THE NRHS 800 meter Spring Medley Relay broke a school record and qualified for the nationals championships at an invitational in North Andover last week. The new record time, set by the pictured Kayla Budny (100 meters), Madison Vant (100 meters), Ava McIntyre (200 meters) and Giuliana Ligor, is 1:50.39. (Courtesy Photo)
LYNNFIELD — The NRHS girls’ track and field team traveled to Lynnfield on April 12 to take on the Pioneers. It was a lop-sided meet as the Hornets dominated across the board, winning 16 of 17 events contested with a 123-22 win.
Leading the Hornets to victory was top scorer Abigail Lilley (13 points), Giuliana Ligor and Ava McIntyre (11.25 points each), Madison Vant (11 points), Kayla Budny and Georgia Robarts (9.25 points each) who combined for over half of the teams points.
In addition to winning all but one event at the meet, the Hornets also had 14 automatic state qualifying marks in 13 of the 17 events. Coach Sotirios Pintzopoulos believes this is likely the greatest day one performance in program history which he attributes to the hard work and dedication of the team, the incredible coaching staff that is unmatched and the incredible weather on April 12 which always helps to improve performances.
Congratulations to all event winners: Giuliana Ligor (400 Meter Hurdles, 100 Meter Hurdles and 4×100 Meter Relay), Ava McIntyre (Long Jump, 200 Meters and 4×100 Meter Relay), Abigail Lilley (High Jump and Discus Throw), Madison Vant (Shot Put and Javelin Throw), Georgia Robarts (Triple Jump and 4×100 Meter Relay), Kayla Budny (100 Meters and 4×100 Meter Relay), Annalise Butler (One Mile and 4×400 Meter Relay), Tiara Lamont (400 Meters and 4×400 Meter Relay), Hayden MacLellan (Pole Vault), Karleigh Budny (800 Meters), Julia DeAngelis (4×400 Meter Relay) and Quinlan Kelly (4×400 Meter Relay).
Also congratulations to the automatic state qualifiers: 400 Meter Hurdles (Giuliana Ligor), One Mile (Annalise Butler), 100 Meter Hurdles (Ligor), 100 Meters (Kayla Budny), Long Jump (Ava McIntyre), High Jump (Abigail Lilley), Shot Put (Madison Vant), Pole Vault (Hayden MacLellan), Discus Throw (Lilley), Javelin Throw (Vant and Abigail Gerber), Triple Jump (Georgia Robarts), 200 Meters (McIntyre), and the 4×100 Meter Relay (Budny, Robarts, McIntyre, Ligor).
It’s a great start to the season as the Hornets attempt to continue their streak of Cape Ann League, MSTCA and MIAA championship seasons going back 10 years to 2014.
This year’s team is led by Quad Captains: Karleigh Budny, Kayla Budny, Annalise Butler and Ava McIntyre. The team has 50 total athletes training in three events areas: distance, throws, sprints/jumps/hurdles. The majority of the team has experience from this past indoor track and field season during which the Hornets won the Division 4 State Championship. However, there are also some novices ready to join the program and train along their peers towards shared success.
The Hornets sent representative to an invitational in North Andover last week where the 800 meter Sprint Medley Relay broke a school record and qualified for the national championships. That team of Kayla Budny (100 meters), Madison Vant (100 meters), Ava McIntyre (200 meters) and Giuliana Ligor (400 meters) set a new record time of 1:50.39.
The Hornets spent April Vacation fine tuning their skills as they prepared for their next Cape Ann League match up against Triton on Wednesday, April 26 after press time. The team will next travel to Pentucket on May 3.