Lewis Rewrites History Books at Suffolk Invitational
Shaheem Lewis rewrote the Huntington High School boys' spring track and field history books at the Suffolk Coaches Spring Invitational at Commack High School last Saturday.
The 6'8 Blue Devil senior shattered the Huntington shot put record with a toss of 53'2.75 and captured a silver medal in the competition on a cold, windy and somewhat gray day.
Lewis fouled on two throws in the preliminary round of shot put and was on the verge of eliminated. "It took a recommendation from both me and the parent of his friend Ben Bonhurst of Smithtown West to just punch his last throw," said Ron Wilson, Huntington's head coach. "A punch is just a standing throw with a glide or rotation."
Lewis went with the suggestion and it worked as he punched a 49foot throw and advanced to the finals behind Bonhurst of Smithtown West (54'8.25), Chris Pensa of St. Anthony's (51'6), and Dennis Russell of Longwood (50'10).
"Lewis was having a difficult time adjusting to the circle with his glide and continued struggle on his next throw," Wilson said. "However, on his second toss he was able to get his footing right and managed to get a mark of 51'8. He looked at me and said, 'I think I got it.' And got it he did!"
On his last toss, Lewis threw the shot a remarkable 53'2.75. "When the official gave the mark, his teammates erupted with cheers and so did I," Wilson said. "Everyone else looked at us and was probably wondering why we were so happy since his toss came up a foot shy of the top mark and the gold medal. He didn't even recognize it until one of his teammates told him. Everyone, including the winner, shook his hand and congratulated him on his throw.
The previous Huntington High School record of 52'11.25 had stood since 1978 when it was set by Andrew Hinton. Jovan Hairston came close to breaking the record in 2003 when he launched the weighted ball 52'4. Dante Allen came even closer in the 2010 state qualifier when his tossed the shot 52'10.25. Now, 35 years after Hinton established the record, Lewis has claimed the mark for his own.
"We're just so proud of him and the amazing work he's doing in track and field," Wilson said. "I'm guessing all of the excitement went to his head because he didn't fare well in discus, his favorite event."
While Lewis is ranked sixth in the state in discus, he managed to win only a bronze medal the discus, finishing fourth with a throw of 148'7. Former teammate Trayvon Toney, who owns Huntington's discus record with a mark of 170-feet, called from Hobart College, where he is a freshman, after hearing that Lewis had broken his school record. After being told that Lewis had broken the shot put record, not the discus mark, Toney congratulated the senior and wished him continued success.
In other action for Huntington:
• Blue Devil sophomores Matteo McNeil and Jimmie Nelson continue to rack up, earning bronze medals by placing fifth and sixth respectively in the frosh/soph division of discus. The winning distance of 112'3.5 was about seven feet short of the furthest that McNeil and Nelson have thrown this spring. Huntington's Carlos Ramirez finished ninth in the event.
• McNeil won the sophomore shot put by throwing 46'0.5. Nelson placed fourth in the event.
• Junior Y'Majesty Allen was superb in his first invitational of the season. "His plan was to enter the 100m dash and the 200m dash, but with the temperature being chilly we pulled him out of the 100m dash," Wilson said. Allen is coming off dual injuries and the Blue Devil coaches didn't want to push Allen too far. He earned a bronze medal in the 200m in a time of 22.93 seconds.
• Freshman hurdler Exayvian Crowell earned medals in the 110m high hurdles, finishing fifth in 16.68 seconds and second in the 400m intermediate hurdles in 61.21.
• Freshman Infinite Tucker was seventh in the 110m high hurdles crossing the line in 17.21.
Blue Devil Notes: Huntington split the team's first four meets and entered this week with a 2-2 record . . . The Blue Devils have upcoming meets with Bellport and Islip . . . Huntington will compete in an invitational at Smithtown West on Saturday (April 27).