Top Blue Devil Varsity Badminton Players Honored

The top seniors on the Huntington High School varsity boys’ and girls’ badminton teams were recognized at the 56th annual Blue Devils senior athletic awards ceremony. Head coach Alexander Nelson presented handsome plaques to six members of the Class of 2024.

The sport debuted in the spring of 2023, practicing and playing home meets in the high school gym. The Blue Devils became more competitive this past spring and Nelson, himself a former Smithtown varsity player, is striving to develop a championship squad.

The top boys’ team seniors included Harry Cuadra (Most Valuable), Jordan Argueta-Guzman (Most Improved) and Christian Chabla-Leon (Coaches Award).

The top girls’ team seniors were Megan Lewis (Most Valuable), Lilebeth Banegas-Barahona (Most Improved) and Dianna Diaz-Portillo (Coaches Award).

Plans for developing the sport include badminton units in physical education classes at both the high school and J. Taylor Finley Middle School and intramural programs at the two schools.

The district is fully behind both the boys’ and girls’ badminton programs, outfitting the team in snazzy uniforms and providing the infrastructure and supplies needed to compete at a high level.

“The two squads went up against many long established programs, but displayed wonderful skills and strategies that left opposing coaches believing that it won’t be long before both Huntington teams are challenging for the league titles,” master of ceremonies Michael Schwendemann told the crowd of 300 at the athletic awards night.