Heinz & Driscoll Lead Blue Devil Boys’ Cross Country

The Blue Devil varsity boys’ cross country team wrapped up its season after a particularly warm fall. Huntington was coached by Southdown School physical education teacher John Romano and captained by sophomore Eric Heinz and senior Michael Mendikyan.

Heinz and sophomore Ronan Driscoll led the team as the top two runners. “Eric has brought great leadership and team building to the team this season,” Romano said. “Eric and Ronan really pushed each other in practice and in meets.”

The roster also freshman James Moy; sophomores Townsel Henry, Eli Levi and Adan Ntambwe; junior Juan Erazo Turcios and senior John Joyce IV.

“Each week we set personal best running times, which were much improved over last year,” Romano said. “The team was a very close knit group that bonded and worked very well together, pushing each other to get better. We are only graduating two runners in Mike Mendikyan and John Joyce and will be returning all of the top runners to the team.”

Romano believes that with one freshman, five sophomores and a junior, “the future looks very bright. We are hoping to add a decent number of Finley runners to our team next season to build our numbers. It look a little bit for things to click, but this team is very close. If you’ve been down to the track during our season, you’ll notice the entire team playing wall ball together before practice.”

With two years of eligibility remaining, Heinz and Driscoll will both be striving to achieve All-County honors. Heinz’s best time in league competition was 14:06 over 2.4 miles and 18:21 for 5K (3.1 miles), which qualified him for the Section XI championships.