They Huntington boys’ track and field team keeps winning. The Blue Devils won a pair of meets last week to improve to 5-0 and remain perfect this spring.
In the first of the two contests, Huntington overpowered visiting North Babylon in just about every event, winning the meet, 90-42.
Junior Quincy Chery and sophomore Ryan Centeno finished 1-2 in the 110m high hurdles and 400m intermediate hurdles. Chery had earlier teamed up with senior Anthony Joseph to dominate the long jump with Joseph soaring 21-09 feet and Chery leaping 20-02 feet for another 1-2 finish. Joseph would later crush the field in the 200m dash with a blazing time of 21.8 seconds as junior Julio Martinez placed second in 22.4 seconds. Martinez had defeated Joseph and junior Tyriek Mays-McKoy earlier in the meet in the 100m dash. The trio swept that event.
Senior Aidan Heller is finding his best strides in the distance events. The teenager won both the 1600m run and the 3200m run, “which is a tough double,” said Ron Wilson, Huntington’s head coach. “This kid has guts and is always doing his best for the team. After running those two events, he said that he could anchor a relay if needed. What a tough kid!”
Sophomore Ethan Goleski placed third in the 3200m run and senior Carlos Martinez placed second in the 1600m run. Seniors CJ Kiviat and Isaiah James continue to show great progress. Kiviat won the 400m dash and James won the 800m dash.
Freshmen Roberto Rodriguez and Johan Fajardo continue to show improvement in the high jump. The duo placed 1-2, respectively with leaps of 5-08 feet.
Huntington then hit the road, traveling to square off against a strong Smithtown East team. “In the opening event, Joseph just didn’t have it,” Wilson said. Joseph turned in his shortest leap of the season in the long jump, measuring 20-09 feet, which was only good for second place. Chery jumped 19-10, which placed him third.
Joseph later rebounded in the 400m dash, remaining undefeated and No. 1 in Suffolk County, circling the track in 50.8 seconds. Julio Martinez placed second in 52.0 and junior John Chirico placed fourth in 53.0. Chirico would later claim the fastest time in the 200m dash with an effort timed at 23.3 with Mays-McKoy (23.5), Joseph (23.8) and freshman Jahmar Francis (24.2) hot on his heels for a clean sweep in the event.
Seniors Mekai Butts and Will McClellan continue to garner points in the throwing events. The duo placed 1-2 in the shot put with throws of 46-feet and 39-feet, respectively. The pair placed 2-3 in discus with Butts throwing 133-feet and McClellan throwing 111-feet.
The Blue Devils swept all three relays. The 4x800m relay was comprised of sophomores Nick Seferian and Sam James and seniors Carlos Martinez and Isaiah James, who cruised to victory in 8:47.
The 4x400m relay consisted of John Chirico, Nick Grover, Quincy Chery and CJ Kiviat with the 4x100m relay powered by Julio Martinez, Anthony Joseph, Chad Rowe and Tyriek Mays-McKoy.
Huntington’s freshmen 4x100m relay, which includes Gabe Abreu, Christian Delgado, Jehu Ramsay and Jahmar Francis also got into the action. “They actually placed a close second behind our A team,” Wilson said.
When all the point were added up, Huntington was able to claim victory by an 83-54 score.
The team has one obstacle to achieving an undefeated season. Huntington will host Half Hollow Hills East on Thursday, June 3 at 4:30 p.m. It will be Senior Day at Blue Devil Stadium.
Huntington will host the Suffolk Division II Championships on Tuesday, June 8 at 4 p.m.