Blue Devil Sports News
It’s all in the family for Kenny McCarthy. The Huntington High School senior has been accepted by James Madison University for the fall semester. His mother, Georgia Deren McCarthy played on JMU’s women’s basketball team while studying for an undergraduate degree at the NCAA Division I institution. Mr. McCarthy’s brother, John is currently a junior at JMU. A member of Huntington’s Class of 2012, he plans to study in Europe for a semester next year.
Double-Doubles for Lynch & Forster
After surrendering a double digit first half lead, the Huntington girls’ basketball team rallied in the fourth quarter for a come from behind 66-62 victory over visiting Kings Park in Suffolk League IV action.
Huntington (12-0 overall, 8-0 in league play) steadily built a 12 point lead before faltering in the second quarter. The Blue Devils led at halftime, 32-31. Kings Park (10-2 overall, 6-2 in league games) rallied in the final frame to grab the advantage, before Huntington once again starting hitting its shots and forcing turnovers to regain the upper hand.
Huntington seniors Samantha Lynch and Heather Forster both turned in double-double performances. Lynch had a game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds. Forster tallied 15 points and pulled down 22 rebounds. Senior Katie Nugent had 10 assists along with three points.
Brooke Baade came off the bench and scored 13 points, including four three-pointers. Mackenzie Maloney added four points. Katie Reilly and Lindsay Sullivan both scored two points.
Boys’ Track Motors Along
The Huntington High School boys’ winter track and field team is firing on all cylinders, with a string of superb performances in recent weeks.
Matteo McNeil (48-06) and Jimmie Nelson (47-07.25) finished second and third, respectively in shot put at a Section XI crossover meet last week at Suffolk-West in Brentwood. Tasean Betts (sixth place; 42-05.75), Sam Bergman (eighth place; 39-09) and Emmanuel Clerveaux (11th place; 38-01) also enjoyed fine showings, allowing the Blue Devils to completely dominate the event.
Kyle O’Brien placed third in the 1000m run in a time of 2:49.19, about two seconds behind first place finisher William Reed of East Islip, who crossed the finish line in 2:47.08.
Sondy Jean-Baptiste easily won the high jump with a leap of 6-04.
McCarthy Notches Double-Double
The Huntington boys’ basketball team raised its record to 11-1 overall and 8-0 in Suffolk League IV play with a 72-53 victory at Kings Park. The Blue Devils led 28-27 at halftime before outscoring the Kingsmen in the second half, 44-26.
Huntington senior Kenny McCarthy notched a double-double with 26 points (including 10 points from the free throw line) and 15 rebounds to lead the Blue Devils. Kenny Charles dropped 12 points and Scott Gulizio added 11. Quincy Nelson came off the bench to score six points. Andrew Hampton (four points), Shane McGuire (two points) and Nat Amato (one point) combined for another seven points.
Tucker Leaps Out of Shoes . . . Literally
Huntington track star Infinite Tucker leaped out of his shoes; literally, at last Sunday’s Suffolk Track Coaches Association’s Last Chance Meet at Suffolk-West in Brentwood.
“He had already run the trials of the hurdles and had just taken a jump in the long jump pit when his ankle rolled and his right foot came through the right side of the shoe,” said Ron Wilson, Huntington’s head coach. “I had to immediately buy another pair beause no one on the team wore a size 14. He ended up winning the long jump and winning the hurdles with the new pair of track shoes.”
Schwab’s 2nd Wind of East Setauket has a small tent during the meets at Suffolk-West, with t-shirts, shoes and track related items on sale. “Thank goodness they had Infinite’s size,” Wilson said.
H-ton Girls in Art Mitchell Class Meet
The Huntington High School girls’ track and field team impressed the field at the Art Mitchell class meet at Suffolk Community College West in Brentwood. The competition featured separate freshman, sophomore and open divisions. Blue Devil head coach Debra Cheskes found the results encouraging.
Suzie Petryk finished second in the open 600m run in 1:41.37, just behind first place finisher Jasmine Davis of Hauppauge, who crossed the line in 1:40.65. The field included 29 competitors.
Latoya Shand was 12th in a field of 48 in the open 55m dash with a time of 7.85 seconds. Savannah Richardson placed 16th in 7.94.
Louise Koepele finished fifth in a field of 25 in the sophomore 1500m run in a time of 5:26.49. Sara Stewart placed 15th out of 37 runners in the 1000m run, covering the race in 3:32.97. Eighth grader Hadley Clayton placed sixth in the freshman 1500m race walk in 9:30.58.
Ryann Gaffney placed fifth in the sophomore 55m hurdles in a time of 10.25 seconds, while Tara Wilson improved her previous best time to 11.77. Mackenzie Joseph was 10th of out 27 runners in the freshman 300m dash, crossing the finish lines in 48.36 seconds, about two seconds off the first place time of 46.15.
Marina Ruzic was sixth out of 30 runners in the sophomore 300m dash, finishing in a time of 45.89 seconds. Alexis Pastorelli was 15th in 47.95. The race drew 30 runners.
In the open 300m dash, Petryk (44.33) and Shand (44.36) placed fifth and sixth, respectively in a field of 36. Kayla Eidle was 11th in the open 1500m race walk, circling the distance in 7:58.06 as she creeps closer to Christine Simpson’s school record of 7:58.06 in the event.
Nicole Abbondandelo placed seventh in the open 3000m run in 11:20.49. There were 27 runners in the race.
Gaffney placed fourth out of 26 competitors in the sophomore long jump with a leap of 15-05.50. Taylor Moreno was sixth in a field of 27 in the open long jump with an effort that measured 15-11.25. Lexi Mills turned in a season best leap of 14-2.
Tara Byrnes placed seventh in the open shot put with a throw of 32-06.75. Ellyn Byrnes finished 18th with a toss of 28-04.00. The event drew 26 entries.
In the 55m dash, Latoya Shand (7.85), Savannah Richardson (7.94) and Janelle Fore (8.16) all notched personal bests for the season.
In the 1000m run, Louise Koepele was splendid, winning the sophomore race in a personal best time of 3:17. In the open 1000m, Sara Stewart also ran well, posting a personal best effort of 3:32.
In the sophomore 600m run, Marina Ruzic (1:47) and Alexis Pastorelli (1:50) both had personal best times. In the freshman 55m high hurdles, Mardnie Mentor (11.59) improved her time.
Anthony Puca Winning at Gettysburg College
H
untington High School wrestling alum Anthony Puca has already won 12 varsity matches as a freshman for the Gettysburg College mat squad.
Earlier this winter, Puca placed sixth at 197 lbs. in very talented field at the Messiah College Petrofes Invitational tournament. The competition featured five ranked teams including No. 1 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and No. 2 Messiah.
H-ton Relays Qualify for Millrose Games
Huntington boys’ and girls’ track relay teams have qualified for the famed Millrose Games. The Blue Devils participated in time trials last week at the New Balance Track & Field Center at The Armory in Washington Heights.
The Huntington boys’ 4x400m relay team of Exayvian Crowell, Kyree Johnson, Infinite Tucker and Lawrence Leake qualified with a time of 3:23.71. The Blue Devil girls’ 4x400 relay team consisting of Marina Ruzic, Latoya Shand, Alexandra Koumas and Suzie Petryk qualified after running the race in 4:05.61.
The Millrose Games are set for February 14 at the New Balance Track & Field Center at The Armory.