Blue Devils Lay it on the Line
Records are starting to fall this winter. The Huntington High School boys’ winter track and field team once again features a talented roster and the Blue Devils have been laying it on the line against some of the best competition in the metropolitan area.
A flurry of meets began with the Christmas Classic at St. Anthony’s High School.
Huntington junior Y’Majesty Allen finished third in the 55m dash in 6.79 seconds despite slipping out of the blocks and nearly falling on his face. “He managed to get his balance back and still finish in the top three in a new school record time,” Blue Devil head coach Ron Wilson said. The previous mark of 6.84 had been shared by Ian Belanger and Quillian Respass.
Following his record-setting effort, Allen returned to the track to anchor Huntington’s 4x400m relay, which captured first place despite a rocky start. Marquis Francis ran a 58.3 split during the first leg. Joshua Watkins followed, making up some ground on the race leader by running a 55-second split over the second leg. It was the Blue Devils’ third leg, senior Tom Boisclair that put the team back into contention. Boisclair made up 20 meters for the Blue Devils before passing the baton to Allen, who was now right behind race leader Kellenberg High School’s anchor leg. “The race was now on,” Wilson said.
Allen trailed the Kellenberg runner until the final lap. “He smiled and I then knew he had the race in the bag,” Wilson said. Allen passed the lead runner and continued to sprint to the finish line with a 52.3 split and first place in hand in a team-winning time of 3:39. “What a great race,” Wilson said about the effort of the runners.
Another great race came in the freshman sprint medley relay. The 1600m distance is broken down as follows: The lead leg runs the first 400m; the second leg runs 200m, the third leg covers 200m and the fourth runs 800m.
Exayvian Crowell handled the first leg of the race and unlike Allen the teenager led from the start, opening a gaping spread of almost 30m. Crowell handed the baton to Jahmik Curry, who maintained a lead of about 30m. Curry handed off to Allen’s brother, Infinite Tucker who increased Huntington’s lead to about 50m.
Anchor Kyle O’Brien received the baton from Tucker with a comfortable advantage. However, the anchor from St. Anthony’s had just won the 1600m run in a sensational time of 4:41 and he was quickly making up ground. “O’Brien didn’t let that bother him,” Wilson said. “With St. Anthony’s hot on his trail, O’Brien sprinted the last lap, keeping his team in first and earning everyone gold medals.”
In other Christmas Classic action, Crowell placed first in the freshman 55m high hurdles in 9.16 seconds. In the freshman 55m dash, Tucker placed second in 7.57 and Jason Goodson was fourth in 7.66. In the freshman shot put, Cameron Knox finished second with a throw of 39’10 while teammate Mike Lonergan placed eighth with a toss of 35’11.
In the varsity shot put, senior Shaheem Lewis placed first with a 49’11 performance and sophomores Jimmie Nelson (41’2) and Matteo McNeil (40’9) finished fourth and eighth, respectively. In the varsity long jump, sophomore Marquis Francis leaped 19’2 to capture fourth and sophomore Anthony Fischer finished 10th with a leap of 18’3. Sondy Jean-Baptiste was second in the high jump with a leap of 5’10, his best effort this season.
The Blue Devils’ annual trek to the Grinch Games at Fordham University proved to be fruitful. “It was another great showing for our boys,” Wilson said. Allen was once again splendid, capturing first place in the 200m dash in 23.5 seconds. In the freshman division of the race, Crowell placed first and Tucker finished fifth.
In the freshman 1600m, O’Brien earned a medal by placing fifth in 5:12, his best time of the season. “He continues to improve every time he steps on the track,” Wilson said. “‘OB’ is a very nice kid that works hard in practice. He’s very dependable.”
Junior Nick Sherman placed 10th in the varsity 1600m race, crossing the line in 5:11. Victor Tellez ran 2:21 in the 800m run to place in the top 20. Lewis earned another gold medal when he grabbed first in the shot put with a throw of 46’7. In the sophomore shot put competition, McNeil and Nelson each finished in the top six to win medals. In the sophomore high jump, Jean-Baptiste placed second with a leap of 5’8.
Huntington’s final meet of 2012 saw the team compete in the North Shore Invitational at The Armory, which is located on 168th Street in the Washington Heights community of upper Manhattan. Allen again had a stellar day, capturing first place in the 300m dash in a personal best time of 36.07 seconds, slightly more than one second shy of Shane Bird’s 10-year old school record of 35.94. Allen earlier took fifth in the 55m dash in 6.91 seconds. Lewis placed fourth at the meet in the shot put with a toss of 49’7.
“As a team, we have to now turn it up a notch in practice and in meets,” Wilson said. “January is a month that is filled with championship meets. If we are to make it to the counties, then we have to put forth more effort into our practices. Competition is very tough this year in every aspect of the sport. We do have a few athletes that can compete for a seat on the state championship bus in February.”
The Blue Devils’ next major test will come on Saturday when Huntington competes in the Molly Stanner Games at The Armory. The competition is expected to be fierce.