H-ton Girls’ Track Finishes Fifth in Suffolk Division II
A great second day propelled the Huntington High School girls’ track and field team to a fifth place finish in the Suffolk Division II Championships. The Blue Devils are now in the midst of preparing for the state qualifier this Friday and Saturday at Port Jefferson.
Huntington’s 39 points placed the team in the upper tier at the Division II meet, soaring on the wings of some fine individual and relay efforts during the two-day competition.
“We had a fantastic second day,” said Shawn Anderson, Huntington’s head coach. “Over the two days, we had some really great standout performances.”
As she usually does, Suzie Petryk led the way for the Blue Devils. The talented junior finished second in the 2000m steeplechase in a new school record time of 7:16.4, which smashed the previous standard of 7:33. Junior Kiara Roman notched a personal best in the challenging event, crossing the finish line in 8:11.79. Petryk also took fifth place in the 800m run with a personal record time of 2:19.81.
The 4x800m relay team of Marina Ruzic (2:33), Alexandra Koumas (2:25), Louise Koepele (2:30) and Petryk (2:21) captured first place in 9:51. “The race unfolded very well,” Anderson said. “We were sitting in seventh at the first exchange (Ruzic to Koumas). The other teams loaded up their front end, giving the freshman Ruzic a hard battle. But she ran tough. Koumas, a sophomore, gained lots of ground and took us to second by the next exchange to Koepele. Louise, only a freshman, also ran very smart with even splits (75 and 75) and held ground for Suzie to receive the baton. Suzie ran hard from the gun, catching first and not looking back. She pulled into the lead in the first 100 meters and didn’t let up. It was an exciting race to watch, as two teams were favored ahead of us!”
Junior Katie Nugent was splendid in the five-event pentathlon competition, finishing third with 2,281 points. The teenager won the 800m run and shot put, took fourth in long jump and eighth in both the 100m hurdles and high jump. “This was her first time in the event and it was a fantastic effort by an all-around athlete,” Anderson said.
Sophomore Nina Cartwright cleared 9’6 to capture second place in pole vault. Koumas raced to a fifth place finish in the 400m intermediate hurdles in a new school record time of 65.71 seconds, shaving more than one second off her previous record mark in the event.
Senior Christine Simpson set a new school record of 7:53.83 in the 1500m race-walk en route to fifth place finish. “It’s a grueling event and she beat the prior record by five seconds,” Anderson said. “She now owns the indoor and outdoor school records in the 1500m race walk.”
The top four finishers in each event earned All-Division honors, including Petryk in steeplechase, Nugent in pentathlon, Cartwright in pole vault and the 4x800m relay team of Ruzic, Koumas, Koepele and Petryk.
Final team standings: 1. North Babylon: 131; 2. Kings Park: 77; 3. Comsewogue: 52; 4. East Islip: 42; 5. Huntington: 39; 6. Half Hollow Hills West: 35.5; 7. Harborfields: 34; 8. Copiague: 32; 9. Smithtown West: 28.5; 10. West Babylon: 28; 11. West Islip: 21; 12. Riverhead: 18.5; 13. Bellport: 18; 14. Eastport-South Manor: 16.5; 15. Hauppauge: 16; 16. Islip: 13; 17. Deer Park: 10; 18. Smithtown East: 8.