Huntington relay team wins 1,600-meter medley at Indoor Nationals

Kender Edouazin was nervous and he didn’t really know why. The Huntington senior had been in big relays before. In fact, he and his team had won big relays before and recently. But, this one felt a bit different.

“I don’t really get this nervous,” Edouazin said. “I was trying to combat it. I know it doesn’t even show, but there were butterflies in my stomach. It was so strange to me. I’m normally used to high-level meets . . . But we were the top seed, all the pressure on us, and I really had to perform.”

Nerves or not, Edouazin didn’t show it, and neither did any of his three teammates. The Huntington foursome, also comprised of Jahmar Francis, Christian Delgado and Matt Armstrong, won the 1,600 meter sprint medley relay championship in 3 minutes, 33.08 seconds on the first day of Nike Indoor Nationals at the Armory in Manhattan.

If Edouazin’s nerves were pumping a little before the race, they certainly didn’t cease during the final leg. He watched as Armstrong battled step-for-step with Freeport’s Danzil Monk Jr on the home straightaway. Freeport finished second in 3:33.13.

“All of the emotions were surging through me,” Edouazin said of watching Armstrong. “I was happy, excited, nervous. I didn’t know what to think. Everything was happening in flashes. For 10 seconds down that straightaway, I was saying ‘please Matt, please Matt.’ And, he was able to do it.” 

Running against Monk Jr. on that final leg was a help for Armstrong, who said they’ve faced each other three times over the last month. That kind of familiarity is a relative rarity at national meets.

“I’ve held him off barely each time,” Armstrong said of Monk Jr. “He’s gotten closer each time . . . I thought ‘I have to hold on for dear life.’ And I barely did. I knew he had a fast finish and I knew I had to have a faster finish.” 

The victory was Huntington’s second major performance of the week. Edouazin, Francis, and Armstrong ran on the 4X400 meter relay that won the state public school championship last weekend.     

Chaminade placed fifth in 10:15.64 in the distance medley relay, good for All-American status. Reef Kirchner, Michael Touma, Jack Higgins and Patrick Mulryan ran 10:15.64. Pennsylvania’s Episcopal Academy won in 10:08.93.

In the field, Syosset’s Parker Kim earned an All-American fourth in the weight throw, tossing 71 feet, 10 ¼ inches. Georgia’s Max Herman tossed 78-11 ¾ to win the national championship.

After throws of 68 — 5 ¼ and 65- 11 ½ on his first two attempts of the finals, Kim sat in seventh place with one throw left. He needed to move into sixth to clinch All-American status. Kim sensed that there may have been a hesitancy in those first two throws. For the final one, he had to let all of that go.

“The turns just felt a lot more cohesive,” Kim said of his final toss. “I wasn’t really pulling or dragging as much as I usually do. The weight was more with me. I was more patient on that throw than I was throughout the rest of the competition.”