Published June 24, 2021
WESTON — With a score of 71.5 points, the North Reading boys’ spring track program took 4th overall at the Division 2 North Championship meet last weekend at Weston High. They finished behind team title winner Amesbury (88 points), runner-up Wakefield (78 points) and Burlington (75 points).
“We faced excellent competition today and our team stepped it up. We fell a little short for the team title, but it was certainly not due to a lack of effort or performance. We could not be prouder of how we did today,” said Hornet head coach Ryan Spinney.
Budny and Carpenter are state champs
Senior captain Grayson Budny and junior Alex Carpenter took home individual state titles as Budny was victorious in the 100 Meter Dash and Carpenter took home the Pole Vault top honors. Budny was the fastest sprinter on the day as he won the preliminary round in a speedy 11.26 time and then took the finals top spot with a time of 11.34.
“Grayson is one of the most talented sprinters we have ever had in the program,” said Spinney. “Even as a freshman, we knew he had the tools to develop into a state caliber sprinter and it was so amazing to watch him capture a state individual title today. It is very fitting for him.”
Carpenter continued his Pole Vault dominance as he captured the state divisional title with a vault of 13’ 0”. Teammates, senior captain Jack Murphy took 3rd with a vault of 12’ 0” and junior Patrick Tannian took 7th with his personal best vault of 10’ 6”.
“Our pole vault group has been a major contributor to our team success all season long and it was apparent today as they scored at the state meet with solid vaults across the board. We even had a fourth in sophomore Rocco Tammaro who just got his feet wet in the event and qualified to compete at the state level in such a short time. This is a proud day for our team.”
Relays take silver and bronze
The 4 x 100 Meter Relay squad of Carpenter, senior Jack Donohue, senior captain Ryan Good and Budny cruised to a very speedy time of 44.60 which took home 2nd place overall in the event.
“This squad has been excellent all season and to see them step up with their best performance at the state level is a testament to their desire to be the very best they can be. Very happy they will get to run one more time together at the All-State final on Saturday,” said Spinney.
The 4 x 400 Meter Relay of junior Spencer Beane, junior John Jennings, junior Aidan Nadeau and Murphy crushed the previous season best time for the event as they took 3rd overall in a time of 3:34.81.
“This is the team we knew could run our fastest relay of the season,” said Spinney. “It was so awesome watching them run in the slow heat nonetheless and still compete as hard as possible to earn a ticket to next week.”
Sampson, O’Connor and Murphy take bronze
Senior Zach Sampson and junior Casey O’Connor took home third place finishes to give the Hornets a huge team boost. Sampson threw 44’ 10.5” in the Shot Put to take home the bronze. O’Connor took 3rd in the Discus with a toss of 126’ 8”.
“Both of these guys had big days for us,” said Spinney. “They worked really hard this spring and it is fitting to see them take home some hardware for their efforts.”
Jack Murphy continued his medal haul from the 4 x 400 and the Pole Vault, as he took 3rd in the 400 Meter Hurdles in a time of 58.82.
“To come home with three medals and top three finishes is a testament to how talented Jack is as an athlete. To top it off, he is one of the nicest and most humble individuals you can possibly meet. He is one of a kind and will be hard to replace next year,” said Spinney.
Arden, Wyatt, Duval, Budny and Nadeau round out Hornet scoring
In the Javelin, sophomore Garrett Arden and senior captain Peter Wyatt finished in tandem with 5th and 6th place efforts. Arden has a toss of 143’ 7” and Wyatt had a toss of 142’ 4”.
“I can’t say enough good things about Garrett and Peter. They absolutely had a stand out spring for us. Along with Jack Donohue, we had a very strong trio in the event all season long.”
Sophomore Jacob Duval tied for 6th in the High Jump as he tied his personal best of 5’ 8”.
“Jacob is going to be someone to watch over the next two years,” said Spinney. “He wants to be really good at the High Jump and certainly has the tools to do it. He had a great spring season and will only get better down the road.”
Budny came back and collected his 3rd medal of the day as he took 7th in the long jump with a personal best jump of 20’ 9.5” which is good enough for 6th all time in school history.
“Grayson was in beast mode all day for us,” said Spinney. “We had a very relaxed approach to the long jump and it paid off big time. He stunned everyone as he moved up from 19th to 7th. That is just typical Grayson, always ready to compete.”
Nadeau had a solid two mile run as he took 8th overall in a time of 10:14.88.
“Aidan is going to be a dominant distance runner in the CAL next year. He wants to be the very best he can be and is just scratching the surface of his ability. It will be quite a sight to watch him compete during his senior campaign as it will be a great one,” said Spinney.
The Hornets had a total of 25 athletes who competed at the State Championship, which was half their roster this spring.
“We are losing some very talented seniors but the future looks very bright,” said Spinney. “We had a number of underclassmen who got their feet wet at the state level and next year they will be jumping in full force.” The last Hornet competition for the season will be the All State Final which will be on Wednesday, June 23 at Westborough HS for Pole Vault and on Saturday, June 26 at Norwell HS for the 100 Meter Dash, 400 Meter Hurdles and the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Good Luck, Hornets!
