Season Preview: Revere girls’ track hopes depth leads to success

The name of the game for the Revere girls? track team this season is depth. The squad has a lot of talented athletes, but its real strength comes from being well-rounded.
During the indoor season, the team went 4-3, yet didn?t have any athletes qualify for state. Coach Antonio LaBruna says that there are no events that he thinks his team is necessarily “a lock” to win, and every meet “will be a grind,” but hopes it can be competitive in every event. The team had about 60 girls come out for the first week of practice, a number that more or less matches the turnout that they had in 2014.
The field events are where the Revere team could really shine, especially when it comes to the throwing events. LaBruna has a strong core of returning throwers, headlined by senior Ariana Licata. Licata participates both in shot put and discus, and finished fourth in the Northeastern Conference in discus last spring.
Triple jump is another event where the Patriots have some strong athletes. Juniors Jessica Cambraia and Catherine Elam both triple jumped for the first time last spring, and have been eager to get back to it ever since.
?They?re just really excited to get going in that event. They?re really looking forward to that,” LaBruna said. “Their best [distance] last year was 30 feet, and they?ll both be high 31s if not 32 [this year], which would win at pretty much every meet.”
LaBruna says that while Cambraia is dealing with some injuries presently, when she?s healthy, she has the potential to be one of the top triple jumpers in the league.
The Patriots are on the young side, losing a lot of seniors last spring. That youth is most prominent in the running events, since the team doesn?t have any senior distance runners.Senior captain Danielle Fortuna, who was the team?s leading points scorer during the indoor season, will be a presence in the 800 meters, while she also participates in the long jump. Twin sisters Angelisa and Angelina Nguyen will run the 100-meter dash, and LaBruna anticipates big things from them in their junior year.
?They had a terrific end to the indoor season,” LaBruna said. “They improved pretty much on a weekly basis, so I?m expecting them to have great seasons in the spring events.”
LaBruna and company have been creative when it comes to practicing while snow still covers the track and field.
?It?s been challenging,” LaBruna said. “We?ve got the throwers throwing into the snow and trudging through the snow to get their javelins and bring them back. We?ve been throwing shot put indoors, and luckily we have an indoor track for running workouts. But distance runners have gone outside. We take it day by day, [but] we?re making it work.”
The Patriots are scheduled to open their season at Marblehead on March 30.Katie Morrison can be reached [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @KatieMo61