H-ton Crew Competes in Row
for Autism
The Huntington High School crew team turned in a very respectable performance at the Row for Autism at Hempstead Beach Park. It was the first regatta of the spring for the Blue Devils, who have many underclassmen their ranks this season.
Coached by Rob Polizzo and Michael Fabio, the Huntington crew team kicked off its land practices in the Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School gym in March. The squad was able to get in just two days of practice on the water before competing in the season-opening regatta.
Huntington had seven boats in the water at the Row for Autism:
• Novice Eight Boys: Jean Abecassis, Dominic Cataldo, Stephen Heuwetter, Michael Karasik, Matt McBride, Hunter Slade, Burak Toprak, Will Totura and Jackson Spector (coxswain).
• Novice Four Girls: Delaney English, Chloe Liepa, Miranda Nykolyn, Hannah Olsen and Grace Dreusik (coxswain).
• Second Novice Four Girls: Torre Palmer, Molly Warren, Grace Gedean, Kylie Palmer and Jack Gallagher (coxswain).
• Varsity Four Girls: Grace Dreusik, Sydney English, Kylie Palmer, Lena Scarpulla and Jack Gallagher (coxswain).
• Varsity Lightweight Four Boys: Derek Wolf, Christian Wolf, Matt Mavrogian, Ben Warren and Jack Gallagher (coxswain).
• JV Four Boys “A”: Matthew Beach, Cole Blackburn, Justin Martinolich, Michael Karasik and Matt McBride (coxswain).
• JV Four Boys “B”: Evan Montreuil, Nick Cataldo, Frederick Visser, Greg West and Jackson Spector (coxswain).
(Brian McConnell, Sara Totura, Dimitri Varvatsas and Scott Venturino are also on the team, but did not participate in the regatta.)
The varsity lightweight four boys earned a bronze medal to pace the Blue Devils.
Many team members are new to the sport, but they worked hard in their first regatta with all boats finishing the race. The opening competition was a good warm-up for the Long Island Scholastic Championships in Centre Island.