Published April 1, 2021
NORTH READING — Stop us if you have heard this before: This has been one weird year.
The North Reading boys’ indoor track team will be competing in March and April, later than the typical December through February docket they are used to. To top it off, the “indoor” piece is only in name as all competition is outside due to COVID-19 protocol. Despite the abnormality of it all, one thing is still apparent: The Hornets are ready to have some competition.
The Hornets are led by third year head coach Ryan Spinney (distance) and the extremely talented coaching staff of Sotirios Pintzopoulos (sprints), Joe Davis (high jump), Kirsten MacLellan (hurdles), Josh Rocco (sprints), Andrew Falanga (throws) and Tom Ledoux (throws). There are 36 athletes on the roster for the season, each looking to contribute to the program in their own way.
Captains for the Hornets include four seniors who have had a great impact on the program over the last four years. They include Grayson Budny, John “Jack” Murphy, Peter Wyatt and Garrett Butler. Budny has been a state-level sprinter and relay participant since his freshman year. He competed at the All-State meet last winter before the COVID shutdown. Murphy is an extremely talented athlete. He is the returning Cape Ann League Open Champion in the 600 meter run and he also is the 4×400 meter relay anchor leg runner.
Wyatt is a constant presence in shot put circle and has greatly improved over the last four years. Butler is a strong hurdler and has also increased his resume as he is now also a mid distance runner.
The team has 17 seniors out of the 36 athletes, so there is a lot of experience on the roster. Distance runners include Devin Adams, Maguire Koepke, PJ Menis, Henry Pelmas, Nick Rinaldi and the aforementioned Murphy. They will be main contributors in the 600, 1000, 1-mile and 2-mile events. The senior sprinters and jumpers include Joseph Caviasca, Ryan Caviasca, Jacob Doolin, Blake Miller, Kyle Rabbitt, Gavin Tingley and Justin Wildman, in addition to Budny and Butler. The 55 meter dash, 55 hurdles, 300 meter run, high jump and long jump will see plenty of this group. The senior shot put throwers are Wyatt and Erik Wieselquist, both looking to compete at a high level.
The underclassman group is highlighted by a number of strong contributors across the board. In the distance events, junior Aidan Nadeau is looking to continue on his cross country success this fall and be a major factor in the mile and 2-mile events. Junior Anthony Petrosino will also be a factor as well in those events. Sophomores Nick Fabrizio, Rocco Tammaro, Christian DaCosta, Shane Hanson, Ben Meier, Brady Miller, Nathan Miller, Matthew Manupelli, Brady O’Connor and freshman Dylan Zecher look to contribute in the distance events as well.
In the sprints and jumps, junior Jake Mikulski looks very strong in the 55 meter hurdles and high jump to begin the campaign. Classmates Spencer Beane, Alex Carpenter and Quinn Riesenberg will also be big contributors for the Hornets in the short sprints and jumps. Juniors Casey O’Connor, Jack Fischer and Nick Ciardello will be contributors to the shot put squad as they have been working very hard over the last few weeks to gear up for the season.
The Hornets competed after press time on Wednesday, March 31 vs. Newburyport at Bradley Fuller Field in Newburyport in their season opener. Good luck this season, Hornets!
