Boys’ outdoor track splits first two meets of season

THE NRHS boys’ track teams swept the hurdle events in their season-opening victory over Essex Tech. (Eric Evans Photo)

NORTH READING — The boys’ track and field team started their season with a convincing 93-52 victory over Essex Tech at home on April 1.

The Hornet sprinters scored 27 points to Essex Tech’s 10 points. Seth Evans won the 200 Meters (24.05) and took 3rd in the 100 Meters (12.00) while Kieran Miller took 2nd in the 200 Meters (24.15).  

Torin Nickerson (55.73) and Elias Hunt (57.29) went 1-2 in the 400 Meters. Miller, Evans, Blaine Evans and Noah Schifano combined their efforts to win the 4 x 100 Meter Relay (47.44). Nickeron, Hunt, Marshall Murray, and James Dillon added another victory in the 4 x 400 Meter Relay (4:00.60).

In the hurdles the Hornets dominated, sweeping the 110 Meter Hurdles and taking first and second in the 400 Meter Hurdles. Daniil Barnetski won the 110MH in 16.50 seconds, followed closely by Kaio Pancini (16.86) and Nico Johnson (17.94). Torin Nickeron won the 400 Meter Hurdles (1:04.10) with Nico Johnson (1:04.40) right at his heels, leading to a 44-11 advantage over their opponents. 

Essex Tech closed the deficit in the distance events, outsourcing the Hornets 26-1 with Nalo Benedict taking 3rd in the Two Mile (11:43.87). This brought the score to 45-37.  

But the Hornets pulled away with dominating performances in the field, winning seven of seven events and outscoring Essex Tech 48-15.

The High Jump squad of Daniil Baranetski (5’ 2”), Anthony Spina (5’ 2”) and Michael Mahoney (5’ 0”) easily swept the event. Kaio Pancini (8’ 0”) and Damian Andrusyshyn (7’ 6”) went 1-2 in the Pole Vault. Kieran Miller won the Long Jump with an excellent 21’ 2” leap. Noah Schifano won the Triple Jump (41’ 3.5”) with Kaio Pancini (36’ 3.25”) taking 3rd.  

The Shot Put squad swept with Leo Romanski (40’ 9”), Otto Indelicato (39’ 11”) and Michael DelVecchio (39’ 10”). Romanski won the Discus Throw (136’ 3”) and Nikolas Laverdiere won the Javelin Throw (126’ 3”) with Jason Lord in 3rd (107’ 11”).

This brought the final score to 93-52 with Hornets easily winning the meet. 

The Hornets traveled to Triton the following week on April 10 where they lost a close one, 84-61.

To start the meet, Torin Nickerson won the 400 Meter Hurdles (1:02.11) with Nico Johnson taking 3rd (1:04.36). In the 100 Meter Hurdles, Daniil Baranetski (17.11), Kaio Pancini (17.37), and Nico Johnson (18.19) went 1-2-3.  

Kieran Miller (12.03) took 3rd in the 100 Meters while Seth Evans (24.83) took 3rd in the 200 Meters and Nickerson took 2nd in the 400 Meters (54.41).

Despite these performances, the Vikings outscored the Hornets 60-22. The Hornets fought back, outscoring the Vikings in the field events 39-24 and winning five of seven events but it was not enough to close the gap.  

In the Long Jump, Kieran Miller won (20’ 2”) and Noah Schifano (19’ 1.5”) was 3rd. Schifano won the Triple Jump (40’ 9.5”) and Pancini (36’ 7”) was 3rd. Otto Indelicato won the Shot Put (43’ 4”) and Leo Romanski (42’ 3”) was 2nd. In the Discus Throw, Romanski (130’ 4”) was 2nd and Indelicato (129’ 6”) was 3rd. Michael Murphy won the Javelin Throw (126’ 3”) with Nick Laverdiere (123’ 9”) taking 2nd. Nico Johnson (9’ 0”) led a 1-2-3 sweep in the Pole Vault with Damian Andrusyshyn and Brian Conlon also vaulting 9’ 0”.

The Hornets will take on Pentucket on April 24 and Newburyport on May 8 to wrap up the regular season competition in the Cape Ann League. There are also multiple invitationals and relay meets that they will take part in over the next four to six weekends. Look for stories about those meets in future Transcript articles.