Boys Track Wins, Girls Lose Against Hamilton-Wenham

The track teams split the day against the Hamilton-Wenham teams on Wednesday,  as the boys won an exciting last-race, two-point victory while the girls lost to the undefeated Lady Generals runners.

Earning first-place finishes for the boys were Julius Degenhardt (36.6 seconds) in the 300, Nick Capezzuto (1:22.7) in the 600, Jonathan Murray (38-3 1/2) in the shot put, and Chris Kavanaugh (5-5) in the high jump.

With just four second-place finishes to match the four first places, the Hornets were able to gain ground on the Generals by claiming third place points in all but two events; the 300 and high jump.

The outcome of the meet came down to the final race of the night, the 4x400 relay. The North Reading team of Degenhardt, Cameron Hastings, Matt Okscin and Capezzuto were able to claim first place with a time of 3:47.2, propelling the team to a 44-42 victory.

"The meet came down to the relay, which was very close until Matt Okscin passed the HW runner toward the end of the third leg, and Nick Capezzuto really opened it up on their last runner," said North Reading coach Derek Dorval.

For the Lady Hornets, it was a tough battle against a very talented Hamilton-Wenham team, which ended 66-20 in favor of the Lady Generals.

Highlights for the North Reading girls included second place finished by Becca Kelly (7.71 seconds) in then hurdles, Brittany Leonard (14:00) in the two-mile, Brittany Angiolillo (43.0 seconds) in the 300, Kara D'Alelio (1:43.7) in the 600, and Brianna Goddard (6:05.8) in the one-mile race.

North Reading's next meet is against the Scarlet Knights at North Andover on Tuesday at 2 p.m.