Post publication update:
North Reading wins MIAA Division 5 State Championship (May 31)
Published May 29, 2025
Girls’ track team cruises to victory in CAL Championship meet
BYFIELD — The North Reading girls’ track and field team delivered a dominant performance at the Cape Ann League Championship held on Saturday at Triton High with numerous podium finishes and personal records across sprint, distance, hurdle and field events. The Hornets took home not only the regular season championship plaque but also the championship meet plaque, scoring a whopping 168.5 points. Newburyport finished second (115), followed by Hamilton-Wenham (94), Essex Tech (86), Triton (78), Pentucket (50), Amesbury (49), Ipswich (45) and Lynnfield (15.5).
Leading the team to victory was senior captain Giuliana Ligor who showcased her elite sprinting prowess, winning three individual events: 400H, 100H and 200M. She won the 200 meters with a time of 25.48 seconds and the 100-meter hurdles in 14.46 seconds, after posting a blazing 14.38 in the prelims, which is just .02 off of the school record. She added to her remarkable meet with a win in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking 1:03.65. Fellow senior captain Callie MacLellan was close behind in the 400 Meter Hurdles (1:05.52) as was Hayden MacLellan in the 100 Meter Hurdles (16.46) taking sixth place.
Sophomore Sophia Gallivan had significant breakthroughs in the field events, securing second place in the javelin yhrow with a personal best of 94 feet, 4 inches, and was also the long jump runner-up at 17-00.00.
Distance Events
Junior Quinlan Kelly placed fourth in the 1-mile run with a time of 5:40.11, helping to highlight North Reading’s growing strength in distance events. Freshman Paige Vant took fourth in the 800 meters with a new personal best time of 2:29.36. Sophomore Adelyn Kelly ran a personal-best 12:42.90 in the 2-mile run, securing ninth place, while Riley MacDonald (10) followed close behind with a PR of 13:01.29 in 11th.
Jumping Events
In the high jump, senior Callie MacLellan won the event, clearing 5 feet, 2 inches, while Lindsey Cook and Giuliana Auciello both cleared 4 feet 10 inches for 3rd and 5th place respectively. Madelyn Favuzza cleared 4’8″ for 7th contributing to North Reading’s depth in jumps.
North Reading ruled the long jump as well with Gallivan’s second-place finish, Kate Denehy landing in fourth at 16-09.00 and Hayden MacLellan taking 7th at 16-04.00. Denehy took third in the triple jump (34-03) with Chloe DeAngelis taking sixth (32-04) and Lindsey Cook taking eight (31-08.25). In the pole vault H. MacLellan took second (8-06) with C. DeAngelis and Alana Hannon also scored points in 4th and 7th with leaps of 7-06.
Throwing Events
In the discus throw, junior Miriana Bornstein placed second with a PR of 93-07, followed closely by Maria Karafilidis in 5th (85-03) and Erin Dee in 6th (81-07). To add to Gallivan’s javelin points, Jacquelyn Genzler took 8th (81-09). Genzler also added a 4th place finish in the Shot Put (28-01) followed closely by Maria Karafilidis in 8th (26-09.5).
Relays
The 4×100 relay team of Julia Scammon, Sophia Gallivan, Kate Denehy, and Katie Zimmerman sprinted to a second-place finish in 52.16 seconds, narrowly missing gold. Meanwhile, the 4×400 relay squad of Quinlan Kelly, Maya Grossi, Shea Farmer and Paige Vant placed fifth with a strong 4:26.70. The 4×800 relay team of Q. Kelly, Abigail Meier, Katie Atwood and P. Vant placed second overall in 10:36.06
The Hornets are looking primed to compete for a repeat state championship on Thursday and Saturday, a two-day event scheduled to take place at Westfield State University from 2:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. each day. Look for that story in the next Transcript.