Huntington Boys’ Cross Country Looks Ahead

A young Huntington High School varsity boys’ cross country team hit a few bumps in the race path this fall, but the Blue Devils are hopeful that next year will see a sharp swing in fortunes.

“Ethan Goleski was our captain and a true leader that all of our team looked up to,” head coach John Romano said. “Ethan would motivate our guys every single day. He would stay later or get there earlier to help out our team. Throughout the season he would offer tips and information to our young runners to help them excel. Ethan exemplified the meaning of ‘captain’ throughout this season. Ethan showed up during our freshman/sophomore race to end the season to make sure they were motivated and completed their warm up workouts correctly and he stayed and cheered them on.”

Goleski set a personal best record over his last two races covering 2.5 miles and 5K. “I can’t say enough great things about Ethan,” Romano said. “He’s a true leader and will be sorely missed next season.”

Freshman Eric Heinz also emerged as a Huntington standout. “He has a very bright future with our team,” Romano said. “As a freshman. Eric was very impressive with his times and work ethic. As the season progressed he started to realize his full potential and really started to buy into what he’s able to accomplish.”

Heinz capped off the season by placing seventh in a field of 124 in the county freshman race and posted personal best times in his final 2.5 mile and 5K races. “He will be one of the key runners returning for the 2024 season,” Romano said.

Ronan Driscoll was also impressive as a freshman and became Huntington’s No. 3 runner based on best times. “He was constantly pushing Ethan and Eric throughout the entire year,” Romano said. “He battled minor injuries all season but when it was time to race, Ronan really stepped up and ran great. He’s going to be a huge part of the 2024 team next season.”

Huntington’s best team accomplishment was at the divisional championships when every Blue Devil runner notched a personal best time. “Our hard work and dedication throughout the whole season lead us to this point,” Romano said. “Setting our best times at the end of the season is what our goal was from day one.”

The coach said the goal for the program is to get individuals and the team through to the state qualifier. “We had two runners who were 29 seconds away from qualifying,” Romano said. Over a 5K distance, Goleski’s best time was 18:58 with Heinz clocking a personal best of 19:01.

“With us being a young team, we had a lot of bumps in the road,” Romano said. “This season was a learning experience for a majority of our team. We were lucky enough to have three upperclassmen in Ethan Goleski, John Joyce and Mike Mendikyan. They really helped in leading and teaching the ins and outs of cross country.”

Looking ahead to next year, Huntington’s fortunes are due for an upswing. “Eric Heinz projects time wise to lead the boys cross country team,” Roman said. “Ronan Driscoll, who had the third best times in the 2023 season, will return. Mike Mendikyan and John Joyce will lead next season as seniors. Adan Ntambwe, Juan Erazo and Townsel Henry will return with a year under their belts to improve on their times from this past season and give the team a boost.”