Published in the May 18, 2017 edition
Coach Ryan Spinney gets doused with water as the North Reading boys track team celebrates their Cape Ann League regular season championship. (John Friberg photo)
By RYAN SPINNEY
NORTH READING – The North Reading Boys Spring Track team accomplished a feat never achieved in school history as they complete a back to back undefeated campaign to win the Cape Ann League Dual Meet season title with wins over Amesbury (87-59), Triton (92-53), Lynnfield (84-61) and Ipswich (107-38).
Overall event winners in the meet against Amesbury and Triton included Billy Lord in the 110 Meter Hurdles (15.6), Bob O’Donnell in the Shot Put (49’11.25”) which is 2nd all-time in NRHS history, Zach Robarts in the Triple Jump (40’ 11.5”), Liam Rutherford in the Long Jump (18’ 8”), Jenson Kaithamattam in the Pole Vault (11’0”), Matt McCarthy in the 100 Meter Dash (11.5), Tom Helms in the 800 Meter Run (2:03.1) George Giunta in the 200 Meters (23.8), and the 4×100 Relay team of George Giunta, Matt McCarthy, Billy Lord and Matt Dovale (45.9). These victories set the stage for Senior Day and a chance to repeat as undefeated CAL Champs for the first time ever in school history.
On a cool, but somewhat sunny, May 10th the Hornet Boys Track team completed their mission as they gave their Seniors something to remember with victories over Ipswich and Triton to finish off their undefeated run and solidify their 2nd consecutive CAL regular season league title. Overall event winners for this meet included Vitaliy Andrusyshyn in the Discus (126’9”), Matt McCarthy in the Javelin (144’10) which is 10th all-time in NRHS history, Zach Robarts in the Triple Jump (41’7”), Bob O’Donnell in the Shot Put (48’ 9.75”), Cam Davis in the Long Jump (19’ 6”), George Giunta in the 110 Meter Hurdles (15.7), Tom Helms in the 400 Meter Dash (52.5), the 4×100 Relay team of George Giunta, Matt McCarthy, Billy Lord and Matt Dovale (45.3) and the 4×400 Relay team of Jenson Kaithamattam, Cam Wade, Seth Wing and Tom Helms (3:45.4).
“This is an extremely proud day in NRHS track program history,” stated Coach Spinney. “This group of young men accomplished a feat that has never happened before in school history with an undefeated back to back championship campaign. It is a true testament to their hard work, dedication and perseverance to make this possible. We could not be prouder!”
This conclusion of the regular season meet schedule brings the team into their post season agenda with much to accomplish as well. The CAL Open Championship will take place on Saturday, May 20th at Triton HS (9:00am start) and the following weekend the EMass Div. IV State Championship will take place at Norwell HS on Sunday, May 28th (10:00am start). GO HORNETS!
Hornets Improve Season Bests at Andover Boosters
The Hornet Boys Spring Track team had a number of individuals post some season bests at the Andover Boosters meet on Saturday, May 13th at Andover HS.
Led by 3rd place finishers Vitaliy Andrusyshsyn in the Discus (127’4”), Bob O’Donnell in the Shot Put (49’ 1.5”) and the Shuttle Hurdle Relay team of Billy Lord, George Giunta, Zach Robarts and Cam Davis (1:03.52), the Hornets tested their mettle against some of the best athletes in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Other top placing finishers included Cam Davis in the Long Jump (21’ 2”) who took 5th place overall and is now 3rd all-time in NRHS history in the event, Billy Lord who placed 4th overall in the preliminary heat of the 110 Meter Hurdles in a time of 15.55 and Zach Robarts took 5th in the Triple Jump with a mark of 41’5.5”.
The Hornets will compete at the Cape Ann League Championship next weekend at Triton. Good luck to all competitors!
