Blue Devil Track Juggernaut Unstoppable
The Blue Devil boys’ track and field juggernaut seems unstoppable at this point after the team claimed an 89-43 victory over host Sayville, the third win over an undefeated opponent in the past three weeks. Huntington’s line-up is deep with talent and the program is rapidly becoming one of Long Island’s best.
The victory at Sayville was impressive on many fronts. Not only did the Blue Devils top a very good team by an astonishing 46 points, but they won every event except for three.
“It was really nice seeing our team step-up their game against Sayville, who knew from the start they had their hands full,” said Ron Wilson, Huntington’s head coach.
Once again, seniors Brian Cotter and Josh Daves shined, displaying a series of outstanding performances. But, it was a freshman, Ryan Ackerman, who stole the show, running down his Sayville foe in the final 100 meters of the 3200m run and electrifying his teammates in the process. “It was great,” said Wilson about the remarkable finish. “The crowd of both fans and athletes were going wild as the two gentlemen raced down the backstretch.”
Senior Ted Calligeros continued his ascent in the sport, taking first in both shot put and discuss. From the field event specialists to the sprinters and distance runners, Huntington (6-0) was firing on all cylinders all afternoon.
Not content to rest on their league laurels, the Blue Devils next entered the St. Anthony’s Invitational, a huge gathering of more than 130 teams from across the metropolitan area. “I was quite pleased with the performances of our boys,” Wilson said about the group he brought to the premier spring competition.
Daves placed fourth in a field of more than 40 long-jumpers while dynamic freshman Tyriek Johnson placed in the top 15. Sandoval earned a medal in the discus by placing third in the unseeded section.
“Our 4 x 100m relay team waited patiently for the running of the relays at the end of the meet,” Wilson recounted. “We were originally placed in the second heat, but a scratch by a team in the first heat enabled us to go sooner. What a race! The crowd stood on their feet as the gun sounded.”
The Blue Devils took an early lead with great baton passes from Johnson to David Acton and from Acton to Jake Gayle, who stumbled at the start of his leg, but quickly recovered and managed to keep pace. But, by the time Gayle handed off to Daves, Huntington’s lead was cut to less than five meters. Daves was then edged out near the finish line. Still, Wilson was very pleased.
“We ended with our best time in recent years, 43.47 seconds, just a few tenths shy of the school record (43.14 FAT) that was set in 1982,” the coach said. “We did all of this in the cold. I'm hoping they can do better in the better weather conditions.”
Blue Devil Notes: Huntington handed Sayville (89-43) and Miller Place (85-55) their only losses of the season . . . The Blue Devils cruised past Islip on Tuesday, 91-38 to improve their record to a perfect 6-0.
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