Sports

Huntington Boys Track Captures Soph Title at Meet

Huntington's 64 points gave it first place in a field of more than 40 Suffolk schools.

(Note: Article used with permission from the Huntington Union Free School District's Public Information Officer.)

As the Huntington boys' winter track and field team works to build something special, the Blue Devils captured the sophomore division at the Suffolk frosh/soph championships.

Huntington's 64 points gave it first place in a field of more than 40 Suffolk schools. The final standing came as a surprise to the team and head coach Ron Wilson. "As a matter of fact, we didn't even know we were in the lead," Wilson said. 

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The Blue Devils got the ball rolling with freshman Tyriek Johnson, who competed in the sophomore division long jump and hurdles. Johnson's blistering time of 8.26 seconds in the 55m hurdles earned him a gold medal in that event. He then leaped a season-best 20'5.5 in the long jump, his best performance of the season, giving him second place.

"That put us on the scoreboard," Wilson said. While Johnson was jumping, sophomores Trayvon Toney and Danny Plant were throwing the shot put. On his second throw, Toney threw the shot 37'11, his showing of the year.  The effort put him in first place. But, then an opponent from Port Jefferson stepped up and promptly tossed the shot 38'9 to capture gold.

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Plant earned Huntington an additional six points when he launched the shot 36'6 on his third attempt. "So we actually picked up 14 points from this event with Toney placing second and Plant placing third," Wilson gushed. "These were points that we really weren't expecting, but our boys thought otherwise." 

After locking up a bundle of points in the shot put, the Blue Devils headed back to the track. In the 600m dash, Jared Thorbourne knew he had some tough competition. His strategy was to get out first and hold the competition off in the final 200 meter lap. "He did exactly that," Wilson said. "He got out first with a clear lead. He was able to hold off cross-town rival Whitman, a Smithtown runner and a Riverhead runner who were close on his heels." 

Thorbourne crossed the line first in a time of 1:31.2 while teammate Ryan Ackerman, finished seventh in 1:34, his best time of the year so far. "He's a young athlete who continues to improve each year," Wilson said. 

In the freshman 600m, Ari Moskowitz and Peter Goldsmith both ran well with Moskowitz completing the race in 2:03 and Goldsmith crossing in 1:56. While neither time was good enough for a medal, the pair's competitiveness in the event nevertheless impressed Wilson. "This is their first year ever doing track and they enjoyed themselves running and participating," the coach said. 

In the 55m dash, Tyre Brown ran a 7.16 in the semi-finals to advance to the championship race. Going in, he wasn't the favorite," Wilson acknowledged. "Hills West, Longwood and a Commack runner had all run times better than Brown, but he surprised us all."

Brown had a clean take off out of the blocks and then stuck with his good mechanics, allowing his fine form to carry him across the finish line in first with a new best time of 7:03. "Let me tell you, he was a happy camper," Wilson said. 

Brown had earlier competed in the high jump but failed to medal in that event. "He said, 'Coach I refuse to leave here with out some gold,'" Wilson laughed. 

Dwyer's Gutsy Move

Brad Dwyer decided to enter the 1000m run rather than the 600m dash. The sophomore told Wilson he thought he would fare better in the longer distance and earn the team some needed points. He was right on the mark, finishing the race in 3:03, which would have earned Huntington a couple of points. Unfortunately he was disqualified for passing a runner on the inside part of the lane and going ever so slightly off the track.

"Passing on the inside is a gutsy move and our runners do it quite often," Wilson said about Dwyer's strategy. "They sometimes think its football season and they lower their shoulders and throw their elbows to clear other runners from their path. Brad was successful at the last meet when he did it, but this time he slipped a bit and went off the track for a couple of steps. So playing football can prove beneficial out here on the track!"  

With just the 1600m run and the relays remaining to be contested, Huntington discovered it had a small lead over Hills West, Smithtown and Commack. "As a matter of fact, going into this meet, the team and I had discussed how we had an outside shot to place in the top three overall," recounted Wilson. "It never actually entered our minds to place first because we only have about ten sophomores on the team and it's hard to cover all of the events."   

The Blue Devils didn't have any entries in the 1600m run so they knew no points would come from that race. "The other top teams did, so that gave them an advantage," Wilson said. "So, I told the relays they have to score and that would insure us a sophomore championship crown." 

Relays Rule Roost

Huntington 4 x 200m relay of Johnson, Reilly, Thorbourne, and Brown had their hands full. North Babylon didn't run their sophomore relay on Thursday night, but decided to run it at the championships. "They pressed us every step of the way," Wilson said. 

Johnson led off giving Reilly a slight lead over North Babylon, Hills West, and Copiague. "It was funny, because the second runner from Copiague looked at Conor Reilly and said, 'Oh I'm 'bout to smoke this cat,'" Wilson said. "He just didn't know Conor Reilly." 

After about 100 meters of the race, Reilly began to pull away just a bit from North Babylon and Copiague. He then passed the baton to Thorbourne who kept the lead before handing off to Brown. By then North Babylon had gained some ground and was suddenly on Brown's heels. 

"One thing about most of our runners, especially these fellows on the relay team, is that they are stubborn competitors," Wilson said. When it looked like North Babylon's anchor was going to pass Brown, he would box him out using those elbows. Then in the final stretch, Brown picked it up a bit and crossed the finish line first in a time of 1:41. 

The Blue Devils' 4 x 200m "B" relay team of Will Shaw, Trayvon Toney, Fredrick Wilson, and Danny Plant finished the race in 1:49 placing ninth. After this event, with the relay team earning Huntington an additional 10 points, the squad locked up first place. But, that didn't stop the 4 x 800m relay team from earning the Blue Devils an additional point.  Tyler Wolfe, Dwyer, Goldsmith and Ackerman came from behind to place sixth in a new best time for them of 9:32.

"Many of our boys left the meet with a lot of hardware," Wilson said. "Medals that is!


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