A season that laid the foundation for future fall campaigns drew to a close for the Huntington boys’ cross country team at the Suffolk Frosh-Soph Championships at Sunken Meadow State Park.
Many Blue Devil runners notched personal best times in their respective race, which not only pleased them, but made first year head coach Bob Nill happy.
The 2.8 mile sophomore race attracted 75 top Suffolk tenth graders. Blue Devil star Jason Verville led Huntington by crossing the finish line in sixth place in a time of 15:52.23, significantly faster than his previous best of 16:19.
Blue Devil sophomore Jason Verville
with his Suffolk cross country medal.
“It was a great meet for everyone,” Verville said. “We all ran great races. It was a great day to run and we made the most of it. I was happy to break 16 minutes. Most of us ran personal bests and I hope we can carry this momentum into next season.”
Sophomores John Segreti (17:31.25), Rory Dara (18:08.96), Robert Caputi (19:08.85) and Chris Carmen (24:50.50) all ran fine races, too. Dara cut nearly two minutes off his previous best time.
The 2.8 mile freshman race drew a field of 90 Suffolk runners. Huntington’s Aidan Heller finished in eighth place in a time of 15:56.99. First year cross country runner Carlos Martinez placed 26th in 17:17.16. Matt Fallon also ran for the Blue Devils, clocking in at 29:59.00.
Heller’s fastest previous time over the same distance was 16:33, making his final race of the season an enormous success. Martinez was able to shave two seconds off his earlier best.
“We ran this race less than two days after our divisional meet, which was the first time the freshmen ran Cardiac Hill, which is super hard,” Heller said. “So we were very sore, but we put it aside and ran our races.”
Huntington entered only three freshmen in the race, so the Blue Devils weren’t included in the team standings. “We made it a race for PRs,” said Heller about the quest for career best times. “Overall, we were happy with our final races, but sad to finish out the season.”