THE NRHS boys’ track and field team are the 2022 D5 MSTCA State Relay champions (NRHS Track Photo)

SANDWICH — The NRHS boys’ spring track team continued their strong campaign on Friday at Sandwich High as they topped all other schools in Division 5 in Massachusetts by taking home the state relay championship trophy with a top score of 72 points, 12 points ahead of runner-up Middleboro.

“This was one we really wanted to go after,” said Hornets head coach Ryan Spinney. “The boys targeted this one from day one of the season and we could not have had a better day. We placed in 12 of 14 events, including two 1st’s, four 2nd’s and a 3rd. When you have that type of success, it makes you hard to compete with. The boys didn’t let up at all, they wanted this one and they earned it.

“Team depth is the true measure of success with the relay meet. You can’t win this event with a handful of talented athletes, you need a true team effort to win something like this and we are very proud of how the team stepped up as a group today to achieve this special honor.”

The Discus relay team of Casey O’Connor (130’ 7”), Patrick Tannian (96’ 9” and Vincent Pastore (80’ 8”) took home the 1st place title in the event to get the Hornets rolling early in the meet.

The Distance Medley team, which consisted of four differing leg lengths also took home a 1st place finish as Nick Fabrizio (1200), John Jennings (400), Michael Hemme (800) and Aidan Nadeau (1600) finished in a time of 11:21.66, only five seconds off the school record.

“Both of these relays really set a tone for us as they stepped up big time,” said Spinney. “Casey and Aidan really anchored these teams to strong efforts with their best performances of the season.”

The second place finishes came in fast and furious to help the Hornets increase their lead in the team score. The 4×200 Meter Relay of Alex Carpenter, Quinn Riesenberg, Caleb Sands and Will Batten cruised to a second place finish with a time of 1:35.50.

The 4×400 Meter Relay team of Spencer Beane, Nathan Miller, Landon Phillips and Aidan Nadeau ran a season best 3:37.92 for second place in the event.

The Shot Put Relay team of Casey O’Connor (42’ 4.75”), Garrett Arden (35’ 5.25”) and Kyle McCormack (35’ 1”) had a solid performance to scoop up their second place medals.

The Triple Jump team of Landon Phillips (39’ 6.5”), Quinn Riesenberg (39’ 2.25”) and Zac Heintz (36’ 5.5”) had a solid day to snag a silver to complete the Hornets collection.

The Shuttle Hurdle A team took third place in a time of 1:10.37 and the team consisted of Spencer Beane, Jake Mikulski, John Jennings and Brandon Eng. The B team in the event took 6th and that was an all-freshman team of Kaio Pancini, Torin Nickerson, Michael Mahoney and Nicholas Johnson who finished with a time of 1:21.98.

Fourth place finishers included the Sprint Medley team of Brandon Eng (200), Lucas Do Val (200), Nathan Miller (400) and Michael Hemme (800) who cruised to a solid time of 3:54.19 in the event.

NORTH READING’s Aidan Nadeau and John Jennings share a handshake at the conclusion of the winning distance medley relay on Friday at Sandwich High. (NRHS Track Photo)

The Long Jump relay team of Spencer Beane (18’ 10.5”), Will Batten (18’ 7”) and Nathan Miller (18’ 3.25”) took their best jumps on a cold evening to score points for the Hornet cause.

Rounding out the Hornet scorers were fifth place finishers in the Javelin and High Jump and a sixth place finish in the 4×100 Meter Relay.

Garrett Arden (157’2”), Kyle McCormack (121’ 0”) and Ewan Kennedy (102’ 8”) had solid days in the Javelin relay, while all three high jumpers, Jacob Duval, Jacob Mikulski and Brandon Eng jumped 5’2” in that event.

The 4×100 Meter Relay ran 46.26 and consisted of Alex Carpenter, Quinn Riesenberg, Caleb Sands and Will Batten.

It was a special night for the Hornets that will certainly not be forgotten.

Beat Pentucket to set up league title clash vs. Clippers

The Hornets scored an impressive 100-45 victory over Pentucket on April 26 to move their regular season record to 5-0 in the Cape Ann League. This win sets the stage for a “winner take all,” battle with Newburyport, who is also 5-0 for the CAL Kinney title this spring.

The Hornet attack was dominant as they won 14 out of 17 events on the day and easily outdistanced themselves from a traditionally strong Pentucket squad.

“This was an important meet for us to set the table for our meet with Newburyport,” said Spinney. “We needed a strong performance today and the team delivered. Next week will be a fun one for us and if we get it our best, we have a shot to win the meet.”

The Hornets were led once again by multiple event winners Casey O’Connor (Shot Put and Discus), Spencer Beane (110 Meter Hurdles and 400 Meter Dash) and Aidan Nadeau (1 Mile and 800 Meter Run).

Other event winners included John Jennings (400 Meter Hurdles), Garrett Arden (Javelin), Nathan Miller (Long Jump), Will Batten (100 Meter Dash), Nick Fabrizio (2 Mile), Alex Carpenter (Pole Vault) and the 4×100 Meter Relay team of Carpenter, Quinn Riesenberg, Caleb Sands and Batten and the 4×400 Meter Relay team of Drew Fitzgerald, MIchael Hemme, Landon Phillips and Nathan Miller.

The Hornets and Clippers will meet on Friday, May 6 at 4:45 p.m. at Fuller Field in Newburyport.