The Huntington varsity boys’ swimming and diving team is off to a good start this winter. The squad includes many returning veterans and seventh grade newcomer Dylan Proctor.
The Blue Devils train and compete as a combined team with Walt Whitman and Harborfields. Huntington and Harborfields have fielded a joint team for many years and the athletes get along famously with each other. This year, Walt Whitman joined the collaboration. Most Suffolk boys’ and girls’ swimming teams are in joint school combinations.
The squad has opened the season by winning two of three meets. The combined team of Huntington/Harborfields/Walt Whitman has defeated Northport (93-87) and Sayville/Bayport (102-72) and dropped a contest to Connetquot/East Islip (94-83).
The combined team is coached by Huntington’s Meg McConnell. She is a Blue Devil veteran and longtime coach of both the boys’ and girls’ programs.
Huntington’s returning veterans include freshmen Pierre Leroy, Marty Newman and Josh Redick; sophomores Jonathan Larice and Will Weber; junior Logan Deegan and seniors Javier Vias and Christopher Weber. Athletes from Harborfields and Walt Whitman comprise the balance of the roster.
Huntington/Harborfields/Walt Whitman trains at the Huntington YMCA. Its meets are all away. “Things are going well,” McConnell said. “It’s a great bunch. It’s a slightly young team with more than half being ninth and tenth graders.”
Upcoming contests are scheduled with Ward Melville (December 19), Brentwood (January 7), Smithtown (January 9), Sachem (January 15), Central Islip (January 17) and Half Hollow Hills (January 22).
The league championships are set for January 29 at Sachem East. The Section XI diving finals are scheduled for February 6 at Hauppauge with the swimming finals slated for February 8 at Suffolk-West in Brentwood. The state championships will be held on March 6-7 at the Nassau Aquatic Center.
