The Huntington High School boys’ and girls’ track and field teams have their eyes on gold, silver and bronze medals at Saturday’s state championships at Staten Island.
The Blue Devils will vie in multiple events at the Ocean Breeze Track & Field Complex where the Huntington athletes will line up against the best in the state. The action begins at 9 a.m. and continues throughout the day.
The Blue Devil boys’ team will be well represented in the state championships. Johnathan Smith will compete in the 600m run and Eric Sands will vie in the weight throw. Huntington will also have its 4x200m and 4x400m relays in the hunt for a gold medal.
Sophomore CJ Kiviat also qualified for the 600m, but opted out to keep his legs fresh for the 4x400m relay, on which he runs the first leg of the race.
The Huntington girls’ team will send athletes into a pair of events at the state championships. Freshman sensation Analisse Batista will run in the 300m dash and the Blue Devils will compete in the 4x200m relay after winning the Section XI crown in the event.
Long Island Elite Track Meet
Both Huntington squads looked sharp at the Long Island Elite indoor meet at St. Anthony’s last Saturday in their final tune-up for the state championships.
Analisse Batista set a new meet record in the freshman/sophomore 300m dash, crossing the finish line first in 40.75 seconds. Junior Alicia Brooks placed fifth in the 55m dash in a time of 7.56 seconds. Senior Erika Varady was fifth in the 1500m race-walk in a time of 7:31.39.
The Huntington girls were splendid in winning the 4x200m relay. Brooks ran the first leg and then Batista flew around the track on the second segment. Sophomore Dejanae Linton was sensational in running the third leg and freshman Olivia Conte brought the gold medal home with an exceptional anchor leg, especially her all-out sprint to the finish down the stretch. The Blue Devils’ time of 1:44.47 edged runner-up Uniondale by 3/10ths of a second.
The Huntington boys’ team also performed well at the LI Elite meet. The 4x400m relay consisting of CJ Kiviat, Isaiah James, Justin Stevens and Johnathan Smith captured first place in a new meet record time of 3:25.70, well off the Blue Devils best time of the winter, but easily in front of the rest of the field.
Smith also placed third in the 300m dash in a time of 35.93 seconds, almost a full second off his best time of the year. A mere 2/10ths of a second separated the first three runners.
Kiviat was third in the 600m run in a time of 1:24.70, about two seconds off the winning time.
Junior Rahliek Thomason-Jackson placed fifth in triple jump with a best effort that measured 41-05.50 feet. Junior Jaylen Bush placed seventh in the 55m hurdles in a time of 8.30 seconds.
Senior Eric Sands placed third in shot put with a toss of 48-07.50 feet. He was sixth in weight throw with a distance of 51-07.75 feet, which was more than five feet short of his best this year.
Huntington’s 4x200m relay consisting of Jaden Bholan, Josiah Melendez, Jason Turner and Anthony Joseph placed fourth in 1:35.09, which was more than four seconds slower than the relay’s best time this winter.
H-ton Coaches Optimistic
Huntington girls’ team coaches Mark Jackson and Eddie Santos and boys’ squad staff members Ronald Wilson and Eli Acosta are all optimistic their athletes will turn in strong showings at the state championships on Saturday. Some of the Blue Devil entries are ranked nationally, so all are in the hunt for a medal.
