Carpenter ties 48-year-old pole vault record
Published May 13, 2021
NORTH READING — The North Reading boys’ spring track team opened up its Cape Ann League regular season slate with a home contest against Hamilton-Wenham. The Hornets wasted no time in making a statement as they took down the Generals by a score of 126-18.
“A solid opening meet for us across the board,” said head coach Ryan Spinney. “We had a number of good performances and hopefully that will set the tone for the rest of the season.”
History… 48 years in the making
Junior Alex Carpenter made some history as he tied the North Reading High School spring track pole vault record as he vaulted 13’ 0” to win the event for the Hornets. He tied a mark set in 1973 by Fred Rex, one that has stood nearly 50 years.
“We couldn’t be happier for Alex. He has worked incredibly hard to hone his craft in pole vault and it has certainly paid off,” said Spinney. “For him to be in this position as a junior makes it more special as we know that he will continue to improve throughout this season and next year.”
15 first-place finishes
in 17 events
The Hornets had control in this meet the whole way as they won 15 out of 17 events including nine sweeps (1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishes) across the board.
Senior captain Jack Murphy, junior John Jennings and senior captain Garrett Butler opened the scoring with a sweep of the 400 Meter Hurdles in times of 59.3, 63.3 and 64.9, respectively. Murphy’s time was the fifth fastest in NRHS history.
In the 110 Meter Hurdles, Butler took home the victory in a time of 18.24 while juniors Spencer Beane (18.99) and Jacob Mikulski (19.60) took 2nd and 3rd places.
In the 200 and 400 Meter races, the Hornets swept the board as well. In the 200, senior captain Ryan Good was victorious in a time of 24.4, junior Quinn Riesenberg took 2nd in 24.9 and senior Joseph Caviasca took 3rd in 25.1.
In the 400 Meter event, Beane took the victory in a time of 55.8, Jennings took 2nd in 57.0 and senior Kyle Rabbitt took 3rd in 58.2.
In the field events, the Hornets swept five in total to gather 45 total points. In the Pole Vault event, featuring Carpenter’s historic vault, Jack Murphy also achieved his personal best of 12’ 6,” which gives him a tie for 2nd all-time in NRHS history. Patrick Tannian completed the sweep for the Hornets with his personal record of 9’ 6”.
In the High Jump, sophomore newcomer Jacob Duval made a huge impression as he leapt to victory with a jump of 5’ 6”. Junior Jacob Mikulski (5’ 4”) and senior Blake Miller (5’ 0”) snagged 2nd and 3rd overall.
In the throwing events of Discus, Shot Put and Javelin, the Hornets dominated across the board by sweeping all 27 available points. In Discus, Junior Casey O’Connor (86’ 0”, senior Zach Sampson (79’ 6”) and Murphy (75’ 8”) took home the top three spots. In Shot Put, Sampson took the victory with a toss of 42’ 10.5”. Following Sampson’s heave was senior captain Peter Wyatt (37’ 7”) and O’Connor (34’ 9.5”) to take home 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
In the Javelin, Wyatt took top honors with an impressive toss of 126’ 0” sealing the win. Seniors Jack Donohue and Will O’Leary took 2nd and 3rd, respectively, with tosses of 107’ 2” and 100’ 11.”
Not to be outdone, the 4 x 100 Meter Relay squad of Carpenter, Caviasca, Good and senior captain Grayson Budny cruised to victory in a time of 46.2. Budny led the charge in the 100 Meter Dash as well as he took home the win in a time of 11.59. Carpenter took 2nd in 12.13 to give the Hornets the top two spots in the event.
In the 800 Meter run, Murphy led the way to take the top time of 2:09.1 and his second victory of the meet. Senior Henry Pelmas was right behind him for 2nd place in the event with a time of 2:16.2. Murphy, scoring in four events, including two first-place finishes, was truly something special.
“Jack is truly the definition of versatile,” said Spinney. “He can literally do it all. He hurdles, throws, vaults and competes in mid-distance events, and can do so at a very high level. He is a special athlete and special individual,” said Spinney.
In Triple Jump, Jennings and Riesenberg were the only two competitors in the event and cruised to top two finishes with jumps of 36’ 9” and 35’ 4”, respectively. In Long Jump, Good and Budny took 2nd and 3rd places overall with solid marks of 18’ 5.5” and 18’ 4.5”, respectively.
Rounding out the scorers for the Hornets included the 1- and 2-Mile runs as the Hornets took 1st and 3rd in each event. In the 1-Mile, junior Aidan Nadeau (4:48.8) and sophomore Nick Fabrizio (4:58.5) took the 1st and 3rd, respectively, while in the 2-Mile, junior Anthony Petrosino (11:30.6) and sophomore Rocco Tammaro (11:57.2) took home those respective places as well.
“We have a lot to be proud of based on today’s results but we have a long and tough schedule ahead of us,” said Spinney. “We will move on and get ready for the Tigers on Tuesday.”
The Hornets took their act on the road as they traveled to Ipswich to take on the Tigers on Tuesday, May 11 (after press time) on the Ken Spellman Track and Jack Welch Field at Ipswich H.S.
