Blue Devils Shine at Dennis Walker Classic
While the skies might have been threatening, the Huntington High School boys’ and girls’ track and field programs shined last Saturday at the Dennis Walker Championship Classic at Blue Devil Stadium.
The meet was the final tune-up before both Huntington teams look to defend their Suffolk Divisional Championship titles this week. The Blue Devil boys’ will compete at Centereach on Monday and Wednesday while the girls’ will vie on Tuesday and Thursday at Centereach.
Last Saturday saw 20 high school teams going at it in a meet that honored Walker, who taught and coached at Huntington High School for 34 years before retiring in June 2007.
While Huntington boys’ head coach Ronald Wilson opted out of having his team scored in the meet, which left Amityville as the champion, the Blue Devil girls’ squad overwhelmed the field and walked away with a large first place trophy.
Wilson and Huntington girls’ head coach Shawn Anderson were coached by Walker during their scholastic years and both spoke during a ceremony at midfield that saw the Blue Devil boys’ and girls’ teams and many alumni, coaches and officials gather together in tribute.
The two Huntington coaches spoke about what Walker has meant to the high school track program and to them personally before the retired coach addressed the crowd. With his voice cracking at times, the Blue Devil great expressed gratitude for being able to coach athletes that gave him everything they had and for their parents who supported him through the years. He also saluted the coaches he competed against and said they always had a lot of fun trying to get the best of one another.
“What a meet,” Anderson said. “The track gods held off the rain just long enough for us to get the complete meet it and it was really special to see a bunch of alumni, coaches, officials and athletes paying their respects to Coach Walker and his decades of service to the Huntington track and field program.”
Huntington Boys’ Impressive
The boys’ 4x800m relay consisting of Mitch Rudish, Kyle O’Brien, Tom Kopstein and Shane McGuire won easily in 8:19.66. Kopstein went on to capture the 3200m run in 11:04.91.
Kyree Johnson sprinted to victory in the 100m dash in 11.21 seconds while Infinite Tucker captured gold in the 110m high hurdles in 14.45 seconds. Lawrence Leake won the 200m run in 22.43 seconds.
Jack Gallagher and Connor Grosso finished 1-2 in pole vault. Vernon Alexander (50-06.75 feet), Amaru Jones (45-08.50) and Kenny Charles (42-08.25) swept the first three places in shot put. Charles won the discus with the throw of 165-03 feet. Jones placed third in the event with a toss of 132-09 feet.
The event wrapped up in thrilling fashion as two Huntington boys’ 4x400m relay teams crossed the line in a photo finish with Rudish, Leake, Brian Pierre and Johnson nipping McGuire, O’Brien, Arkim Pierre and Tucker by one-one hundredth of a second: 3:27.90 to 3:27.91.
In other Huntington boys’ action:
• Brian Pierre finished second in the 400m high hurdles in 62.26 seconds.
• Arkim Pierre placed fourth in the 400m dash in 55.19 seconds.
• Dan Collins was fifth in the 800m run in 2:10.16.
• Edward Maleszewski finished third in the 3200m run in 12:21.12.
Blue Devil Girls Sparkle
The meet kicked off with a stunning display in the 4x800m relay by Shoreham-Wading River, which crossed the finish line in a Suffolk best time of 9:14.47. Nicole Abbondandelo, Hadley Clayton, Niamh Condon and Alexis Pastorelli of Huntington placed second in 10:19.92.
Alexandra Koumas notched her second fastest 400m hurdles time of the season, winning the event in 66.65 seconds. “It was a nice prep for the division meet, where she will be running the 100m high hurdles, 400m hurdles and the 4x400m and 4x800m relays,” Anderson said.
Erika Varady finished second in the 1500m race-walk, achieving a personal best and new school record time of 7:31.29. The time easily qualified the teenager for the national meet. The previous Huntington High School record of 7:56 was set just a year earlier by Kayla Eidle. Nicole Arenth also nailed a personal best in the event, crossing the finish line in 8:31.
In other Blue Devil girls’ action:
• Rebecca Caballero continued her preparations for the pentathlon by finishing second in the 100m high hurdles in a time of 17.77 seconds.
• Lexi Mills (28.15 seconds) and Koumas (28.34 seconds) finished fourth and sixth, respectively in the 200m dash.
• In the 4x100m relay, the team consisting of Mackenzie Joseph, Mills Marina Ruzic and Elly Mustafa finished first in 53.26 seconds.
• Katie Seccafico notched a personal best leap of 4-09 feet in high jump.
• Nina Cartwright placed second in pole vault by clearing 9-feet.
• Caballero (16-07 feet) and Ruzic (16-02 feet) captured fourth and sixth, respectively in long jump.
• Anna Gulizio finished fifth in triple jump with a series of leaps that measured 32-01.25 feet.
• Cartwright (89-03 feet) and Jolena Smith (88-06 feet) placed third and fifth respectively in discus. Smith’s throw established a new personal best for the teenager.
• Huntington’s 4x400m relay team of Gulizio, Pastorelli, Seccafico and Koumas won gold, crossing first in 4:09.92.
• Abbondandelo won the 1500m run in 4:54.61.
• Pastorelli finished third in the 800m run in 2:26.92.
• Gulizio (61.04 seconds) and Ruzic (62.74 seconds) finished third and fourth, respectively in the 400m dash.
“All in all it was a warmup and some prep for the Suffolk Divisional Championships this week and it was a fine meet for all athletes, fans and coaches alike,” Anderson said. “While it was important to honor Coach Walker, it was just as important to make sure the atmosphere was fun! The next few meets for both boys and girls are critical, to help defend our titles as Division Champs and hopefully send a few people to the state and national meets.”