Girls win first indoor track State Championship in school history

Published in the February 22, 2018 edition

THE 2018 NRHS girls’ track and field team captured the first indoor track State Championship in school history at the Div. 4 State Meet at the Reggie Lewis Center. Pictured in the front row from left to right is Grace Hadley, Olivia Esposito, Kirsten Bradley, Juliette Nadeau and Megan Lawlor. In the back row from left to right is Head Coach Sotirios Pintzopoulos, MIAA Director Ed Hichborn, Kerry O’Brien, Julia Thorstad, Lindsay MacLellan, Kaitlyn Gorgenyi, Emily Davis, Caitlin Raimo, Jerlin Kaithamattam, Lauren Gulbicki, Meredith Griffin, Maggie McCarthy, Sophia Casciano, Kaitlyn Shevlin, Analise Gonzalez, Coach Kirsten MacLellan, Rachel Hill, Coach Ryan Spinney and MIAA Director Dick Baker.

By JERLIN KAITHAMATTAM

BOSTON- Valentine’s Day was 10 times sweeter this year for North Reading Girls’ indoor track and field as they made history winning, their first ever Indoor State Title. In a nail-biting finish, the Hornets did exactly what they needed to do in order to tie their season long rivals Pentucket, for a shared first-place victory.

This victory is quite special to the girls’ team for two main reasons: First, the Hornets just moved up from Division 5 to Division 4. Going into a new division with bigger schools, and tougher competition, the Hornets were the underdogs. They quickly proved their worth however emerging as State Relay Champions and CAL Open Champions. Next, their final goal was to do something that has never been done in North Reading’s history. Winning an indoor state title. With a final score of 47 points, North Reading and Pentucket took first place, with Medway (36.33), Grafton (32) and Wilmington (28) rounding out the top five of 51 teams competing at the event.

The State meet is unique in that the scoring works quite differently in comparison to other meets. Here, the top 8 finalists earn 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1 point(s) depending on which place they finish in. Additionally, the top 3 finishers in each event advance automatically to the All-State championship meet in which the top athletes in each event from all five divisions across the state meet to determine the best of the best.

Running in the 55m Hurdles were seniors Maggie McCarthy (9.18s), Jerlin Kaithamattam (9.67s), and Lauren Gulbicki (9.71s). Maggie’s time was nearly a .1s personal best as she just missed qualifying for the final heat of 8. Following the hurdles, seniors Juliette Nadeau (7.66s) and Sophia Casciano (7.75s), sophomore Megan Lawlor (7.82s) and freshman Katelyn Gorgenyi (7.74s) all took part in the 55m Dash. Juliette’s time was just .03 seconds off of making the final heat of 8.

Running in the 300m Dash was sophomore Emily Davis (42.88s) who placed 5th overall, and scored 4 points for the team with a new personal best time. Emily’s personal best run moved her up to 3rd all-time in school history.

In the 600m, junior Grace Hadley placed 3rd overall with a time of 1:41.61. She scored 6 points for the team and advanced to all-states! In the One Mile run, Meredith Griffin beat her personal record and lowered her own school record to an outstanding 5:10.88! Her second place finish secured her a spot in the all-state meet, and brought in 8 points for the team. Running unopposed for much of the season, Meredith finally saw some competition and was only 1 second shy of the first place spot as she moved up from sixth to second place sprinting the last 200 meters of the race in 32 seconds.

In the long jump, Nadeau placed second with a jump of 17’ 6.25” just missing first by .25”. This brought in 8 points for the team, and got her a spot in the all state meet. Lawlor also placed, finishing 5th and bringing in 4 points with a jump of 16’ 8”. Megan has also qualified to compete at the all-state meet as a wildcard advancer, with a personal best leap of 17’ 7” from earlier this season, and with Juliette’s 17’ 6,” the Hornets have two of the top jumpers in the state. Also jumping for the Hornets was Kerry O’Brien, who took 10th in the high jump with a leap of 4’ 10” which just missed placing in the top 8.

The Hornets did not have athletes compete in the remaining events (1000 meters, two mile, shot put) as they were saving some of their top athletes to compete in only the relay events contested at the end of the meet with “fresh legs”. Going into the three relays, the Hornets were seven points behind Pentucket 37 to 30.

The 4x200m relay ran by Sophia Casciano, Juliette Nadeau, Megan Lawlor, and Katelyn Gorgenyi took 3rd place with an impressive time of 1:49.47. Scoring 6 points for the team, the girls advanced to the all-state meet and are now 3rd in school history. The six points brought the Hornets to 36 points but Pentucket won that event bringing their score to 47 points. The eleven point deficit was scary but the Hornets had teams in both the remaining events, the 4×800 meter relay and 4×400 meter relay and Pentucket did not.

The 4x800m team of Grace Hadley, Olivia Esposito, Cailtin Raimo, and Meredith Griffin ran an outstanding 10:13.17 making them 2nd in school history. Their 4th place finish brought in 5 points for the team. By the conclusion of the 4x800m relay, the scores stood with Pentucket on top with 47 points, and North Reading just behind them with 41 points. With one event left, the 4x400m relay, the girls’ team had one chance left to win the Division 4 State Championship.

With the 4x400m relay being the last event at every meet, it is often the deciding event. Those who run in it are faced with immense pressure, as the fate of the team’s outcome often rests on four runners. At the state meet, these four runners were: Emily Davis, Kirsten Bradley, Analise Gonzalez, and Meredith Griffin. Going into their race, they knew they needed to secure at least 3rd place in order to tie Pentucket for the State Title.

Both the girls’ and boys’ teams held their breath throughout much of the race as North Reading was neck and neck with Medway for the first few handoffs. Davis went out in 63 seconds putting the team into 2nd place. Bradley took the baton in third but quickly moved into first on the back stretch. Gonzalez reached the baton in 2nd and made an immediate pass on the first turn to bring the team back into first. Senior Captain Meredith Griffin took the baton in the lead as the Medway anchor who ended up splitting a 56 second last lap, charged to the lead with Grafton making chase. Griffin, having already run a 5:10 mile and 2:28 800 meter, ran an incredible 60 second 400m split which was a 3 second personal best. The photo finish resulted in an outstanding final time of 4:11.96.

In the end, the 4x400m relay team did exactly what they needed to, placing third, scoring 6 points, advancing to all-states, getting 2nd in school history, and leading the Hornets to North Reading’s Division 4 State Title!

Congratulations to the entire girls’ track and field team for all of their hard work throughout the entire season. With the help of exceptional coaching, this team has put in an immense amount of hard work, shown a great deal of resilience, and have proven that they are indeed a force to be reckoned with.

Underdogs no more, the girls’ team has shown their worth, barreling through their new division, breaking records, scoring points, claiming titles, and making history. Good luck to the girls who have advanced to the all-state meet, set to take place on Saturday, Feb. 24.