Hornet track teams represent at New Balance Nationals in Philadelphia

THE NORTH READING girls’ relay team, from left to right, Madison Vant, Giuliana Ligor, Georgia Robarts and Ava McIntyre, placed 16th in the Rising Stars 4x100M relay and 9th in the Championship Texas 800M SMR. (Courtesy Photo)

PHILADELPHIA — From June 15 through the 18, North Reading High School track and field coaches, Sotirios Pintzopoulos and Thomas Ledoux, made the trek down to the New Balance Nationals Outdoor (NBNO) at Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia where 11 NRHS athletes represented North Reading. Five boys and six girls from the squad competed in eight events over the course of the four-day event.

On Friday, June 16, Otto Indelicato was the first Hornet to compete. He hurled a 40’6.75” shot put throw to place 19^th in the Freshman Boys Shot Put at his very first outdoor nationals.

Next up was sophomore, Giuliana Ligor, who competed in her first event of three over the weekend, the Rising Stars Girls 400M Hurdles. She just missed the podium winning her heat and placing 8^th overall crossing the finish line in a blazing 63.45 seconds.

NORTH READING’s Abigail Lilley (left) competed in the Rising Stars Girls’ Discus, Madison Vant (center) qualified for the Championship Girls’ Javelin and Abigail Gerber placed 16th in the Championship Girls’ Javelin at New Balance Nationals in Philadelphia. (Courtesy Photo)

Day two was a busy day bringing five move events for the Hornets. Saturday started off bright and early back at the throwing fields with Abigail Lilley placing 42^nd in the Rising Stars Girls Discus Throw with a toss of 102’5”.

Next, it was back to Franklin Field for the Rising Stars Girls Long Jump. Senior Ava McIntyre and junior Madison Vant, both qualified to compete in this event. McIntyre finished in 40^th place jumping 16’7” and Vant leapt into 10^th place with her final jump of 17’11.5”.

The day concluded with the Hornets competing in three relay events on the oval. First up for the relays was the girls’ Rising Stars 4x100M relay team of Georgia Robarts, Madison Vant, Ava McIntyre and Giuliana Ligor. The Hornets PR’ed with a 49.06 second effort placing them 16^th overall and just 0.02 off the school record set back in 2008.

Next, was the boys Rising Stars 1600M Sprint Medley relay team of all seniors, Caleb Sands (200M), Brodie Mann (200M), Nathan Miller (400M), and Michael Hemme (800M). They placed 25^th running a 3:39.69.

THE NRHS boys’ relay team, from left to right, Caleb Sands, Brodie Mann, Nathan Miller and Michael Hemme took 25th in the Nation in the Rising Stars boys’ 1600M SMR. (Courtesy Photo)

The final relay of the day was back to the girls’ team for the Championship Texas 800M Sprint Medley Relay. Robarts (100M), Vant (100M), McIntyre (200M) and Ligor (400M) PR’ed for a second time beating their own school record with a speedy 1:48.68 time that broke them into the top 10 placing them 9^th overall in the Nation.

An amazing weekend of competition came to a conclusion on June 18 back at the throwing fields where senior Abigail Gerber and Vant had qualified to compete in the Championship girls’ Javelin Throw. Gerber had a huge PR throw of 127’10” placing her 2^nd in North Reading history in the javelin and 16^th overall in the competition.

It was a fantastic weekend for all the North Reading athletes full of spirited competition and camaraderie that will not soon be forgotten by those who made the journey.