Blue Devil Sports News
The Huntington JV girls’ basketball team moved past Half Hollow Hills East, 32-22 behind some sharp shooting by Hannah Burnett, who scored 12 points. Jackie Contino added eight points and Heather Forster and Lucie Guilino each popped in six, respectively. Laurelle-Byrne-Cody dished out plenty of assists.
Lauren Visbal Honored
Huntington senior Lauren Visbal was honored at the annual Suffolk County Volleyball Coaches Assn. awards banquet held last week at Villa Lombardi’s in Holtsville.
Ms. Visbal was one of 16 players in League V to earn All-League honors. “This is her second time winning the award,” said Caroline Reilly, Huntington’s head coach. Visbal and teammates Natalie Acton and Haley Brown recently tried out for and made one of Long Island’s premier volleyball travel teams. Reilly said she’s hoping the “off-season play will help us be more competitive in the future.”
Impressive Performances on Track
The Huntington girls’ winter track and field team opened the season with a well-rounded performance in a crossover meet.
Dania Merilan was second in the 300m and seventh in the 55m dash. The 4 x 200m relay of Merilan, Emilie Pugliese, Alexandra Krapf and Adelia Witt finished third. The 4 x 800m relay of Annie Nugent, Katie Healy, Kerri-Ann Giambruno and Celine Takekoshi also came in third place.
A nice effort let Hannah Helrich place sixth in the triple jump. Pugliese was fifth in the 1000m run and Takekoshi finished ninth in the 3000m.
Finley Winter Participation Report
There are 62 Finley Middle School students participating in the first winter season there. The group includes 32 athletes split evenly among the seventh and eighth grade boys’ basketball teams and 30 girls’ volleyball players.
“Due to swimming and cheerleading being cut, participation in Winter I athletics decreased by 40 participants,” Director of Athletics Georgia D. McCarthy wrote in a report to Assistant Superintendent Joseph Giani. A copy of the report was given to the Huntington School Board.
Commack Tops Huntington
The Huntington boys’ basketball team drew within a handful of points several times before visiting Commack went on a run that put the game away as the Blue Devils fell 54-34 in their senior opener.
Commack led 15-14 after one quarter and was ahead by five at halftime, 23-18. It was still very much a game after three quarters as the Blue Devils trailed 34-28 with eight minutes to play. Commack then went on a 20-6 spurt to ice the contest.
John Patron led Huntington with 12 points. Jeremy Rhodes added nine points and Tyre Brown chipped in with seven.
Blue Devil Girls’ BB Update
In a game that featured some long scoring droughts for the Blue Devils’ girls’ basketball team, Huntington lost to Commack at home, 45-33.
The Blue Devils finally got hot in the final minutes of the first half to close to within five at halftime, 22-17, but were ice cold through the first 12 minutes of the second half as Commack outscored Huntington 23-16 over the final 16 minutes.
Jackie Waldron led the Blue Devils with 13 points. Raynisha Witherspoon, Emma Hayes-Hurley and Lauren Visbal had six points each, respectively.
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Meredith McCourt had the most productive game of her career with the Huntington girls’ basketball team as the senior captain scored 22 points to lead the Blue Devils over host Half Hollow Hills East, 62-44. Huntington forced an amazing 29 turnovers in the contest.
The Blue Devils led throughout the game, going ahead 14-6 after one period and taking a 28-16 advantage into halftime. Huntington then exploded for 34 second half points to put the game away. Emma Hayes-Hurley and Lauren Visbal each scored 11 points, respectively. Jackie Waldron pumped in 10 points and Raynisha Witherspoon added eight more.
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The Stony Brook School topped the visiting Huntington girls’ basketball team, 45-27 in a non-league game. Huntington led throughout the first half, but was undone by blistering late game shooting by Stony Brook, which outscored the Blue Devils 33-13 in the second half.
Meredith McCourt led all Huntington scorers with 10 points. Lauren Visbal and Jackie Waldron connected for six points apiece, respectively.
Crossover Success
At its second crossover meet of the season, the Huntington winter track and field team turned in several fine performances. Dania Merilan finished third in the 55m dash and later broke the school record in the 300m by more than a half-second. Emilie Pugliese was third in the 1000m and Celine Takekoshi was fourth in the 3000m and seventh in the 1500m
The 4 x 400m relay team of Pugliese, Katie Healy, Annie Nugent and Kerri-Ann Giambruno, captured first place.
Hicks at St. Joe’s
At this time last year Kerry Hicks was starring for the Huntington girls’ basketball team. Now she’s a freshman at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Although the former Blue Devil great isn’t on the NCAA Division I basketball team there, she is still involved in the sport as she helped St. Joe’s club team win the East Coast collegiate club title last month.
“From the first practice this semester, Kerry stood out,” said Alexandra Bretschneider, the founder and coach of the St. Joe’s club team. “Quiet at first, but very talented, she instantly clicked with one of our most talented forwards during scrimmages.”
Bretschneider said Hicks started off “shaky” in St. Joe’s first tournament on the schedule at Georgetown University, “as any freshman would. She found her place and became an essential piece to our offense. She is by far, the best point guard we have had, and I used to be one of our point guards. She is very talented, allowing us to draw up plays that put her in the position to drive or shoot three's.”
In the club championship game, St. Joe’s trailed North Carolina State at halftime by 10 points. Then Hicks pumped in 20 second half points to turn the game around. “Kerry instantly clicked with the girls,” Bretschneider said. “She has the ideal personality that I look for in player. She is an excellent player, but is modest, and never shows a temper. She has a positive attitude, and is an absolute pleasure to be around. I am grateful that she chose to come to St. Joseph's, and I hope to see her captain the team in due time.”
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