Published in the May 5, 2016 edition
THE NORTH READING GIRLS TRACK TEAM recently captured the D–4 championship. First row: Captains Olivia DeMonico, Julia McDonald, Julia Valenti, Alexa Capozzoli, Jenna Raffael. Middle row, (from left): Katelyn Shevlin, Mia DeNofrio, Olivia Esposito, Abigail Griffin, Meredith Griffin, Jerlin Kaithamattam, Jillian McCullough, Rachel Hill, Kirsten Bradley, Emily Roesch. Back row, (from left): Head Coach Sotirios Pintzopoulos, Emma Wall, Victoria Grasso, Lauren Gulbicki, Julia Tatone, Claire Finnegan, Kerry O’Brien, Megan Lawlor, Grace Hadley, Nicole Shedd, Elizabeth Carlson, Assistant Coach Matt Dorothy. Missing From Photo: Juliette Nadeau. (Courtesy Photo)
NORTH READING — Just days after winning easily against Amesbury and Triton 107 to 38 and 101 to 44 respectively to improve their regular season record to 4-0, the girls’ track and field team continued their winning ways by claiming the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association Division IV State Relay Championship. North Reading had taken second place at the event the past two years but this time around claimed the victory. The meet tests the true depth of a team as there are no individual events contested but instead every event involved a combined effort of 3-4 athletes competing in an event and combined their total performances.
The Hornets won the meet with a score of 64 points, over last year’s winner Norton High School, which finished second with 54 points this year. In third was Cape Ann League rival Hamilton-Wenham with 52 points. 48 of the Hornets’ 64 points were scored in the field events as the girls’ scored in all 7 field events contested, claiming first in Pole Vault, Triple Jump and Long Jump, second in the Javelin and Shot Put, and sixth in the Discus and High Jump.
To start things off the Pole Vault relay team of Julia Valenti (10’ 6”), Rachel Hill (10’ 0”) and Victoria Grasso (7’ 0”) easily claimed first place in an event the Hornets have won seven of the last eight years. Victoria Grasso, who had only vaulted for four days prior to the competition, was also part of another first place finish in the Long Jump relay as she leapt 16’ 9. Juliette Nadeau jumped (17’ 4.25”) and Megan Lawlor jumped (15’ 4.5”) to bring the combined team total to 49’ 6.25” setting a school record in the event, breaking the old school record which had stood since 1993. As all three girls are only freshmen and sophomores look for them to expand on their achievement over the next two years. Juliette and Victoria are currently ranked second and third in the state in D4 in the event and second and fifth all-time in school history in the event. Nadeau continued to display her impressive jumping skills by hop-step-jumping her way to a 35’ 8.75” triple jump, good enough for first in the division and third all-time in school history. Teammates Julia McDonald (32’ 1.75”) and Jenna Raffael (31’ 1.5”) contributed to the triple jump relay’s 99’ .25” first place finish. The High Jump relay took sixth place with jumps from Kerry O’Brien (4’ 10” = state qualifying mark) Lauren Gulbicki (4’ 8”) and Emily Roesch (4’ 8”). The team tied the school record in the event that was set just last year. These three are also only freshmen and sophomores and will look to improve on their record in the future.
The throwing events also proved successful for the Hornets. In the Shot Put relay, Julia Valenti (36’ 9”), Elizabeth Carlson (28’ 4.5”) and Nicole Shedd (27’ 0”) finished solidly in second place. Their combined total of 92’ 1.5” sets a school record in the event as Julia’s individual performance currently ranks her first in the division and second all time in school history. The Javelin relay also took second place with a combined total of 264’ 2”. The team was made up of Julia McDonald (102’ 2.75”), Jenna Raffael (92’ 5.25”) and Kirsten Bradley (69’ 5.75”). While the team of Elizabeth Carlson, Nicole Shedd and Alexa Capozzoli was able to squeeze out a sixth place finish in the Discus Throw relay with a combined total of 211’ 7”.
The Hornets may have racked up most of their points in the field events but the most exciting event of the day was the girls’ Shuttle Hurdle relay of Jenna Raffael, Olivia DeMonico, Lauren Gulbicki and Julia Valenti winning the fourth event for the Hornets with a time of 1:05.26, qualifying them for the National Championship, which will take place on June 18 in Greensboro, N.C. This marks the third year in row the girls’ team has had a team qualify for the national championships in the event. This is due largely in part to team hurdles coach, Kirsten MacLellan, who was herself a hurdle standout at Masconomet High School and Duke University.
The only other sprinting event the team scored in was the 4×100 meter relay were the team of Rachel Hill, Olivia DeMonico, Kirsten Bradley and Katelyn Shevlin pulled out an impressive sixth place finish in 52.80 despite having never run together in the event and only working on handouts the day of the event.
The distance events proved a strong point for the Hornets led by sophomore Meredith Griffin who ran in both the 4×1600 meter relay and the Distance Medley relay, running the 1600 meter anchor leg for both events. The 4×1600 meter relay was led off by Emma Wall (5:54.5) breaking the six minute barrier in the event for the first time, running second and thiird were Claire Finnegan (6:04.4) and Abigail Griffin (6:12.2) as Meredith finished things off in 5:24.0. The team’s time of 23:34.81 was good enough for fifth place overall. Even more impressive were the combined efforts of the Distance Medley team made up of two sophomores and two freshman. Olivia Esposito led off with her 4:14 in the 1200 meters, followed by Grace Hadley (2:43) in the 800 meters, and Abigail Griffin (1:11) in the 400 meters, while Meredith finished strong pulling the team from sixth to third in the closing laps, finishing in 5:20 in her 1600 meter leg. The team’s time of 13:28.01 was not only good enough for third place but also set a school record. The old school record was set in 2007 at 13:43.00 by four athletes who went on to compete collegiately at academic/athletic power houses. Elizabeth Short (Dartmouth College), Shannon Conway (Harvard University), Caroline McBride (Stonehill College) and Kristen Moulton (Amherst College).
The girls are excited about their title but are now setting their sights on the remainder of the season. The team competed yesterday on May 4 at Ipswich High School against Ipswich and Hamilton-Wenham. Look for results in next week’s paper.
