Published in the January 14, 2016 edition
NORTH READING WON the MSTCA Division 5 State Track Relay Meet Sunday at the Reggie Lewis Center, setting a record in the 4 x 50 yard relay at 22.80 and never looking back on their way to the first place finish. (Courtesy Photo)
BOSTON — On Sunday, Jan. 10, the boys’ indoor track and field team won its first ever James Kalperis MSTCA State Relay Championship. Over 40 teams attended the meet, in which points were awarded to the top six teams in each event. Scoring calculations were measured as follows: 10–8–6–4–2–1, (10 points awarded for the top team, etc.). North Reading scored 50 points, well ahead of Newburyport (36 points) and Littleton (29 points) as they finished in the top six places in seven out of 10 events.
Finishing in first place and earning 10 points for the team was the 4×50 yard shuttle dash team of Jackson Hastings, Kyle Bythrow, Nick Copelas and Angelo DiSanto. All four members of the team ran exceptionally speedy 5.7 second splits, resulting in an incredible finish of 22.80 seconds. They won by .61 seconds, which is equal to light years in this event. The team’s performance set a meet record and broke a 13–year–old school record in the process. The old meet record was 23.24 set by East Bridgewater just last year and the old school record was 22.92 set by Michael Salt, Marcial Bones, Matt DiMare and Chris Cody in 2003.
THE FINAL HAND–OFF in the boys 4×200 relay race on Sunday, with Co-Captain Ben Hui executing a flawless handoff of the baton to Co-Captain Nick Copelas. That relay team of senior Jackson Hastings, junior Kyle Bythrow, senior Ben Hui, and Senior Nick Copelas won the Silver medal in that event, with a time of 1:34.51, losing by only 2/100th of a second, to Littleton (1:34:49). (Courtesy Photo)
North Reading earned second place and 8 points in three additional events. In the 4 x 200 meter relay, Jackson Hastings (23.6), Kyle Bythrow (23.9), Ben Hui (24.0) and Nick Copelas (23.0) ran an impressive 1:34.51, missing first place by just .02 seconds. Kyle Bythrow capped off an impressive three event performance as he teamed up with Liam Rutherford and Cam Davis, leaping to a school record of 56 ft. 3.75 inches in the Long Jump Relay. The Distance Medley also finished second and broke a school record set just last year with a time of 11.11.98. In this medley, the following four runners raced a combined total of 4000 meters: Tom Helms (1200 meters in 3:27), Cam Davis (400 meters in 55.5), Peter Audier (800 meters in 2:07) and Brendan Carter (1600 meters in 4:41.0). The team was in first for most of the race but fell back to fourth within only a few laps to go but thanks to a strong anchor finish by Brendan Carter he moved his team back up two spots to second place.
Two teams earned third place and six points. The shuttle hurdle team of George Giunta, Aidan McDonald, Dan Jackson and Antonio Catino ran 28.79 seconds for third place, while the Shot Put team of Vitaliy Andrusyshyn, Shawn DiVecchia and Drew Delano threw for a combined 114’ 5.75,” for third place as well. Their efforts bested the old school record of 108 ft. 1 inch set in 2010.
To cap off the day, the 4×400 meter relay team of Anthony Tramontozzi, Justin Zhang, Jenson Kaithamattam and Ben Hui took fourth place with a time of 3:44.72.
Many would argue that the State Relay Championship in particular, highlights a team’s depth and unity toward achieving a common goal within a sport that is too often recognized as an individual’s sport. Overall, the day not only demonstrated a bright outlook for the upcoming state meet but it captured this team’s cohesion and chemistry as they work toward achieving continued success.
