Published in the May 25, 2017 edition
Captains hold the championship plaque from the CAL Open. Left to right: Zach Robarts, George Guinta, Tom Helms, Jenson Kaithamattam, and Andrew Shedd.
By RYAN SPINNEY
NORTH READING – On Saturday May 20th, the North Reading Boys Spring Track team accomplished an impressive feat of winning the Cape Ann League Open Meet title with an impressive score of 119.5 points, defeating second place finisher Pentucket (82 points) and third place finisher Masco (79 points) by sizeable margins. Anchored by 3 first place finishes by the Pole Vault, Shot Put, 110 Meter Hurdles, and High Jump, North Reading claimed victory and keep their undefeated 2017 campaign alive.
“This is an amazing accomplishment for our program. The boys really wanted to win this one this year as last year we fell short in accomplishing that goal. Many guys stepped up to achieve season bests and it led to our victory today. I am extremely proud that they were able to accomplish this feat as it rewards all the hard work and dedication they have had each day of the season,” said Head Coach Ryan Spinney.
First place finishers and Cape Ann League Open Champions, Jenson Kaithamattam (Pole Vault), Bob O’Donnell (Shot Put), Cam Davis (High Jump) and Billy Lord (110 Meter Hurdles) led the Hornet attack with impressive performances. Kaithamattam out vaulted the rest of the field with an 11’ 0” vault and tied his season best. O’Donnell cruised to victory with a heave of 49’9.25” in the shot put and that give him an impressive two foot victory over the rest of the league! Cam Davis had an amazing day as he improved by 5 inches over his personal best in the High Jump to take the event and become league champion with a stellar leap of 6’ 0”, which ties him for 5th all time in school history. Freshman Billy Lord stunned the crowd at Triton as he bested the class of the league in the 110 Meter Hurdle final with a jaw dropping time of 15.65 and knocking off previously undefeated Brendan Amello of Triton in the process. Quite a feat for the young budding star in the making!
A number of second places increased the Hornets total as well. This included the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relay teams. The 4 x 100 team comprised of George Giunta, Matt McCarthy, Billy Lord and Matt Dovale ran a solid 45.54 to grab silver and the 4 x 400 team of Jenson Kaithamattam, Tom Helms, Cam Davis and Zach Robarts qualified for the state meet with a time of 3:40.52. The other second place efforts include George Giunta in the 200 Meter Dash with a blistering time of 23.39 in the final and Vitaliy Andrusyshyn in the Discus with a toss of 130’ 9”, a personal best and state qualifying throw.
Two took third places for the Hornets in the 400 and 800 meter races respectively. Jenson Kaithamattam continued his stellar day with a 52.51 in the 400 Meter Dash and he is now 8th all-time in NRHS History! Not to be forgotten was Tom Helms as he ran a 2:00.26 in the 800 Meter Run and that places him at 5th all-time in NRHS history!
Chipping in with 4th places included Zach Robarts in both the Triple Jump (41’ 1.5”) and the 110 Meter Hurdles (16.55) respectively and Matt McCarthy in the Javelin with a toss of 134’ 2”. Cam Davis continued his point streak as he took 5th place in the Long Jump with a solid leap of 19’ 7.25”. Nick Carpenter also snagged a tie for 5th place in the Pole Vault with a vault of 9’ 6”. Rounding out the scoring for the Hornets were 6th place finishers Lionel Beane in the 400 Meter Hurdles (1:01.2) which is 5th all-time in NRHS history, Matt McCarthy in the 100 Meter Dash (12.09), Billy Lord in the Long Jump (19’ 6.25”), Andrew Shedd in the Discus with a state qualifying throw of 116’ 3”, and Vitaliy Andrusyshyn in both the Shot Put (44’ 10”) and Javelin (126’ 11”) respectively.
This is an incredible accomplishment for the program and now they are focusing their hopes on a possibly completing the monumental task of finishing off their undefeated campaign at the Division IV State Championship on Sunday May 28th @ Norwell HS. GO HORNETS!
