Blue Devils Win Suffolk
Division II Crown
The Huntington High School boys’ track and field team used a string of record-setting performances to easily outdistance 15 opponents and win the Suffolk Division II crown by a breathtaking 52 point margin over runner-up West Islip.
The Blue Devils are rolling and have several of the top athletes in New York on their roster. Huntington will compete in the state qualifying meet on Friday and Saturday at Port Jefferson High School.
Huntington’s march to the Suffolk Division II team crown began on the first day of the two-day meet when junior Scott Gulizio turned in what many would call the perfect race in the 800m run. The second seeded teenager knew he had his hands full with Eastport-South Manor’s top-seeded Tom Meehan and third seeded Tom Gassner of Bellport, but it didn’t faze him.
“Scott sat on the heels of the top two runners during the first lap,” recounted Ron Wilson, Huntington’s head coach. “About 600 meters into the race, he made a huge move on the final turn and left the rest of the field behind him. What a race!” Gulizio crossed the finish line in 1:55.65, setting a new school record.
The Blue Devils collected 10 points for Gulizio’s first place finish, but it was only just the beginning of what was to become one of the Huntington track program’s most decisive victories in decades.
After Gulizio’s heroics, Blue Devil senior Nick Sherman and sophomore Kyle O’Brien stepped up for the 3200m run. Sherman finished third in the race in a new school record time of 9:47.73. Pat Hoover, currently a Commack track coach, had posted a time of 9:56.2 in the event for the Blue Devils in 1987. No one had ever come close to the mark until this season.
“Several weeks ago, Hoover was on hand at a track meet and congratulated Sherman when he broke it the first time this year by running 9:55,” Wilson said. “We’re proud of the progress Nick has made this season. He continues to improve each time he steps on the track.”
While Sherman executed the race as planned, O’Brien struggled early in the long run and was unable to keep pace, finishing 10th in 10:54. The time was markedly off the 10:11 he posted earlier in the year. “I told him every athlete or competitor has a bad day and you have to get over it and move on,” Wilson said. “He understood because the next day of competition would be a huge improvement for him.”
Senior Y’Majesty Allen also enjoyed a fine first day at the 16-team meet. The teenager broke school records in qualifying for the finals in the 100m and 200m dashes. Allen notched a handheld time of 10.67 seconds in the 100m dash, breaking his own record of 10.7 set last year when he shattered Joe Herring’s mark of 10.8 set more than three decades ago.
Allen’s handheld time of 21.71 seconds in the 200m dash broke Herring’s mark of 21.8 established in 1982. The senior also qualified for the 400m dash final after crossing the finish line in 50.20 seconds.
Allen’s brother, sophomore Infinite Tucker also had a splendid first day, qualifying for the finals in the 100m high hurdles and 400m intermediate hurdles. Sophomore Exayvian Crowell also qualified for the finals in the 400m hurdles.
The 4x400m relay team of freshman Kyree Johnson and Gulizio, Tucker and Allen also qualified for the finals in that event. In discus, junior Matteo McNeil threw a personal best of 132-feet to finish fourth and garner All-Division honors. Junior Jimmie Nelson couldn’t manage to get off a good throw and failed to reach the discus finals.
Nelson went on to redeem himself later in the competition when launched the shot put 47’2 to take fifth place. McNeill tossed the weighted ball 44-feet, but the distance wasn’t far enough to land a spot in the finals.
Second Day Glory for HHS
On the second day of the competition, records continued to fall, “just like the drenching rain that fell as we exited the stadium,” Wilson joked in reference to the turbulent weather.
Sherman and junior Alex Alvarenga ran remarkable races in the 3000m steeplechase. Sherman took first place in another school record-breaking time of 9:42. Alvarenga finished third in a swift 10:08.
Gulizio also enjoyed another solid performance. Seeded third d in the 1600m run, the teenager placed second behind Meehan of Eastport-South Manor. Gulizio’s time of 4:20.53 broke the previous Huntington record of 4:21.4 in the event set by Adam Moskowitz in 1998.
On day two, Allen was also splendid once again. In the 400m run, the teenager split a pair of Half Hollow Hills West runners coming down the backstretch and finished the race in a sizzling 48.74 seconds; a new school record. “This time ranks him No. 1 on Long Island among public schools and No. 5 in the state,” Wilson said.
Allen went on to win the 200m dash in 22.18 seconds. (His time of 21.95 in the preliminary round race ranks him in the top five in the state in the event.) The senior finished second in the 100m dash in 11.17 seconds, trailing only Jarried Redwood of Hills West, who crossed the line in 11.07.
Tucker placed second in the 110m high hurdles in 15.32 seconds behind Aaron McFadden of Copiague, who won the race 14.97. Tucker later redeemed himself in record-setting fashion when he circled the track in the 400m intermediate hurdles in 54.83 seconds. The fully automated time (FAT) calculates to a handheld time of 54.59, which eclipsed a 32-year old Huntington record in the event. Rich Scudieri posted a time of 54.60 in 1982 for the Blue Devils. Blue Devil sophomore Exayvian Crowell finished sixth in the 400m intermediate hurdles in 59.21.
Tucker is currently the No. 1 sophomore intermediate hurdler in the state and ranked third overall (intermediate and high hurdles) on Long Island and sixth in the state. By the way is also number three overall on the Island and number 6 in the state. Crowell placed 6th in 59.21.
Junior Sondy Jean-Baptiste and freshman Kyree Johnson earned Huntington points in the high jump. Jean-Baptiste placed third with a leap of 6-feet and Johnson took sixth by clearing 5’10.
Junior Joe Saginaw came close to clearing 11-feet in the pole vault, which would have been a personal best for him. But, instead he had to settle for 10-feet, which placed him 10th in the meet.
Blue Devil Relays are Strong
Huntington’s 4x400m relay team of Johnson, Crowell, Tucker and Allen ran a personal best of 3:20.18 to nip Hills West, which posted a time of 3:20.26. “That’s a close race,” Wilson said. “Allen, who is our anchor, timed it perfectly. He sat behind Fitzgerald of Hills West and then closed on him in the final 10 meters of the race. Hills West has won the 4x400m relay for the past two years in a row.”
The Blue Devils’ 4x400m relay team is ranked No. 1on Long Island among all public schools and No. 3 in the state.
Huntington’s 4x800m relay team of Alvarenga, Crowell, O’Brien and Sherman ran 8:15 to place second behind West Islip.
Final team standings: 1. Huntington-119 pts.; 2. West Islip-67; 3. Smithtown East-58; 4. Half Hollow Hills West-54.75; 5. Riverhead-51.5; 6. Smithtown West-48.5; 7. Eastport-South Manor-31; 8. Copiague-30; 9. Bellport-22; 9. Comsewogue-22; 11. Hauppauge-20; 12. East Islip-17.75; 13. Islip-17; 14. Kings Park-14.5; 15. Harborfields-6; 15. North Babylon-6.