Huntington Blue Devils Win National Relay Championship

Forget about being county and state champions; the Huntington High School’s boys’ winter track 4x400m relay won the national championship on Sunday afternoon March 13, 2016, at the New Balance Indoor Nationals at the Armory in Manhattan finishing in the fastest time in the United States this winter.

Running under the banner of the Huntington Track Club, Kyree Johnson, Shane McGuire, Lawrence Leake and Infinite Tucker made history topping No. 1 seeded Archbishop Carroll High School/Elite 6ix Track Club in Washington, DC and snapping its previous best mark in the country.

Huntington’s time of 3:16.09 is a new No. 1 performance in the US this winter and is the third fastest time ever in New York and ninth fastest ever nationally. It also set a new Suffolk record.

Johnson (48.887 seconds), McGuire (49.701) and Leake (49.802) put the Blue Devils in a position to win and Tucker made it happened, turning in a blistering fast time of 47.708 seconds on the fourth and final anchor leg.

“God bless America and God bless the Blue Devils,” said Tucker after anchoring the record setting Huntington relay.

The Blue Devils were splendid, outrunning the exceptional field from across the country as fans cheered. Huntington’s time was slightly more than one second off the fastest mark ever at the New Balance Indoor Nationals and three seconds off the national record of 3:13.06 set by North Carolina’s New Bern on February 6, 2009.

“We won because of hard work and dedication,” Johnson said. “We did it as a family and as a team.” The Blue Devil teammates and coaches Ron Wilson and Eli Acosta were ecstatic with the sensational performance.

“What can you say about these four young man that have been blessed with a rare talent?” Wilson asked. “They gave this race everything they had and look at what they were able to accomplish. They have made our school and community proud and put Huntington track on the national map.”

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Huntington’s 1600m sprint medley relay team captured All-American honors on Saturday March 12, 2016 in the New Balance Indoor Nationals at the Armory in Manhattan.

Kyree Johnson, Lawrence Leake, Infinite Tucker and Shane McGuire finished in a time of 3:30.94 to place sixth in a strong field of 22 behind elite teams from Virginia, Michigan, Louisiana, Massachusetts and North Carolina.

The Blue Devils All-American performance marks a new Suffolk County record in the event and is the fastest time in New York State this year.

Johnson and Leake ran the first two legs consisting of 200m each following by Tucker handling the third leg of 400m and McGuire running the anchor leg of 800m.

In other action, Huntington finished 11^th in a field of 45 in the 4x200m relay in a time of 1:29.68, which ties the Suffolk record set by Amityville in 2003. Johnson, Leake, Exzayvian Crowell and Tucker ran the race for the Blue Devils.