The 54th annual Blue Devil senior athletic awards ceremony will be held on Thursday night in the Huntington High School auditorium at 6 p.m.
Seniors who are slated to receive awards have received written invitations. Parents and family members are welcome to attend. The ceremony was moved to the auditorium due to the unavailability of Louis D. Giani Gymnasium while the main basketball court is being repaired. The auditorium’s air conditioning and technological equipment will enhance the evening, which is expected to run about 75 minutes.
Coaches will present about 80 individual awards to their team members. Numerous special awards will also be presented, including the Section XI Gold Key Award, which goes to seniors who participated in at least eight of nine athletic seasons between grades 10-12. There are 13 Blue Devils who have qualified for the county award this year.
Many of the awards carry financial stipends. In all, $9,200 will be presented to senior athletes along with handsome plaques custom made for the Blue Devils.
The recipients of several other special awards will also be announced, including the new Blue Devil Discipline, Desire & Dedication Award, which will be presented to seven seniors.
Among the awards being presented is the William Class Memorial Scholarship; four Huntington Booster Club Sportsmanship Awards; two Kleet Lumber Scholar-Athlete Awards; two Empire Automotive Group Scholar Athlete Awards; Fred Cambria Award, Peter Steen Memorial Scholarship, Donald A. Loughlin Founders Award; John Fulton Sr. Memorial Scholarship and, for the first time ever, the Paci Family Football Leadership Award.
Seniors Emily Plachta and Max Rentsch will both speak about what it has meant to them to wear a Blue Devil uniform through the years.
Senior Ashley Genao will kick-off the evening by singing the Star Spangled Banner. It is a song she has performed many times over the years at indoor and outdoor events. Ms. Genao will then present the Unsung Hero Award to someone selected by the seniors.
Principal Brenden Cusack and Superintendent James W. Polansky will both speak at the beginning of the ceremony. Both are regulars on the sidelines and in the bleachers at Blue Devil home and away games.
The evening will conclude with an 11 minute film created by Darin Reed that highlights the 2021/22 Blue Devil athletic program. The film will be shown on the auditorium’s huge screen.