NORTH READING — The North Reading boys’ track team bested defending state champion Amesbury by a score of 99-46 to improve to 3-0 on the season. The Hornets were led by three event sweeps and two relay victories in addition to six first place event victories.
“We knew Amesbury would present a tough test and the boys were very anxious to compete against them,” said Hornet coach Ryan Spinney. “We were the only program to beat them last year and we did it twice, in our dual meet and at the CAL Championship. They had a tremendous day at the state championship and certainly deserved to win. We just didn’t want to forget that coming into this season.”
The Hornets had sweeps in Triple Jump, Long Jump and High Jump and they won both the 4×100 Meter Relay and the 4×400 Meter Relay. The Triple Jump winners were led by Seniors Quinn Riesenberg (37’ 10.75”), Landon Phillips (37’ 1”) and Zac Heintz (34’ 3.75”). Long Jump winners consisted of Junior Nathan Miller (19’ 2”), Senior Captain Spencer Beane (18’ 8.5”) and Junior Garrett Arden (18’ 5.5”) and High Jump was led by Junior Jacob Duval (5’ 6”), Junior Kevin Doble (5’ 4”) and a tie between Seniors Sebastian Gonzales and Jacob Mikulski.
“Our jumpers have really come through for us this season,” said Spinney. “Each meet they are improving and making an impression in the league.”
The 4 x 100 Relay team of Senior Captain Alex Carpenter, Riesenberg, Junior Caleb Sands and Sophomore Will Batten rocketed to a finishing time of 45.6, which is the top time this season. The 4 x 400 Relay team of Beane, Junior Michael Hemme, Senior Captain John Jennings and Senior Captain Aidan Nadeau blasted a 3:38.40 for a league best time in the event at this point of the season.
“Our relays are going to be crucial to our success this spring,” said Spinney. “We have the most depth we have ever had in many event areas. This allows us to move individuals around as necessary and that opens the doors to experiment with some very fast relays.”
Other event winners for the Hornets included Nadeau in the 1 Mile (4:56.6), Arden in the Javelin (149’ 4”), Miller in the Long Jump (19’ 1”) and 400 Meters (55.4), Beane in the 110 Meter Hurdles (16.5), Batten in the 100 Meter Dash (11.2), Hemme in the 800 Meter Run (2:11.9) and Carpenter in the Pole Vault (10’ 6”).
Hornets overwhelm
Vikings 94-51
During April vacation, the Hornets sent the Vikings reeling with a solid 94-51 victory to improve their record to 4-0 on the season. The big performances came from Senior Captains Spencer Beane and Casey O’Connor as they both won two events each and Beane chipped in with a 3rd place in another event.
Beane won the 110 Meter Hurdles (16.3) and the 400 Meter (52.5), while also taking 3rd in the Long Jump (18’ 3”). O’Connor won the Shot Put (42’ 2”) and Discus (114’ 2”). The biggest single toss on the day was by Garrett Arden who threw 158’ 8” in the Javelin and that moves him to 5th all time in NRHS history.
“Solid performances across the board in our throws and Casey and Garrett had very big days for us,” said Hornets Head Coach Ryan Spinney. “Spencer is just a force in just about any event we put him in. He just keeps improving in the hurdles and 400 each time out.”
Other point scorers for the Hornets included Senior Captain John Jennings and Sophomore Brandon Eng who went 1-2 in the 400 Meter Hurdles in times of 63.7 and 65.8 respectively; Juniors Nathan Miller and Ryan McGuire took 1-2 in the Long Jump in performances of 19’ 2” and 18’ 8” respectively; McGuire (41’ 5.5”) and Senior Quinn Riesenberg (38’ 8.5”) went 2-3 in Triple Jump; Junior Kyle McCormack was 3rd in Javelin (120’ 11”).
Junior Jacob Duval was 2nd in High Jump (5’ 6”), Senior Jake Mikulski (17.1) and Jennings (17.8) followed Beane in the 110 Meter Hurdles for 2nd and 3rd; Sophomore Will Batten (11.4) and Senior Captain Alex Carpenter (11.8) took 1st and 3rd in the 100 Meter Dash; Junior Michael Hemme took 2nd in the 800 Meter Run (2:14.6).
Senior Captain Aidan Nadeau won the 2 mile in a time of 10:43.0; Nathan Miller took 2nd in the 400 (54.5); Batten (23.4) and Junior Caleb Sands (23.8) went 2-3 in the 200 Meter Dash; Carpenter, Junior Vincent Pastore and Freshman Nicolas Johnson swept the Pole Vault with heights of 12’6”, 9’’6” and 8’0” respectively.
The 4 x 100 relay team of Carpenter, Riesenberg, Sands and Batten won the event in a time of 46.5 and the 4 x 400 Meter Relay team of Jennings, Hemme, Miller and Nadeau won in a time of 3:47.
The Hornets hit the half way point of their spring campaign in good shape but they have a lot more to accomplish. They were back in action against Pentucket at home on Tuesday. A story will appear next week.
