The North Reading High School boys track team won the state D4 relay championship this weekend at their home field. (John Friberg photo)
Published in the May 4, 2017 edition
By RYAN SPINNEY
NORTH READING – The Hornet Boys Spring Track team successfully defended their Division IV State Relay title last Sunday at Arthur Kenney Field as they bested the field with a team score of 78 points! Runners up where from Old Rochester Regional with 41 points.
“This was a total team effort today,” said proud Hornets Coach Ryan Spinney. “The team rallied around each other to perform at our highest level and the fact that we did it at our home facility is amazing. I could not be prouder of a group of outstanding young student athletes than I am right now.”
Leading the point barrage for the Hornets were the 1st place relay teams in the Shot Put, Pole Vault, Shuttle Hurdles and 4×100. The Shot Put team of Bob O’Donnell, Vitaliy Andrusyshyn and Tim Goucher threw a total of 127’ 7.5” which bested the rest of the field by 3 feet! The Pole Vault relay team of Jenson Kaithamattam, Nick Carpenter and Joey McCarthy set a school record with a combined height of 29’ 6.25” while just out distancing second place Weston by mere inches. The stellar undefeated campaign of the 4×100 meter relay which consists of George Giunta, Matt McCarthy, Billy Lord and Matt Dovale continued as the first place team lowered their state qualifying time to 45.18 while besting the rest of the field by .2 seconds.
Junior Nick Carpenter clears the bar in the pole vault last week at Newburyport. (John Friberg photo)
The most amazing performances of the day might have come in the Shuttle Hurdle relay as both the North Reading “A” and “B” squads bested the rest of the field as they went 1st and 2nd overall! The “A” squad was Antonio Catino, Zach Robarts, Billy Lord and George Giunta and the “B” squad was Cam Davis, Liam Rutherford, Lionel Beane and Andrew Crotty. The teams ran 1:09.18 and 1:10.77 respectively.
In addition the Shuttle Hurdle “B” team getting second place, the Sprint Medley and 4×200 Meter relays also accomplished the feat. The Sprint Medley (800-200-200-400 Meters) team of Tom Helms, Anthony Tramontozzi, David Tingley and Jenson Kaithamattam bested an 18 year old school record by 2 full seconds as they cruised to a time of 3:40.86. The 4×200 meter relay featured 3 out of the 4 members of the 4×100 relay as they ran 1:36.27 to claim the silver medal in the event. The 4×200 relay was George Giunta, Matt McCarthy, Anthony Tramontozzi and Matt Dovale.
Taking 3rd place finishes included the Long Jump and Javelin squads of Cam Davis, Liam Rutherford, Billy Lord and Vitaliy Andrusyshyn, Matt McCarthy and Sean McCullough respectively. The Long Jump relay totaled 57’2”, just missing the school record and the Javelin team tossed a collective 396’2” on the day.
Rounding out the scoring teams were the 6th place Triple and High Jump teams. In Triple, the team of Zach Robarts, Antonio Catino and Cam Chinchillo jumped a collective 113’11.5” and the High Jump squad of Antonio Catino, Liam Rutherford and Lionel Beane hit 15’10”.
As much as the results on the track were special, the event was even more spectacular with the wonderful group of parents, staff and volunteers that helped run this meet. The Coaching Staff would like to extend a sincere thank you to all the parents, students and staff who helped make this meet possible through running the concession stand, helping measure marks, rake pits and keep the meet organized. A very special thank you to Lori Capezzuto who helped organize the “Happy Snack Shack” brigade, Glenn Murray who is a yeoman doing everything possible to help keep us on track, David Johnson for helping coordinate traffic for the event, John Friberg for his photography skills to take pictures of the event and Joe Davis for his announcing skills in the press box. Lastly, another special all the individuals, businesses and organizations in town who donated or assisted in the event including the North Reading FD who helped donate the use of their ice machine, Papa Ginos, Utz Chips, Trilogic Systems, the Meaney family, and Otto Gallotto.
This event was truly special as it was a TOTAL COMMUNITY EFFORT! Congratulations North Reading on so much to be proud of!!
