Blue Devil Girls’ Gymnastics Set for Second Season

Huntington High School’s girls’ gymnastics team is ready to do its second flip. The Blue Devils are combined with the existing program at nearby Harborfields to field a joint team last fall. The two districts already collaborate in sponsoring girls’ and boys’ swimming and diving teams and plan to collaborate in both boys’ and girls’ fencing next winter.

Interested in joining the team for the 2023 fall campaign? Huntington girls’ gymnastics head coach Jackie Lazzarini will hold a meeting this Thursday (May 25) after school in Room 218 at the high school. Send her a message at jlazzarini@hufsd.edu for more information.

The team’s second season will get underway on Monday, August 21 at 8 a.m. in the south gym at Harborfields.

Huntington girls who will be in grades 7-12 next fall are eligible to participate. Those in seventh and eighth grade must qualify through the state’s Athletic Placement Process. For more information contact athletic director Jim Hoops at jhoops@hufsd.edu.

Lazzarini, who has many years of experience coaching gymnastics in Nassau County schools. She teaches health at Huntington High School and Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School and is looking forward to building the team into a powerhouse.

In addition to Coach Lazzarini, Harborfields also has a coach and both coaches will work with all team members. Practices and home meets will be held at Harborfields, which has two gyms making it easy to accommodate the gymnastics equipment.

Next fall’s schedule will feature home contests against Smithtown, Babylon, East Islip and Sachem and away meets at Ward Melville, Middle Country, William Floyd/Eastport-South Manor, Longwood/Westhampton Beach, Bellport/Shoreham-Wading River, Patchogue-Medford and North Babylon.

The Huntington squad enjoyed a very successful first season after an absence of decades at the high school.

Lazzarini worked alongside Tornadoes coach Matthew Canty to develop a strong squad. Harborfields/Huntington defeated Babylon, Hauppauge, Lindenhurst, Walt Whitman, Copiague and Hampton Bays/Southampton in league meets to finish with a 6-0 league mark.

Huntington was led by seventh grader Grace Bartasi who advanced all the way to the Suffolk championships. “Grace is a young and powerful student-athlete who shows great strength and compassion for others,” Lazzarini said. “She was our top all-around gymnast.”

Sophomore Lizzy James captured first place in floor exercise at the county coaches invitational and finished third in balance beam. “Lizzy is a very dedicated, competitive and passionate leader and student-athlete,” Lazzarini said.

Junior Kaitlyn Sansiviero was another standout at the coaches invitational, placing second in vault and fourth in floor exercise. “Kaitlyn is a very passionate, hardworking, dedicated and driven student-athlete,” the coach said.

The season marked Huntington’s first girls’ gymnastics team since the 1980s. Lazzarini said it was “an amazing team and a great first year. Huntington and Harborfields mixed very well together.”

Huntington/Harborfields expects to jump from Suffolk League III to League II next fall. “I predict that all of our top girls will return and I am hoping to have more Huntington girls’ trying out,” Lazzarini said.