Huntington’s Jesley Martinez Canales Win League Shot Put Title

Huntington senior Jesley Martinez Canales captured first place in the shot put at the Section XI League III track and field championships at Suffolk-West in Brentwood. It marks the girls’ program’s first league crown in several years.

Martinez set a new personal record of 33’1.25 feet, moving her into the Top 10 in Section XI. “Assistant coaches Chris Taylor and Madison Baudille have done an outstanding job developing the throwers, with every athlete in the group recording a personal best this season,” Blue Devil head coach Dennis Scruggs said.

In other action:

• Norah Moskowitz continued her impressive season with a third place finish in the 1000m, lowering her time by another two seconds to 3:06.04. She is now ranked Top 10 in Section XI in two events.

• Emma Boyle closed out her season on a high note, running 3:23 in the 1000m, a 10-second season best improvement.

• Lena Sullivan and Hanna Boyle continued to make major strides, running 1:46.71 and 1:48.94 respectively. Both athletes posted significant personal records and came close to qualifying for the county meet, signaling a bright future for the program.

• The 4x400m relay placed fifth overall and will advance to counties with the goal of qualifying for the state meet. The relay team consists of Norah Moskowitz, Lena Sullivan, Hanna Boyle and Jamyn Husselbeck.

• The young sprint group also showed strong progress. Lauren Lewis, Mackenzie Conklin and Mickaella Excellent-Mesidor ran their fastest times of the season in the 55m. They were joined by senior Dana Saramago, who battled injuries throughout the year, in the 4x200m relay, where the group recorded their fastest time of the season.

“Overall, this was a great meet,” Scruggs said. “Sometimes the score doesn’t fully reflect the progress being made. This team may be small, but they are mighty when they compete. I’ve really enjoyed watching how this group has come together over the past two weeks. They are resilient and resilience can’t be measured. The sky is the limit over the next few weeks.”

Alyssa Salese, a Huntington alum and Long Island Marathon race winner is Huntington’s distance coach. She’s made a remarkable difference with a variety of runners.

“A special thank you to Coach Salese,” Scruggs said. “She is a dream to work with, and I’m excited about what we can continue to build together in the months and years ahead.”