Blue Devil Boys’ Golfers Claim Awards

The Huntington varsity boys’ golf team won the league title last fall and made a run at a county crown. At the 56th annual Blue Devil senior athletic awards ceremony in the high school auditorium, three members of the Class of 2024 were presented with awards for all they have done to make the program one of Suffolk’s finest.

Declan Kehoe (Most Valuable), Nicholas Sclafani (Coaches Award) and Thomas Girimonti (Most Improved) were all honored as head coach Michael Marinello, JV coach James Graber and volunteer coach Robert Colvin joined the festivities.

Mr. Kehoe plans to attend Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Mr. Sclafani is headed to Penn State University. Mr. Girimonti intends to study at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

The Huntington golf team was first organized in 1935 and had as its first members, John Whelan, Harry Juliano, Nick Provenzano, Frank Sposato, Henry Roy and Allen Cook. Roy served as the team captain.

Teacher Robert Folsom, who held an undergraduate degree from the University of New Hampshire and a master’s degree from Columbia University was Huntington’s first golf coach.

“At the beginning of the season there was a country tournament held at Southampton in which John Whelan won second place,” states the 1936 Huntington High School yearbook. “During 1935, the team succeeded in winning seven of the eight matches in which they competed. This year, the same six players have represented Huntington under a larger schedule and although the team is newly organized, we feel sure that it has been one of the county leaders in the sport of golfing.”

Golf has always been popular in Huntington. The Blue Devils have won league titles in 1962, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1988, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2023. Huntington won Suffolk championships in 1965, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1977 and 1978. The team won the state championship in 1978.