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North Reading enjoyed hosting the North Sectional Heptathlon, rolling up 9,832 points to finish second overall to Ipswich-Georgetown’s 10,668-point effort.
Lauren Hebert led the way for the Hornets, scoring 3,704 points over the two-day, seven-event competition to place sixth overall highlighted by third-place finishes in the shot put (8.95 meters) and the javelin (30.98 meters).
Emily Shaw (13th, 3,179 points) and Lauren Witzgall (19th, 2,949) also contributed to the team’s runner-up status. Georgetown’s Holly Sullivan took seventh.
Sparked by Lexi Kitsakos, Pentucket broke a couple of school records in finishing third.
Kitsakos rolled up a school-record 4,007 points to finish third individually. She broke her own mark by over 300 points.
Kitsakos finished second in the high jump (1.55 meters) and tied for fourth in the 200 (25.9 seconds).
As a team, the Sachems also placed third, setting a new standard with 9,620 points.
Also scoring for Pentucket were Victoria Castiglione (22nd overall with 2,865 points) and Liz Beauregard (25th, 2,748).

Lexi Kitsakos placed first in the high jump (5-2) and fourth in the 200 (26.23) to help Pentucket to a sixth place finish in the 36-team Division 3 state meet, at Oliver Ames High School (North Easton). Becca Morse finished second in the two-mile with a time of 11:26.59.

NORTH ANDOVER — While it was the Cape Ann League meet, North Andover’s Amanda Foote had her sights set on someone from the Merrimack Valley League yesterday afternoon. Entering the day already with the area’s second fastest all-time mark in the 400 hurdles, the Scarlet Knight senior was running out of time to eclipse Haverhill’s Rebecca Stabile area record. “I knew Rebecca had the 63.59 mark, so I was looking to get below that,” said Foote, who began running the race in her junior season and had run a 64.06 earlier in the season when she won a tight dual with Stabile. With Ipswich’s Samantha Brown clipping at her heels the whole race, Foote blazed to a 63.51, 0.24 faster than Brown. “This is the second time I’ve beaten her,” said Foote. “(In a dual meet) I beat her by a long shot, but I knew that she was going to come back and really shine this meet. “I could tell she was right next to me the whole time ... I thought I had her going over the last hurdle, but I felt her coming up. I knew I ran the whole race, and I wasn’t going to lose it in the last 20 yards.” The 400-meter hurdles were adopted in the state in 2009. The previous distance was 300 meters. Foote also helped North Andover win the team title with a 58-second final leg that secured second place in the 4X400 relay, giving the Scarlet Knights 98 points, four more than runner-up Ipswich-Georgetown, which got a huge effort from triple-placer Holly Sullivan of Georgetown. North Andover needed a third place or better in the final event for a second consecutive team title. “I thought we’d have a chance to win it,” North Andover coach Rick DelleChiaie said. “It’s a very good group of seniors. We should make some noise in the divisionals.” North Andover also got victories from Krista Perryman, who narrowly missed a double by finishing second in the 100 by .18 seconds, but her 12.61 and 26.05 times were both area bests and both in the top 15 all-time in the region. Other Knight winners were Kristen DiTroia (9-0 in pole vault) and Samantha Barron (105-0). “I needed to have a good block start,” said Perryman. “Losing the 100 made me push myself.” Other area girls champs were Pentucket’s Becca Morse, who ran 11:35.16 to win the 2-mile, and North Reading’s Brittany Angiolillo, who went 35-6 3/4 feet in the triple jump and also finished third in the long jump. “I was thinking I had to try to ignore the (first hot day in weeks),” said a worn out Morse, who is a junior. “Sometimes your best day is on a 90-degree day, and sometimes it’s on a 60-degree day. I was feeling the heat. I was hoping to win and get a personal best (11:16.3), but that didn’t happen, so I’ll get it at the (Eastern Mass.) divisionals.”

Lexi Kitsakos was a force in Pentucket's regular season-ending victory over rival Triton, winning the high jump, 400 hurdles and 200.

Pentucket's Lexi Kitsakos won the high jump (4-10), the 400 hurdles (69.2) and 200 (26.9) as the Sachems swept Masconomet (82-63) and Wilmington (85-60).

Lexi Kitsakos had a strong day in Pentucket's 83-62 loss to Lynnfield, setting a new school record in the 400 hurdles (1:08.7) while winning the high jump and the 200.

North Reading's Brittany Angiolillo and Pentucket's Lexi Kitsakos each won three events as the teams tied, 72.5-72.5. Angiolillo took home the long jump (16-5), Triple Jump (34-9) and 100 meters (13.5) while Kitsakos won the High Jump (4-8), 400 hurdles (1:11.8) and 200 (26.7)

Sarah Pearsall smashed her personal bests in shot put (31-8, 2-foot improvement) and discus (93-7, 8-foot improvement) but her two wins weren't enough as Pentucket fell to Hamilton-Wenham, 79-66.

Pentucket dropped a tight meet to Ipswich and easily defeated rival Newburyport, and Lexi Kitsakos was outstanding through it all. Kitsakos set a new school record in the 400 hurdles (1:10.6) and qualified for states with victories in the 200 (26.6) and the high jump (5-2). Sarah Pearsall also won two events, setting a new personal best in the discus (states-qualifying 85-3).