimming Seniors Honored
Huntington boys’ swimming and diving coach Meg McConnell honored her top Blue Devil seniors with a set of three awards.
Nathaniel Gamboa (Most Valuable), Henry Cartwright (Most Improved) and Thomas Peer (Coaches Award) were all recognized at the 51st annual Blue Devil senior athletic awards banquet.
Gamboa intends to study mathematics and physics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and participate in the Naval ROTC program. Cartwright also plans to participate in the Naval ROTC program while he studies aerospace engineering at Virginia Tech. Peer will be studying international affairs at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
