A large turnout of swimmers and divers has raised hopes for a great winter in the pool for the Blue Devil boys’ squad.
Huntington has combined with neighboring Walt Whitman and Harborfields in the sport of boys’ swimming and diving to form a single team. Meg McConnell serves as the head coach. The squad trains daily at the Huntington YMCA from 3-4 p.m.
Huntington opens the season on Tuesday with a meet against Connetquot/East Islip. Contests again Sachem, Brentwood/Bay Shore, Half Hollow Hills, Smithtown, Ward Melville and Central Islip will follow.
The team has several league, county and state contenders and is expected to be among the best squads in Suffolk.
The Blue Devil contingent includes Andrew Ganley, Jonathan Larice Max Leroy, Pierre Leroy, Ethan Mortensen, Martin Newman, Evan Spagnoletti, Luca Spagnoletti, William Weber and eighth grader Sam Klaaren.
Last winter’s team finished second in the Section XI championships, trailing only Half Hollow Hills and outdistancing 24 other squads.
At the Section XI championships, Weber finished 10th in the 100 freestyle and 15th in the 200 IM. Larice also turned in a great season, placing 10th in the 500 freestyle and 11th in the 200 freestyle at the county championships.
Pierre Leroy qualified for the state championships, which unfortunately weren’t held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the Suffolk finals, the teenager finished fifth in the 500 freestyle in a state qualifying time and also took fifth in the 100 breaststroke.
Evan Spagnoletti was still another standout, placing fourth in Suffolk in the 100 fly and seventh in the 50 freestyle.