AMESBURY — The North Reading Hornets Boys and Girls Cross Country teams finished up their regular season dual meet schedule with a tough matchup with Amesbury on October 19 at Woodsom Farm. Both races were close, but Amesbury edged the Hornets by a score of 23-32 in the boys race and 25-31 in the girls race.
The losses dropped the Boys record to 2-3 and the Girls finished at 0-5.
Despite the losses, Hornets Head Coach Ryan Spinney had many positives to take away from the races.
“We ran well on a tough course. They just happened to be a little faster overall today,” said Spinney. “We had a number of kids step up and run their hearts out. Can’t ask for anything more than that. This will be a great motivator for the Cape Ann League Championship next week in Wrentham.”
Butler Bests the Field Once Again
Senior Captain Annalise Butler once again cruised to victory as she took 1st place in a time of 18:57 over the hilly 2.8 mile course. Sophomore Ava Collins continued her strong string of races as she took 4th overall in a time of 21:50. Junior Captain Allison Koenig (7th, 23:47), Junior Stella DaSilva (8th, 25:07), Sophomore Vanessa Steinmeyer (11th, 27:38), Junior Sophie Saquet (14th, 33:40) and Freshman Miriana Bornstein (15th, 35:40) rounded out the Hornet competitors on the day.
“Annalise set a strong tone for us and our our whole group had strong efforts,” said Spinney. “Lots to be proud of going forward.”
Boys Fall in Tough Matchup
Seniors Michael Hemme, Rocco Tammaro and Captain Nick Fabrizio were the first 3 Hornets to complete the 2.8 mile course as they finished 3rd, 5th and 7th respectively in times of 17:19, 17:55 and 18:04. Amesbury was just a little too deep as they took places 1, 2, 4, 6 and 10 to snare the victory. Sophomore Nico Johnson (8th, 18:14), Senior Matthew Manupelli (9th, 18:48), Freshman Cole Fabrizio (11th, 19:30), Senior Ben Meier (12th, 19:34), Senior Shane Hanson (14th, 19:49), Senior Captain Christian DaCosta (16th, 20:19), Sophomore Alex Mitasev (17th, 20:50), Junior Dylan Zecher (18th, 21:04), Freshman Gerard Jorda (20th, 21:17), Sophomore Michael Mahoney (21st, 21:40), Sophomore Raffi Toby (23rd, 22:04), Sophomore David Wyatt (24th, 22:54) and Senior Zach Rosatone (25th, 25:30) rounded out the Hornet competitors on the day.
“We competed hard but it just wasn’t meant to be,” said Spinney. “We know we have a chance to be in the top group of teams at the CAL Open but we need to run our very best. We look forward to the chance to compete in that event.”
The Hornets will compete at the Cape Ann League Open at Wrentham Developmental Center on Saturday, October 29.
