The Blue Devil track program’s national reputation grew last weekend at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor Championships at Greensboro, North Carolina. Nine Huntington athletes, including seven underclassmen captured All-American honors.
Running under the Huntington Track Club banner at North Carolina A&T’s Aggie Stadium, the Blue Devil runners put on a very impressive show considering the All-American contingent included two freshmen, four sophomores, one junior and just two seniors.
The Huntington athletes all garnered All-American recognition in championship division races, the premier level at the competition, which drew the top high school track stars in the United States.
Erika Varady battled her way to a sixth place finish and All-American honors in the 3000m race-walk in a time of 15:50.69. The field of 20 competitors included most of the top female high school race-walkers in the country.
The girls’ 800m sprint medley relay consisting of sophomore Dejanae Linton, freshman Olivia Conte, junior Alicia Brooks and freshman Analisse Batista finished third in the country, garnering All-American honors.
Linton and Conte ran the first two 100m legs of the relay. Brooks covered the 200m leg with Batista sprinting the final 400m leg.
The Blue Devils finished the race in a time of 1:45.07, just off the winning effort of Florida’s South Dade Express Track Club (1:43.58) and runner-up Twinsburg Track Club of Ohio, which crossed the wire in 1:44.03. The event drew 51 entries, making the Huntington athletes’ performance even more impressive.
In the mixed 4x400m relay last Saturday night, Huntington was simply splendid, finishing second in the nation in a time of 3:31.12, less than four seconds behind first place Springer Track Club of Virginia.
The event requires a team’s relay to consist of two girls and two boys running alternating legs of the race. The event drew 30 entries.
Brooks ran the first leg followed by Anthony Joseph, Batista and Johnathan Smith. All four Blue Devils claimed All-American honors to the delight of Huntington girls’ coach Mark Jackson and boys’ coaches Ron Wilson and Eli Acosta.
In the final event of the four day competition, the Huntington Track Club’s 4x400m relay consisting of James, CJ Kiviat, Joseph and Smith came through with still another All-American performance.
Running in the championship division’s seeded section against the best teams in the country, the Blue Devils finished in fifth place in a time of 3:16.01. The event drew 42 entries, including some of the most heavily recruited track stars in the nation.
“We want to thank the Huntington Booster Club and the Courtney O’Bryan Foundation for funding our trip and allowing these young men and women to shine and be All-Americans,” Wilson said. “This is an unforgettable experience for them and it will pay dividends far into the future. It has put them on the radar of colleges all over the country.”
