Reading Track Sweeps Belmont: Girls win 87-44, Boys win 93-43
This article was written by local resident Tom Grant, a local parent of a student-athlete.
Ryan Pulpi ‘24 pulls away from the pack to win the 100. Photo by Tom Grant.
Both Reading teams kept up their winning ways at the Burlington track on Thursday, April 16, defeating Belmont handily in their second dual meet of the year. Under sunny skies and warm weather, the meet was characterized by strong individual performances on the girls’ side and a dominant performance by the throwers on the boys’ side. After a successful start to the year, both teams have a week off from meets. The next time they hit the track will be to face a strong Lexington boys and girls team on April 29th.
Reading Girls Track wins 87-44 over Belmont.
Reading’s sprinters were simply too fast for Belmont. Reading took first and second place in each of the 100, 200, and 400, and was able to add a third place in the 100 as well for a Reading sweep in that event. Seniors Isabelle Lightbody (100 - 13.45), Kamryn Encarnacao (200 - 26.92), and Tessa Rock (400) led the way with first-place finishes in the sprints. Rock put up a personal best of 1:03.89 to bring home five points with her win. Alexa DeMarco (13.70) and Danielle Bowers (13.77) finished second and third to complete the sweep in the 100.
The hurdle team also outscored Belmont, delivering a combined 11 points to Belmont’s 7 in the 100H and 400H. Rachel Grady, a junior, took first in the 100H with a time of 17.19, a personal best. Grady returned later in the meet to grab second in the 200 and run a leg of Reading’s victorious 4x100 team, delivering a total of 9.25 points for the team just on her own.
While Belmont was stronger in the distance events, Stella McLean - a ninth grader - came in a close second in the 800, running a personal best time of 2:32.
Kamryn Encarnacao (4) and Rachel Grady (2) charge down the homestretch in the 200. Photo by Tom Grant.
Reading returned to its dominant ways in the jumps, sweeping both the long jump and the triple jump, while claiming the first two spots in the high jump. Lightbody was particularly impressive, winning both the long jump (16-10.5) and the triple jump (36-03.5) by multiple feet. With three individual event victories, Lightbody led all point scorers with 15. Katherine Savio won the high jump (4-10.0) and showed her versatility by also finishing third in the triple jump.
The throws went Reading’s way in a squeaker, with Reading putting up 14 points to Belmont’s 13 across discus, javelin, and shot put. Ninth grader Kathleen Wong took home the gold in discus with a personal best throw of 73 feet, eking out a victory by just two inches.
Senior Kamryn Encarnacao’s efforts are worth noting, as she showed off her many talents by winning the 200, finishing second in the long jump, and anchoring the winning 4x100 team, accounting for 9.25 points across the meet.
Reading Boys Track wins 93-43 over Belmont.
Reading’s throws team brought their “A” game to the Burlington track on Thursday. Reading outscored Belmont 23-4 across the discus, javelin, and shot put. Senior Captain Luke Rogerson’s eye-popping final throw of 178-07 was almost 50 feet farther than the second-place throw. Rogerson has already qualified for the Division 3 State Meet in May, and at this point is only a few feet off the national qualifying standard. Junior Jamie Dudley also had a big day, taking first with personal bests in both the shot put (42-10) and the discus (112-06). The Rockets swept the discus, with Max DeCesare (106-10) and Marcus Moller (99-03) rounding out the podium.
Domenic Pate (6), Owen Sinclair (4), and Sebastian Orsini (2), head for a Reading sweep in the 400. Photo by Tom Grant.
The jumps did not go the Rockets’ way this meet, as Reading’s best results were from Levi Emmanuel, who finished second by just two inches in the high jump (5-08.00), and Michael Caraco, who came up just seven inches short of first in the long jump (20-04.00). Ryan Audley, a sophomore, deserves recognition for scoring the most points for Reading across all the jumps, with a second in the triple jump (40-09.5) and third in the high jump (5-08.00).
Reading’s hurdlers put up a strong showing, outscoring Belmont 12-6. Senior Karmani Mirville (16.28) and Junior Will Gallegos (16.74) went 1-2 in the 110H. Meanwhile, junior Michael Caraco was barely edged out for first in the 400H, finishing second in 1:00.95.
Reading saved its best efforts on the track for the 400 and the 800, where it swept both events. Junior Domenic Pate, who was running only his second high school track meet ever and had never run the 400 before, took first place in the quarter mile with a time of 52.58. He barely beat fellow newcomer Sebastian Orsini, a junior, who finished a mere eight thousandths of a second behind Pate. Senior Owen Sinclair took third in a personal best of 53.43. In the 800, junior Finn Johnson-Houlihan ran a personal best of 1:58.60, taking first place with the fastest time in the Middlesex League so far this year. Senior Captain Ryan Pulpi (2:05.64) and sophomore Declan Grant (2:06.68) took second and third to complete the sweep.
In the short sprints, Reading’s Ryan Pulpi won the 100 handily in a time of 11.06, while Zalen Puff finished a close second in a hard-fought 200, where he posted a personal best of 23.34.
In the distance events, Andrew Princic took first in the mile in 4:49.66, and Max King put up a personal best of 10:02.52 to finish second in the two-mile.
The final events - the 4x100 and 4x400 - turned into easy victories for the Rockets as neither team was challenged during either race.
One notable performance was that of Senior Captain Ryan Pulpi, who had an unusual combination of running the 100 and the 800 in the same meet. His first and second-place finishes, respectively, brought home eight points for the Rockets, making him the second-highest scorer on the team.
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