Blue Devils in County Track Championships this Weekend

Young but, experienced; that’s a good way to describe both the Huntington indoor boys’ and girls’ track and field teams. They are both building up steam late in the season as they prepare for the Suffolk championships this weekend.

Weather permitting, the Blue Devil girls will take to the track on Saturday with the boys following on Sunday. Both county meets are set for Suffolk West in Brentwood at 2 p.m.

The Huntington girls’ team has throwers who boast some great marks in shot put. Seniors Jesley Martinez and Anis Oyuela will set their eyes Ciara Hunt of North Babylon who is No. 1 in the county with a throw of 34’1.5. Martinez won the league championship with a personal best distance of 33’1.25. That mark ranks her No. 5 in the county. Oyuela personal best mark of 32’6 puts her in the county’s No. 9 position. “It’s going to be an exciting meet in the shot put that day,” Blue Devil head coach Dennis Scruggs said.

On the track, junior Norah Moskowitz finds herself in prime position to claim a county crown in the 600m dash. She is currently ranked No. 2 with a time of 1:39.55 behind Julia Schmitz of Ward Melville who posted a time 1:38.99. Not far behind the top two is Brook Pfeiffer of Longwood who has a mark of 1:40.25. “This is going to be an exciting race to watch,” Scruggs said.

The boys’ championship paints a different story. The shot put has been dominated by Anthony Pisciotta of Commack, who has the top mark in the county of 55’5. Jerimiah Newsome of Patchogue-Medford is right behind him with a toss of 50’9.25.

Huntington will have five throwers eligible to compete in the field of 24 throwers. Senior Jean Riboul’s personal best of 47’8.5 ranks him No. 5 and junior Colby Curran is No. 6 with a toss of 46’7.75. Seniors Matt Ross and Banny Soc Concua both qualified for the meet along with junior Zachary Matthews.

On the track, junior Eric Heinz has shown that he has both speed and strength. He is currently the county’s leader in the 600m dash with a personal best time of 1:22.73. Close on his heels is Alex Toran or Northport, who also ran 1:22.78. “This is going to be a great race,” Huntington head coach Ronald E. Wilson said.

Junior Adan Ntambwe will look to be competitive in the 600m dash as well as he ran 1:26.60 and will be ranked No. 6 going into the county meet. Senior Titan Elysee will contest the 300m dash where he has shown great improvement during the season, but a tweaked hamstring stumped his progress. He will have a shot at top ranked Jimmy Peters of Lindenhurst, who ran 35.33. “Elysee ran 35.71 in December and is looking to do much better this weekend,” Wilson said.

Junior Robbie Campbell has his hands full in the triple jump. Some of the state’s top triple jumpers are in Suffolk County. “Campbell will need to have a breakout day to get on the podium in this event,” Wilson said. “He has managed to grab second and third place finishes in his last few meets. His best jump of 40’10 ranks him No. 8 in the meet.

Huntington’s quartet of Campbell, Elysee, Heinz and Ntambwe will look to keep their county title in the 4x400m relay. They outlasted Longwood for the gold last year. However, once again, Longwood comes in with the top ranked time in the county with 3:24.26. Huntington’s best is 3:31 which ranks them No. 4. No. 2 is North Babylon at 3:28 and No. 3 is William Floyd at 3:29. “This is going to be an exciting race as well,” Wilson said.

Huntington’s 4x200m relay of sophomore Wilmer Benitez and juniors Zayvion McCoy, Dylan Michaelson and Braedan Kline will have an outside shot to get a medal. Their best time of 1:38 ranks them outside of the top six, “but anything is possible,” notes Wilson.

Sophomore Spencer Sturges has made great strides in the 55m high hurdles. His best time of 8.61 qualifies him for an opportunity to improve and compete in the meet.

Scruggs and Wilson are both looking for some surprise performances as both strive to finish as high in the team standings as possible.