Blue Devil Sports News
Several dozen Huntington High School boys' soccer alumni players turned out for this spring's reunion game on a recent Saturday. The White team defeated the Blue squad, 6-3 on the wet turf at Blue Devil Stadium.
With two goals apiece, Jason Suarez and Peter Delfino shared co-MVP honors for the White team, which also received goals from Tyler Balzer and Jose Alfaro. The Blue team's scoring came from Alex Ferzan, BJ Johnson and Jesse Jiminez.
Abt's Amazing ND Career
Huntington High School alum Kailene Abt closed out an excellent career with the Notre Dame University women's lacrosse team by earned All-Big East second team honors. Abt started all 19 Fighting Irish games this past spring, scoring 26 goals and adding six assists.
Abt, a 2007 Huntington graduate, is among the Notre Dame leaders in career goals, points and draw controls. She took 59 shots this past season, including 41 on goal, picked up 11 ground balls and won 20 draw controls.
The 22-year old majored in sociology at Notre Dame.
Szilagy is Fabulous
Huntington High School senior Eric Szilagy earned All-League and All-Division honors "by running an absolutely fabulous race in the 400m dash," said Ronald Wilson, Blue Devil spring boys' track and field coach. The teenager ran a personal best 50.8 seconds, placing third and coming within one second of the school record.
"His hard work paid off with big dividends for him because he earned a lot of post-season honors," Wilson said. Szilagy also participated in the triple jump and was a member of the 4x400m relay team. The senior is headed to the University of Connecticut.
Pugliese's Run at an End
Huntington High Schools senior Emilie Pugliese is closing out quite a run this week. The teenager will graduate Friday evening after starring on the Blue Devil soccer, winter track and lacrosse teams and earned 10 varsity letters. She is headed to High Point University in North Carolina on a lacrosse scholarship.
Pugliese was named All-Conference in soccer as a junior and senior, was All-Division in lacrosse as a sophomore and junior and All-County and All-Tournament this spring. She was also All-League in winter track as both a sophomore and junior.
This summer Pugliese will be training at High Point as well as in the Huntington area. She is looking forward to playing lacrosse in college and excited to be joining a program that won its conference championship this past season.
This year Pugliese garnered MVP awards in both soccer and lacrosse and also won the Section XI Gold Key Award. She enjoyed a great senior season on the lacrosse field with 24 goals, 28 assists and 31 ground balls. She played attack, midfield and defense.
Johnson is Magnificent
Tyriek Johnson excelled in the 110m high hurdles, 400m intermediate hurdles and long jump for the Huntington boys' track and field team during the winter and spring seasons.
Johnson tore his left hamstring near the end of the indoor season, which put the spring campaign in serious jeopardy. But, the sophomore worked with Dr. James Paci of Stony Brook University, who Blue Devil head coach Ron Wilson credits with "saving" Johnson's spring season.
"He was able to return back to action at the end of the season," Wilson said. "He is arguably the best all-around athlete here in Huntington." Johnson is also a top football player.
Section XI granted Johnson a medical waiver so he could compete in the post-season championships this spring and he responded by winning the 110m high hurdle Division II crown for the second consecutive year, in a swift time of 14.72 seconds. He also won the long jump title with a leap of 21'11.
Johnson went on to place fifth in the 110m high hurdles state championship with a new FAT school record of 14.51 seconds and fifth in the state federation meet, which includes all public, private and parochial schools.
Toney is Terrific
Trayvon Toney is a terrific sprinter and thrower for the Huntington High School boys' track and field team. "Toney continues to 'wow' us all at track meets," Blue Devil head coach Ron Wilson said. He's an exceptional in discus and not too shabby in the shot put either. He finished the regular season with a 6-1 mark in discus, with the only loss coming to teammate Dante Allen.
"He fell into a slump midway through the season, experiencing some difficulty staying inside the circle," Wilson said. At the Suffolk Division II Championships, Toney finished second in discus with a throw of 153'1. At the Town of Babylon Championships at Lindenhurst High School, Toney threw 158'3 to capture first place.
"He's a great athlete that has unlimited potential," Wilson said. At the Section XI state qualifier, Toney launched a personal best, becoming county champ and setting a new school record with a throw of 170'7. The effort established him as the No. 1 junior discus thrower in New York and No. 4 overall.
"He is now considered one of the Milesplit US First Team Elite," Wilson said. "He is one of four from the New York area. Unfortunately, he did not do well at the state championship. He fouled all three of his throws."
Allen Very Impressive
Dante Allen is headed to Stony Brook University on a football scholarship, but this spring the Huntington High School junior was a sprinter and thrower on the Blue Devil boys' track and field team.
"Allen was very impressive this spring," head coach Ron Wilson said. Allen finished the regular season with a 5-2 mark in shot put, losing only to teammate Richie Fernandez and county champion Brandon Reynolds of Kings Park.
Allen placed second in the Suffolk Division II Championships, behind Reynolds, throwing a personal best of 50'10. At the state qualifier Allen again placed second behind Reynolds, establishing another personal best with a throw of 52'10. The performance, which was one-quarter inch shy of the 33-year old school record, qualified the teenager to participate in the state championship. His throw was an inch and a quarter short of the 33 year old school record.
Allen went on to earn a sixth place medal at the state championships with a throw of 50'4.