The Huntington boys’ track and field team edged a strong Northport squad in a thriller this week, 75-62. The Blue Devils are proving to be a battle-tested group that doesn’t flinch in the face of a strong challenge.
It was the battle of the undefeated at Northport High School as two of Suffolk’s best collided. “Northport is arguably one of the top distance programs in the state, while Huntington is best known for its sprinters and jumpers,” Blue Devil head coach Ronald E. Wilson said. “This meet would see some personal records of athletes shattered.”
Huntington’s Anthony Joseph and Quincy Chery finished one-two in the long jump. On his last jump, Joseph soared 21-10 feet to eclipse teammate Chery, whose best jump measured 20-6.5 feet.
In the throwing circle, Mekai Butts threw a personal best of 48-10 feet in shot put, which was good for second place. Amari Huitt placed third with a toss of 38 feet. In discus, Butts picked up another second place finish with a toss of 129 feet while Will McClellan was third with a throw that measured 111 feet.
Back on the track, it was Joseph who proved to be dominant in the sprints. He circled the track in the 400m dash in 51.2 seconds for first place. Jahmar Francis finished third in 52.8 with teammate John Chirico in fourth place with a great time of 52.9. Joseph would later run 21.8 seconds in the 200m dash with teammates Julio Martinez and Tyriek Mays-McKoy finishing second and third, respectively in times of 22.7 and 22.9.
McKoy also won the 100m dash in 10.9 seconds and Martinez was third in 11.1. Chery continues to improve in the hurdles, capturing both hurdle events. In the 110m high hurdles, he ran 15.8 seconds with a strong headwind in his face and then clocked in the 400m hurdles in a time of 57.8, which is the top time in Suffolk this spring.
Justice King picked up a point in the 110m high hurdles with a third place finish in 19.7 seconds. Ryan Centeno was fourth in 20.1 seconds.
Distance runners Aidan Heller and Andrew McKenzie had their hands full with a very good group from Northport. “We surprised them in the 1600m run with a second and third place finish,” Wilson said. “Heller ran another personal best of 4:35 for second place with McKenzie also with a personal best of 4:40.”
Heller would later pick up a decisive point in the 3200m run placing third in 10:50. CJ Kiviat was faced with a tough task without teammate Isaiah James in the 800m dash since the two push each other. James and a few others had AP exams that evening and was unable to attend. But Kiviat continued his dominance in the 800m dash with a win in 2:02.
While the runners were taking care of business on the track, Roberto Rodriguez and Joe Shea were doing the same in the high jump area. Rodriguez finished in first with a jump of 5-06 feet and Shea was third with a jump of 5-03 feet.
The event generated some controversy. “Originally, we had Rodriguez in first and Shea tying for second with a Northport jumper,” Walsh said. “Huntington was under the impression the event gave seven points to Huntington and two points to the Tigers,” Walsh said. “This changed the dynamics of the meet. We were under the impression we only had to win one relay. So we have the No. 1 4x400m relay on Long Island, so it was an easy decision to stack that event with all of our best athletes. However, after a quick coaches meeting before the relays, it was discovered that Huntington’s Joe Shea had more misses that the Northport jumper so he was third and Northport was second. Now Huntington had to also win the 4x100m relay after taking its best sprinter, Joseph out and placing him in the 4x400m to secure the win.”
Coach Wilson didn’t inform the athletes about the confusion with the score until after their race. Huntington replaced Joseph with senior Camron Santa-Maria on second leg of the 4x100m relay.
“What an exciting race,” Wilson said. “Everyone but Huntington athletes knew what was at stake. Northport had already informed their athletes that they had to win the relay in order to win the meet.”
Lead leg Julio Martinez ran a perfect race, handing off to Santa-Maria, who would not be denied a small lead on the back stretch. He handed off to Chad Rowe who kept pace and was a step behind on the turn. He handed off to Tyriek Mays-McKoy who drove past the Northport at the wire. The Blue Devils ran a phenomenal time of 43.7 seconds, eclipsing Northport’s time of 43.9.
Huntington has some of the top times and performances in Suffolk this spring:
• Joseph is No. 1 in the 400m with a time of 50.5 seconds; No. 1 in long jump with a leap of 22-10 feet and No. 2 in the 200m with a time of 21.8 seconds.
• Chery No. 1 in the 400m hurdles with a time 57.8 seconds; No. 6 in the 110m high hurdles in 15.14 seconds and No. 6 in long jump with a leap of 20-06 feet.
• CJ Kiviat is No. 1 in the 800m run with a time of 2:02.
• Andrew McKenzie is No. 8 in the 1600m run in a time of 4:40 and No. 8 in 3200m run in 10:28.
• Aidan Heller is No. 4 in 1600m run in a time of 4:35 and No. 6 in 3200m run in 10:10.
• Mekai Butts is No. 3 in shot put with a throw of 48-10 feet and No. 6 in discus with a toss of 129-07 feet.
• The 4x100m relay (Martinez, Joseph, Rowe, Mays-McKoy) is No. 1 in a time of 43.34 seconds.
• The 4x400m relay (Martinez, James, Kiviat, Joseph) is No. 1 in a time of 3:21.
• The 4x800m relay (Nick Seferian, Heller, McKenzie, Nick Seitz) is No. 4 in a time of 8:33.