Matteo Armstrong helps Huntington relay team at Millrose Games Trials

There are moments from Wednesday night that Huntington’s Matteo Armstrong doesn’t even remember. It’s certainly easy to get a little lost in the moment, the lights and sounds at The Armory in Manhattan being what they are and the circumstances of his appearance on the track being what they were.

Armstrong, a junior distance runner by trade, was called up to Huntington’s top 4 x 400-meter relay unit, mere hours before they were to run at the Millrose Games Trials. He had been training to be on one of the team’s two 4 x 400 concoctions for weeks, but when a teammate was forced into quarantine, he was elevated to the top group.

And that’s not just any group. The Blue Devils are one of the most frequently successful relay teams in recent Long Island history.

"I was kind of excited because it [was] my opportunity to finally run in a big meet," said Armstrong, who ran the third leg.

Together with their new addition, Huntington won the Long Island 4 x 400 in 3 minutes, 29.30 seconds. They’ll compete in the same race at the Millrose Games, scheduled for Jan. 29 at The Armory.

Armstrong finished his leg in 54.6 seconds. Leadoff leg Jahmar Francis ran a 51.9, second leg Quincy Chery ran 52.2, and anchor leg Julio Martinez ran 51.2.

It was Armstrong’s first 400 at The Armory and he said he leaned into the spectacle of the moment.

"The adrenaline rush made me forget the race," he said. "It was just really fast. I got the baton and all I remember was handing off."

But upon further reflection, the details of his lap around the track came into focus.

"I got the baton around the same time as Uniondale," he said. "I might have gotten it a little bit before. I started off a little slow. As soon as Uniondale got it, he got a lead on me. I started out slow, went around 25 [seconds] for the 200 and then I saw that Uniondale was kind of slowing down, I closed the gap, and handed off in first."

Ward Melville was second at the trials in 3:31.15 and Uniondale was third in 3:35.03.

The Millrose Games are only a stop in Huntington’s rise to the top. Although the meet is prestigious, the ultimate goal is a state championship — as it almost always is for a program with Huntington’s pedigree.

Entering Thursday, Huntington’s time was the fifth-fastest in the state this season. Brooklyn’s Bishop Loughlin ran a 3:25.39 in December, a number that has stood for nearly a month, according to milesplit.com.

"The 4 x 4’s goal is always going to be to try to win states," Martinez said. "We’re just going to have to try to work hard to get there. Honestly, we can definitely run faster than what we did [at the trials]. We just have to put in the work before we can do that."

Syosset, East Meadow win early crowns

The postseason began in Nassau this week and two usual powerhouse programs got right back to winning. Syosset won Conference I for the second straight season.

Parker Kim won the weight throw, tossing 59 feet, 6 ¼ inches. Aaron Fishler was second, tossing 59-1. Euan Kang won the long jump (20-4.5) and the triple jump (40-2.25). It was the first time Syosset has had a conference champion in those two jumping events in at least 20 years, said Syosset coach Rich Cafiero.

Syosset’s 4 x 800 team, composed of Steven Berg, Jake Miller, Danny Chan, and Jordan Altman, won in 8:33.66.

East Meadow won Conference II, their ninth consecutive conference championship, coach Mike Ringhauser said. Sameer Grewal won the 600 in 1:29.10. Grewal, along with Nick Chimienti, Samir Khan, and Leo Masaoka-Guevara won the 4 x 800 relay in 9:16.25.

Aaron Schlectman cleared eight feet, three inches, and won the pole vault.