Blue Devil Sports News
Four Huntington High School wrestlers won individual weight class championships at last weekend's tournament in Louis D. Giani Gymnasium. John Arceri (99 lbs.), Corey Jamison (120 lbs.), Nick Lupi (220 lbs.) and Anthony Puca (285 lbs.) all took home first place honors in the competition.
Also placing in the tournament for the Blue Devils were Kyle Mock (4th-99 lbs.), Tyshon Parker (6th-106 lbs.), Brandon Mendez (6th-132 lbs.), Kevin Mendez (3rd-138 lbs.), Joseph Puca (4th-145 lbs.) and John Mallouk (3rd-152 lbs.).
The tournament included Huntington, Kings Park, Port Jervis, Northport, Center Moriches, Massapequa and Grant Street Campus in New York City.
Astor Smith is Outstanding
Huntington High School freshman Astor Smith is outstanding. Just ask Blue Devil JV football coach Ron Wilson. Smith starred on the team at running back and defensive end this past fall.
"Size, strength and talent – what more could a coach ask for," Wilson asked rhetorically. "Astor is an outstanding athlete who made it very hard for teams to run around him. He came to us the second week of the season and became an impact player that we relied on."
Smith compiled 19 solo tackles, including eight tackles for a loss, sacked the quarterback twice, blocked two punts and forced three fumbles. He executed four "pancake" blocks on offense, caught six passes for 22 yards and notched three two-point conversions.
Fencing Splits
The Huntington High School girls' fencing team topped Brentwood in the first meet of the season. Katia DeSimone, Taylor Choy and Anna Wertheim went undefeated. Maggie Askerberg, Alexandra Martinolich, Joey Tuozzo and Katherine Gerdes all won their first matches of the year.
The Huntington boys' squad lost a close battle with Brentwood. Jimmy Ferraiolo and Ricky Hermer-Fried went undefeated.
A Team's Character
"A team's character is known by the people it keeps," Huntington High School JV football coach Ron Wilson is fond of saying. "We had some great kids! Unfortunately, injuries began to take their toll on our varsity team and players had to be shuffled around. We were left to fight with a team that was mostly comprised of ninth graders. But, those ninth graders that we had, along with a few tenth graders, did fight to the end."
The Blue Devils weren't able to pull off a winning season, finishing at 3-5, but the JV did remain competitive through all eight games. "Our record doesn't indicate it, but these youngsters played like champions and in a few years, when they are varsity players, they will be champions."
McNeil Named Rookie of the Week
Former Blue Devil great Nigel McNeil continues to impress the college wrestling world. The two-time Huntington High School state champion won back-to-back Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference Rookie of the Week awards after a series of dominating performances for SUNY Cortland. The Class of 2011 member is ranked fifth in the country at 125 lbs.
McNeil cruised past five opponents en route to the 125 lb. crown at the Messiah College Petrofes Invitational two weeks ago. Last week he pinned dual meet opponents from No. 21 Messiah and Rochester Institute of Technology in 41 seconds and 2:03, respectively.
McNeil entered the week with a 17-2 mark, including five pins, five technical falls and four major decisions. Cortland is ranked No. 8 in the country and has a 6-0 record.
Commack Tops Huntington
The Huntington High School boys' basketball team fell behind early in its game against Commack and never could catch up, as the Blue Devils fell at home, 58-40.
Commack built a 20-12 advantage by the end of eight minutes of play and was ahead 28-19 at halftime. The Cougars went on to outscore Huntington in the second half, too, 30-21.
The Blue Devils were led by Trevor Bryant's 13 points. John McCarthy added 10 points and Jack Forster pumped in another seven.