THE NRHS girls’ indoor track and field team are back-to-back state relay champions. (NRHS girls’ track Photo)

BOSTON — On Friday night at the Division 4 State Relay Championship at Reggie Lewis Center, the NRHS girls’ track and field team took 1st place with a convincing 57 points, well ahead of second place Holliston (38 points), Pentucket (35), Newburyport (33) and Middleboro (31). Overall, there were nearly 30 schools in attendance of the 51 schools across the state that compete in Division 4.

Having won state relays last indoor season, the Hornets are now back to back champions and have won 5 of the last 6 contested relay championships since 2017.

Over the course of the evening, the girls gave strong performances in every event, setting three new school records and one meet record in the process.

In the shot put, Madison Vant (30’ 5”), Abigail Lilley (28’ 3”) and Sabrina Mini (26’ 1”) threw a combined 25.88m, securing 3rd place overall.

North Reading had two teams competing in the long jump, both of whom placed within the top three. The ‘A’ team, made up of Madison Vant (16’ 10”), Giuliana Ligor (16’ 4”), and Captain Ava McIntyre (16’ 1”), came in 1st. Together these girls jumped a total of 15.05m, setting a new meet record and school record; the old school record was 14.85m and was set in 2018. Georgia Robarts (16’ 8”), Captain Kayla Budny (15’ 7”) and Katie Zimmerman (15’ 3”) made up the ‘B’ team, coming in 3rd place with a combined jump of 14.50m.

The girls’ high jump team, composed of Abigail Lilley (4’ 10”), Callie MacLellan (4’ 8”) and Tiara Lamont (4’ 8”), placed 4th overall with a combined jump of 14’ 12”. In the process, the girls high jump team set a new school record, breaking the previous one which was 13’ 11” and set in 2019.

Katie Zimmerman, Giuliana Auciello, Ellie Heintz and Hayden MacLellan all ran the shuttle hurdles, managing to secure 5th place with a time of 33.56. In the shuttle dash, North Reading’s ‘A’ team made up of Julia DeAngelis, Captain Ava McIntyre, Captain Kayla Budny, and Georgia Robarts ran a 24.84. This time earned them second place and also the breaking of a school record; the old one being 24.91 and set last season. The shuttle dash ‘B’ team was run by Katie Zimmerman, Marisa Montana, Reilly Tassinari, and Jenna Mahoney, who came in 6th place with a time of 26.42.

In the 4x800m, Ava Collins, Vasiliki Kouiroukidis, Eva Hanegraaff, and Captain Karleigh Budny ran an 11:54.61. Followed by the 4x800m was the SMR, in which North Reading had two teams competing. The ‘A’ team was made up of Georgia Robarts, Jenna Mahoney, Tiara Lamont, and Captain Annalise Butler, and came in 2nd place with an impressive 4:24.22. The ‘B’ team was run by Alex Sfikas, Isabella Lazure, Pia Sfikas, and Ava Collins, who ran a 5:00.09 and came in 15th.

North Reading also had two teams compete in the 4x200m. Captain Ava McIntyre, Madison Vant, Captain Kayla Budny, and Giuliana Ligor came in 4th with 1:50.13. The ‘B’ team finished in 11th with a time of 1:55.30, made up of Marisa Montana, Jenna Mahoney, Reilly Tassinari, and Madelyn Arian Aitchison.

The DMR team earned 8th place with a time of 13:59.31, which was run by Callie MacLellan, Captain Karleigh Budny, Quinlan Kelly, and Annalise Butler. To cap off the night, the 4x400m ‘A’ team made up of Julia DeAngelis, Tiara Lamont, Marisa Montana, and Giuliana Ligor finished 2nd overall with a time of 4:17.88. The 4x400m ‘B’ team, run by Lindsey Rosenthal, Madeline Forristall, Isabella Lazure, and Bella Fischer finished with a 4:54.84.

The girls’ track and field team will continue on with their season, now with the title of Division IV State Relay Champions. In their upcoming CAL meets against Newburyport and Triton, the girls will be hoping to remain undefeated and up their record to 4-0.