Published in the May 5, 2016 edition
SENIOR Jackson Hastings crosses the finish line as the Hornets win the 4 x 100 meter relay against Amesbury and Triton. (John Friberg Photo)
NORTH READING — On Saturday April 30, the North Reading Boys Spring Track team accomplished an impressive feat of winning the Division 4 State Relay title for the first time in program history. Anchored by 3 first place finishes by the Pole Vault, Shot Put and Long Jump squads, North Reading claimed victory with an astonishing 79 points! Runner up was Norton with 54 points.
“This is an amazing accomplishment for our program. The boys circled this one on the calendar before the season started and it became a goal of ours to try to win it. I am extremely proud that they were able to accomplish this goal and it was a testament to all the hard work and dedication they have been putting in on a daily basis,” said Head Coach Ryan Spinney.
The relays are a unique event as each team in the division can have three members in each of the throwing and jumping events and each of those members best attempts are added up for a total team score. On the track, there are a number of traditional four person relays and a few other unique ones for the event.
The Pole Vault relay got things off to a good start as the team of Aidan McDonald, Jenson Kaithamattam and George Guinta took 1st overall with a combined height of 26’ 6”. The Shot Put and Long Jump teams made a huge statement as they also took first place in their respective events. Shot Putters Bob O’Donnell, Vitaliy Andrusyshyn and David Smith won with a School relay record best total of 128’ 1” and the Long jump squad of Kilian Daly, Liam Rutherford and Dylan Beauregard achieved a total distance of 58’ 3”.
A number of second places increased the Hornets total as well. This included the Shuttle Hurdle team of Antonio Catino, Cam Davis, George Guinta and Aidan McDonald who clocked in at a school record 1:06.57, besting the mark set in 1999. The other second place efforts include 4×200 relay team of Jackson Hastings, Ben Hui, Angelo DiSanto and Nick Copelas ran 1:33.82 and the Distance Medley team of Tom Helms, Cam Davis, Peter Audier and Brendan Carter ran down a strong HW team to come in at 11:16.82.
Another trifecta of teams took third places for the Hornets as the Triple Jump, Sprint Medley relay and Javelin squads had excellent performances. The Triple Jump team of Zach Robarts, Kilian Daly and Antonio Catino hit 116’ 11.25”. The Sprint Medley team of Brendan Carter (800), Ben Hui (200), Nick Copelas (200) and Tom Helms (400) hit a very quick 3:43.84. The Javelin squad of David Smith, Vitaliy Andrusyshyn and Aaron Giangrande tossed 398’ 2” collectively. With 10 points for each first, 8 for each second and 6 for each third, the Hornets had a total score of 72 from these 9 teams respectively!
Chipping in was the 4×100 relay of Angelo DiSanto, Dylan Beauregard, Nick Copelas and Jackson Hastings as they took 4th in a time of 45.76. The 4×400 relay of Jenson Kaithamattam, Ben Hui, Justin Bruzzese and Cam Davis took a 5th place in a solid 3:34.94 effort and rounding of the scoring teams was the Shuttle Hurdles B Team of Zach Robarts, Justin Bruzzese, Kilian Daly and Liam Rutherford who took 1 point for 6th overall in a time of 1:11.06.
This is an incredible accomplishment for the program and now they are focusing their hopes on a dual meet CAL season title, a CAL Open Meet team title and even a Division IV State Championship.
